Andrea Balarezo
CLE PLAN
Classroom Profile
In my 1st/2nd multiage classroom, I have a diverse bunch of students. The classroom total is 23 now, with one student recently being added to our classroom community. Out of the 23 students, 10 are in 1st grade and 13 are in 2nd grade. The 1st grade group consists of three girls and seven boys and our 2nd graders consist of 10 girls and three boys bringing the classroom total to 13 girls and 10 boys. Out of all of our students, three 1st graders and three 2nd graders receive additional support outside of the classroom. Two of those students (including the student who recently arrived) attend ESL and the other four go to “Book Club” or RTI. There are five 2nd grade students who are advanced in reading & writing. Those five students are in one reading group together and are occasionally provided with enrichment activities during our various language arts stations.
There are about eight students in our class who have behavioral and/or emotional issues. Only two of those students that I know of are on medication. The behaviors of 6 of these 8 students have the potential to (and sometimes do) get many other students off-task and distracted from the classroom activities. These behaviors include calling out, speaking loudly during quiet activities, moving around the classroom when not necessary, physically hurting others, name-calling, and not obeying the teacher’s directions. The other two students’ issues affect mostly themselves, their own learning, and sometimes the couple of students closest in proximity to them.
In my classroom there are about four students who are less social than the rest. They tend to keep to themselves or only interact with a couple of other children. About nine of the 13 girls in the classroom have been struggling with friendship issues. Some of these girls don’t actually start the problems, but have been involved because of another friend. A couple of these girls are constantly involved in friendship conflicts and another couple are constantly starting these friendship conflicts by gossiping and being disrespectful to other classmates. All of our students bring something special to the classroom and overall they are a great group of students.
Classroom Rationale
You can also view my layout online and click on the different items in the classroom to view a picture of exactly what I’ve added.
I designed my classroom to be spacious, safe, and welcoming. Before entering the classroom, the students will hang up their backpacks, coats, and lunchboxes on their coat hangers outside of the room. This was done to maximize classroom space, to reduce clutter in the room (keeping the classroom safer) and also to maintain a cleaner classroom environment. As the students walk in, they will come to the communication station, where they will place their daily folders into their mailbox, hand in any notes, and sign up for lunch. This will be the first thing the students will be expected to do as they walk in, so there is space for a small line to form if necessary. My desk is situated so that it faces the classroom and I have quick access in and out of my desk space. Behind my desk I have multiple storage units and counters for my teacher resources. I also have a bulletin for all the wonderful artwork students may give me and for quick reference materials.
Around the classroom, I have bulletin boards set up for different displays. I will like to use these to display student work and also for different community building and citizenship posters. To encourage good hygiene, I will have displays about proper hand washing and appropriate times to wash (before eating, after using the restroom, after blowing nose, etc.) near the sink area. The sink will be located in the corner of the room so that it is easy to access and does not interfere with student work areas. Around the sink, I will also locking storage cabinets for teacher resources that I do not want to the students to access such as paint, cleaning supplies, and excess student and teacher supplies. On the outer doors of these cabinets, we will have the poster of student jobs. This poster will be easily removable if the jobs need to be discussed during morning meeting, for example.
I will have a classroom library for my students with a big rug, bookshelves and oversized beanbags for reading times. This reading area can be used during free time, when students are done with certain activities, and for silent reading time (students will be assigned days they can use this space since it is limited). On the wall of the library there is also a bulletin board for posters of authors, books, and students’ work about the books they’ve read. I have two play areas set up for playtime in my classroom because I believe it’s important for students to be able to play and use their imagination constantly. My play areas include blocks, a dollhouse, car garage, and dress-up station. Although these are close in proximity to our academic stations, they will not be used at the same time so space will not be an issue.
There are various areas set up for whole group time, teacher guided small-group activities, and independent work. In the back of the room I have a large rug area where we will hold morning meetings, have read aloud time, and where I will give whole class instruction or mini-lessons. There are magnetic white boards set up in this area to use for morning message, calendar math, the daily schedule, and instruction. In the back of the room, I also have two teacher-guided small group work areas for activities such as guided reading, Words Their Way (or any other spelling/phonics program), math, or any other times students need to work in small groups. These small-group areas have a whiteboard and a storage unit for teacher resources. The teacher seats are positioned to always be able to watch the rest of the class while guiding the small group. In the back of the room I also have a writing station where students will store their writing materials. This will be where they have their writing folders, their writing paper, and also pens and pencils for revisions. It is put up against the wall in the back so that a line can form as students go to get their writing materials to avoid having a crowded area. I have two independent student areas in the classroom. One is the computer station with two computers at each table and room for 2 chairs at each computer. The other area is a listening station where students can independently listen to stories and do related activities. This can also be a station where students work on other independent activities with clipboards. They have a storage unit available for student resources in this area.
I decided to use tables for my student seating because I think it encourages group work and cooperation. I sat four students to a table so that it would not be too cluttered at each set. I made sure to provide the students with plenty of space to scoot chairs in and out without hitting the chairs behind them. The students can all easily see the whiteboard from where they are sitting because I staggered the tables so that one is not directly behind another. There are pathways in between desks for easy access to students while they are working. Also, these pathways provide a safer environment because there is more space to move around in. In between the two sets of desks closer to the doors, I made an even bigger space so that students can line up easily. I want my classroom to be bright and inviting and I want my students to feel comfortable and safe while in the room. I believe that my classroom has what it needs to keep students safe and organized.
Community Building
Community building in my classroom is very important, especially during the first few weeks of school. One of the main goals for my students is that they feel comfortable, secure and happy about coming to school and being in the classroom. I hope to achieve this goal by spending time getting to know my students and allowing them to get to know one other on a personal level. Before the start of school, I will send home a quick note asking parents to send something in about their summer break for their child to share on the first day. Of course all summer activities will be celebrated, as some students may not have gone on vacations or traveled very far during the summer. These things, along with “tell-sharing” (if students did not bring anything) will be shared during our first Morning Meeting.
Another activity on the first day of school will be “Like pieces of a puzzle, we all fit together.” In this activity, students will get a large puzzle piece made from oak tag. They will put their names on their puzzle pieces and draw different things that they like or that describe them. From here, we will get together on the carpet and put our puzzle pieces together, with each person saying his/her name and sharing what is on his/her puzzle piece. After our puzzle is put together and we have a collage of our classmates, we will talk about what a community is, and how this puzzle collage shows our classroom community.
Our greetings during morning meetings for the first couple of weeks will be geared toward learning names and different things about each other such as favorite sports, t.v. shows, books, colors, foods, etc. During sharing and news/announcements, we will discuss expectations for our morning meetings and the citizenship skills expected in our classroom. While I will facilitate these discussions, I will leave it up to the students to help come up with classroom expectations and to discuss what the different citizenship skills are.
After the first couple of weeks of getting to know names and classroom expectations, we will begin with our “Star Students” books. Parents will get a note home asking them to help put together a “Me Bag” with a few things that are significant to their child and the date their child is scheduled to be the student of the day. The day the child is scheduled to be student of the day, he/she will share his/her Me Bag, and the rest of the students will write in their “Star Students” book the different things they learned about their new classroom friend. Along with this, I will write in a classroom big book about the student of the day and he/she can illustrate that page while everyone else is writing. By the end, each student will have a book with all of his/her classmates, and there will also be a classroom book available in our library.
Classroom jobs will also be an on-going way to build community in our class. Just as in any community, it takes all members to keep it running smoothly. We will discuss the importance of our classroom jobs and of every student taking responsibility for the job they are assigned to. Again, morning meetings will be a time when students can discuss how the classroom jobs are going and what, if anything, can be improved. These jobs will continue throughout the year, and become more and more student directed with time. As the year goes on, we will continue to do various activities to maintain that sense of classroom community. These activities can include whole-class recess games, lunch together in the classroom or picnic areas, and other student planned activities like classroom celebrations and parties.
Routines and Tools
There are many routines and tools that I hope to use in my classroom to keep it orderly and running smoothly. One of these is the “morning routine” that the students will be expected to follow every morning as they walk into the classroom. During one of our first morning meetings, as we are discussing our classroom expectations, I will take time to explain the morning routine. I will have a poster set up titled “Morning Routine” with numbered pictured about what they are supposed to do: 1. Hang up backpacks and coats. 2. Hand in folders/notes. 3. Sign up for lunch. 4. Put chair down. 5. Read the morning message. 6. Complete morning work. This poster will be on the front board for the students to look at when they arrive in the mornings. There will be a large reminder on the board, “Follow morning routine”, with an arrow pointing to the poster. This reminder will only be there for the first week, but the poster will stay there throughout the year.
Another tool that I will use will be the “freeze” bell. When I ring this bell, the students will be expected to stop what they are doing, put their hands on their heads, and look at me immediately. I will introduce this by playing a freeze game with the students. They will start by moving around the classroom freely, and as soon as they hear the bell, they will have to completely freeze, put their hands on their heads and look at me. We will play this game a couple of times for a few minutes, and after that I will begin using it as an attention getter during various activities. I think it’s very important for teachers to have some type of attention-getter because a lot of times the classroom can get quite busy and loud and it’s not always effective for a teacher to have to raise his/her voice to get the students’ attention.
Family journals are another tool I will use as form of classroom communication and as a purposeful writing activity. The students will write to their families weekly, telling them about what we’ve done in class that week and keeping their families up-to-date with classroom news. Parents will be asked to write back to their child and that will be something the students can respond to during our next letter writing activity at the end of the week. I will introduce this journal a couple of weeks into the school year (after the back-to-school paperwork rush is over). We will write to our families during writing time and the first few times we will spend some time brainstorming the different activities of the week. The students will be required to write at least two things they did or learned during the week, but will have the freedom to write anything else as well. This will be a way for parents to stay involved and informed about what’s going on in the classroom straight from their child.
In my classroom, we will also have a token jar, which students will be able to fill to earn special rewards. Tokens will be earned when the class shows good behavior, has quick transitions, walks quietly down the hall, receives compliments from other teachers, etc. These tokens will be used to reinforce good behavior – not to punish – so tokens will not be taken away once they are earned. The first time, the students will fill the jar quickly and earn their reward so that they can be more motivated with this reward program. As another motivator and to give another opportunity for classroom democracy, the students will get to pick their own rewards (within reason) and vote on the one they want.
Self-evaluation:
Classroom Learning Environment Plan
/ RubricExcellent / Acceptable / Below Expectations / Your Score
Classroom Profile
2 Points / The profile describes the class as a whole in terms of all of the following: gender, academic levels, behavior patterns, and social relationships / The profile describes the class as
a whole in terms of some of the
following: gender, academic levels,
behavior patterns, and
social relationships / No profile is provided
or the profile looks at
individuals instead of the
class as a whole / 2
Letter to Parents: ComponentsParts
2 Points / The letter to the parents contains all required parts / The letter to parents contains some required parts but not all / No letter to parents is
included / 2
Letter to Parents: Tone
2 Points / The letter is written in a friendly and positive tone that welcomes parents as partners in the process. / The tone of the letter is more neutral
than positive or welcomes only some
parents as partners in the process / The tone of the letter is
not friendly or positive.
Parents are not seen as
partners in the educational
process / 2
Letter to Parents: Communication
2 Points / The letter is written in simple language that communicates educational concepts in language that can be understood by all parents / The letter is mostly free from educational