Engaged Learning in the Classroom

    The teachers that I did my service learning hours with engaged the students in a variety of ways. One example is when the fourth graders were learning about rocks. Instead of just showing them rocks, the teacher gave each of them a box and characteristics about a certain rock. Then the students would try to guess which one it was. After this she would go more into detail about the rocks and the students would record the notes in their journals. Another way I have seen engaged learning is through reading groups. Instead of the child reading the book on their own, they are assigned to a group and they read and answer questions about the book together. This makes the work seem more fun, since they get to work with some of their friends. The last way I have seen engaged learning was in a Kindergarten classroom. The teacher had games that went along with the math assignment. For example, during Valentine's Day week, she had candy hearts that they had to count and make a graph of how many there were. Also, they had to roll two dice and add them up, then color in that number on their paper. By incorporating games the children don't see it as another daunting subject in school.

     One thing that I witnessed in a classroom that wasn't as engaging was the math lesson. Even though the teacher was helping and doing the work with them, it was still just work out of a book. I think it would have been more engaging had they had a real life example or even something in the classroom that they could work with to solve the problem. Overall the classrooms I was in had very engaging activities and I was able to learn a lot from them.

Engaged Learning can help the children see things in new ways!

Student's Environment at School

     I believe that clear routine in a classroom is very important. One of the teachers that I am service learning with follows the same pattern every day. The students are expected to come into class and do the worksheet that is on their desk. Then they tell what day it is, do the classroom promise, and recite the magic rules of the classroom. Also, they know that they will do centers and they understand what each of the centers is. This produces a productive learning environment because the students know what is expected of them. The teacher doesn't have to waste time explaining every little thing because they already know how and when to do it.
     Teachers need to make sure that their students feel loved and safe. A very specific example is when the school had a lockdown drill today. The teacher explained that she is like their mom if this happens. She will do anything and everything to make them feel as safe as they possibly can. Another example that I witnessed is absent cards. All the cards say the same thing which is along the lines of we missed you and here is what you missed while you were gone. Then the teacher writes the students name on the card and staples it to the missed classroom assignments and homework. I believe that this makes the students feel more loved instead of the teacher just giving them the stack of homework.
     Positive classroom community is super important. One thing I have witnessed is putting kids into groups to do centers. The groups have about 3-4 kids and the teacher switches out what kids are in what group. This allows the students to work on the assignments together. Also, she does VIP. Each week a student is selected and their parent brings in a poster and tells a little more about each kid. This allows the students to understand each others lives outside of school. Another thing that I have noticed is switching out desk partners or groups of desks often so that the students are able to get to know everyone.
 

Positive classroom community can make or break a school year!