Classroom ContextEDUC 450 PROFESSIONAL CLINICAL PRACTICE

Spring 20124 th and 5 th ELA, Mrs. Dyrease Houser-Jackson

Friday, January 26, 2012Karah. J. Brown

Bethune Bowman Elementary School Mission Statement:

“Bethune Bowman Elementary School exists to ensure academic success for all students.”

(BBES, erected 2004)

• Bethune Bowman Elementary School (BBES), located in Rowesville, South Carolina is an extension of Bethune Bowman Middle High (BBMH). These two schools, BBES and BBMH are connected by the Cafeteria and share the following Related Arts areas: Music and Art.

• In the most recent SC Annual School Report Card Summary (2011) BBES reported an enrollment of 348 students, ranging in grades PK-5. There are a total of 28 teachers employed; a calculated ratio of 1 to 16 (teacher to student).

APicture A displays the outside of the school. The contents of this outdoor display indicate that the school encourages students to read at home daily, as reading logs are due every Friday.

the Classroom at a Glance(Labeled pictures, diagrams, and descrptions)

Classroom Description

When entering Room 109 on the 4th grade wall, one will be encountered with an aire of high expectation and

organization. Mrs. Jackson sets high standards for her students. This is reflected in her classroom organization: room is never in disarray and is well managed. Her desks are aligned in single rows facing the board. Mrs. Jackson’s

desk is facing the door. The classroom is divided into several sections that house student resources and provide

grade appropriate books in a Reading Nook.

Picture B shows the perspective of the room from the direction of the classroom door. The desks are in rows for Benchmark preparation.

B

Mrs. Jackson teaches 4th and 5th grade English Language Arts; she

teaches two sections of 4th grade and two sections of 5th

grade (including her homeroom section). The sections 4B, 4A, 5B and 5A (listed in order of

daily schedule) represent heterogeneous sections that are

evenly separated by performance level. Jackson

teaches a total of 102 students. 26 are in her homeroom.

The desk array represents strategies of direct instruction

and strict behavior management.

African AmericanCaucasianHispanicNative AmeicanBiracial

Student Demographics(4B, 4A, 5B, and 5A)

Of the 102 students in this population, 78% are African

American, 15% Caucasian, 6% Hispanic, 1% Native American, and 2% Biracial (African American and

Caucasian).

54% are male and 48% female.

Student DemographicsMrs. Jackson’s Homeroom Section, 4B

African AmericanCaucasianHispanicNative American Hispanic

Mrs. Jackson’s homeroom sec-

tion houses a to-tal of 26 stu-

dents. 50% per-cent of these stu-dents are male, and 50% of stu-

dents are female. Of these 26 stu-dents, 73% are

African American, 19% are Cau-

casian, and 7% are Hispanic.

Student Performance2011 ANNUAL SCHOOL REPORT CARD

• The 2001 Report for BBES reported a total of 348 students and a total of 22 teachers. This is a calculated ratio of 16:1, meaning that for every 16 students there is 1 teacher. 65.3% of the fourth grade students tested in ELA either met the performance objective or performed at an exemplary level.

• 81.1% of BBES students met the standard or were exemplary, the performance objective met.

Classroom Layout

Picture C is the perspective from the Reading Area by the side

counter and sink. It shows the Word Wall that is located above the shelf that holds the student workbooks

and writing journals. The Computer Area is adjacent to

the door and is a part of the Reading Area (Picture D). Classroom Rules

and Grading Scale are posted above the computers because students

often complete class work and tests electronically in this station.

The next slide contains a labeled diagram that represents the layout of desks and distinguishes areas that are for reading exploration,

learning, and classroom participation.

C

D

DO

OR

Student’s Desks

Teacher’s Work Area

Reading Area 1

(grade level literary choices)

Board, front of room

win

dow

Com

pu

ter

Sta

tion

Word Wall/ Student Resources

Resource Area(dictionaries, thesauruses)

Resources Made Available to Students

• Write Source• Write Traits, Student Traitbook• SC PACT Coach Workbook, ELA Grade 4• SC PACT Coach Workbook, ELA Grade 5• Comprehension Plus, Level D (4th)• Comprehension Plus, Level E (5th)• Wordly Wise 3000, Grade 4• Wordly Wise 3000, Grade 5

• Webster’s Elementary Dictionary• HarperCollins Student Notebook Thesaurus A-Z

Reading Areas and Resources

E

F

Reading Centers in the Room

G

H

Bulletin Boards

I

J

The standards and indicators that the students are currently working on are

displayed on the following bulletin board.

Students were to generate a word flip book that contained 3 unknown words

found in a literary text that they defined using context clues. The

assignment was graded and posted as follows.

There is room to display all students’ work, ie: Picture K below (outside

classroom door in hallway). These display areas/bulletin boards

are changed weekly.

K