I have had the wonderful pleasure to student teach in two great classrooms, in different grades and at different schools during my time as a teaching credential candidate. I also had the amazing opportunity to teach in my own classroom during the summer of 2010. In creating my own classroom I wanted to take elements from each classroom that I student taught in as well as incorporate my own ideas to suit the needs of my individual students and our needs as a summer school program.
The classroom that I was placed in for the summer school position belongs to a full time k-1 teacher during the regular school year so I was lucky enough to have access to tables and chairs as well as the most incredible word walls which my students and myself built upon over the summer. My goal in the summer school classroom was to make the space not only academically stimulating but also playful and fun for the long days and extended classroom time. I added an art center, a garden center, a music center and a dramatic play center. I organized the students into table groups based on color cards and adjusted seating throughout the summer as needed, dependent on ability level, classroom management needs and English language support partners. Since I taught through the Chinatown YMCA in Chinatown the majority of my students were bilingual in Cantonese/English or Mandarin/English and the students themselves were one of my greatest assets in English language development as they worked with one another helping in translation and just friendly support and community. Working in any school environment it is so important to be aware of the needs of your English Language Learners, and this particular classroom taught me that being aware of and empathetic to the needs of your English Language learners is key to reaching the full potential of all of your students.
Now a quick look at a few of the classrooms I have had the pleasure to teach in!
Miss V and a few students during Summer School!
My Summer School Classroom... Artwork created by my class to brighten the room!
Fourth Grade Student Teaching placement! Great Artwork displayed and students using their white boards during math!
Kindergarten Student Teaching placement, calendar, class rug, word wall and table groups in action!
I love that each classroom is different, suited to the needs of the individual classroom community. Having the opportunity to work in three different classrooms I was lucky enough to see the many ways a classroom could be organized and I was able to get some great creative ideas on how to design my own! In the fall the blog babblingabby did a great "tour of classrooms" take a look, I know I am keeping a lot of these great ideas in my "teacher tool box" and hope to use a few of them in the future!
Check out her post for a tour of her classroom as well as all of the other teachers that linked up!
- Miss V
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