What I Found

What I Tried

Results and
Reflections

Prerequisites:
Students are extra talkative and
restless when it is nearing
lunchtime and towards the end
of the day. This can be
frustrating because they are
easily distracted and not
focused when tasks need to be
accomplished.

I created Brain Break popsicle

sticks that have a variety of
short activities such as jumping
jacks, 30 sec. dance party,
Macarena, etc. that the TA for
the day pulls out of a can. This
way, the kids have a little break
and can get some of their
energy out of their system.

Since we have been

having these brain
breaks, students
havent been as
disruptive during class
time. They also enjoy
the activities and are
more focused.

To go along with the Science

lessons of the week, which were
regarding the Solar System, I
created and taught a STEM
lesson that had students use
toilet paper to measure each
planets distance from the sun.
Students were required to use
the math skills they had just
learned to figure out how many
pieces of toilet paper they
would need to properly
represent each distance. We
then discussed the planets
orbits around the sun, as well as
night/day and seasons.
While I am teaching, many
students have their own side
conversations, talk over me, call
out, interupt each other when
answering questions, etc. So,
Ive started counting backwards
from 5. When I get to number 1,
I make all of the students that
are still talking move their clip
to yellow. If the talking
continues and I have to start
counting again, they move their
clips to red. If they reach red,
they get a note home to their
parents.

I was able to
incorporate MSA Math,
regular Math and
Science into one
lesson. Students were
able to properly
complete their math
work in order to find
the correct distances
for their given planet.
They seemed to enjoy
the activity, were very
engaged, and judging
by their work, they
really grasped the
topic.
So far, this strategy
has been effective. I
havent had to make
any students move
their clips to red, yet. I
also havent had to
count backwards
nearly as much. They
seem to be doing a lot
better at listening and
refraining from talking
to one another.

When this particular student is

called on to answer questions, I
first tell him that though I know
his stories are important and
interesting, its important to
simply answer the question to
keep class moving. I also have
spoken with him one-on-one

So far, this particular

student has done a lot
better when
answering questions.
Now, when answering
a question, if he wants
to tell a story, he will
ask if he can do so. He

2/26/13 Implemented
throughout internship
Prerequisites:
Research shows that by
incorporating STEM lessons into
the curriculum, students are
able to think critically and with
versatility. Allegany County
requires all teachers to create
and implement one STEM lesson
every nine weeks.
2/1/13

Interventions:
Mt. Savage Elementary School is
a PBIS school. Therefore, the
school systems goal is to create
a safer and more effective
environment for the students. In
my classroom, we use a
red/yellow/green
chart,
and
students move their clips when
they misbehave, do not turn in
homework, etc. This works to an
extent, but it still does not
prevent students from speaking
out, talking over the teacher,
interrupting others, etc.
2/13/13
Interventions:
When answering questions, one
student has a continuous habit
of always telling a story to go
along with his answer to the
question. His stories sometimes
sound made up, are
occasionally relevant and full of

Documentation

Resource:/
http://stemmagazine.com/
PDF%20version
%20August%202012.pdf

Resource:
http://www.pbismary
land.org/LeadershipF
orum2008/WhatisPBI
S.pdf

good information that relates to

the topic, but mostly, just end of
wasting a lot of class time.
2/15/13
Organizational Strategies:
After the students leave at the
end of the day, the classroom is
a complete mess. This not only
makes more work the janitor,
but also shows me that the
students do not respect their
surroundings.
2/4/13

Organizational Strategies:
All of the children like one
another and get along very well.
While this class has an excellent
dynamic, they tend to be very
talkative. It doesnt matter
whom they are sitting near;
they will talk.

and have agreed to allow him to

tell one or two stories a day.

Before the students are allowed

to go to their lockers, they must
check their area and pick up
one to three items off of the
floor and then throw those
things away.

I rearranged the desks by

placing a girl in between two
boys, or vice versa. I also allow
them to have one minute in
between each subject change to
talk.

2/13/13

Procedures:
The students place their work
that needs to be graded in bins
that are labeled for each
subject. While checking papers,
I found it very easy to get the
different work for the various
subjects mixed up, misplaced,
and unorganized.

I got five different folders and

labeled them Math, Science,
Reading, Spelling, and
Language Arts. After I finish
grading the papers, I place them
in the correct folder.

also stays on task

more. I think that this
is because he isnt
always trying to think
of a story to tell.
Students have gotten
into the habit of
checking their areas
as soon as we put
assignment books
away. Theyve gotten
really good, almost
competitive, about
keeping their space
clean. They also have
shown some
improvement in
making sure to keep
pencils/trash/etc. off
of the floor around
them.
This strategy has
helped the noise in
the classroom a little
bit. While it has not
fully quieted the
students down, I have
noticed that they are
not as likely to be
talking to each other
during and in between
classes. However, I
feel that this has
caused them to get
out of their seats more
often and yell across
the room to their
friends.
Since Ive been using
these folders, Ive
been able to stay a lot
more organized. Im
not misplacing graded
papers and am
promptly getting the
papers back to the
students.

Implemented throughout
internship
Procedures:
Ive discovered that I waste a lot
of time passing out and
collecting papers. It really does

Instead of passing out the

papers myself, I have started
splitting the stack of papers in
two. The TA and his/her chosen

So far, this strategy

has tremendously
helped increase the
amount of time I

take up a few minutes out of

instruction time and decreases
the amount of things I can get
done with the students.
Implemented throughout
internship
Correlates:
Students are involved in
Reading Counts, which is a
school-wide reading program.
When students acquire
accelerated reader points,
theyre allowed to go to the
reading store and use their
points to receive various items.
Ive found that while many
students utilize this opportunity,
even more students do not.
Implemented throughout
internship
Correlates:
There are a few students in my
class who are extremely hard on
themselves and stress
themselves out whenever they
do not do well on something, do
not understanding a concept, or
are falling behind in their work.
They also are constantly trying
to keep up with the accelerated
students in the class. As a
result, they become extremely
frustrated and tend to easily
give up.
Implemented throughout
internship

Teaching:
When I am trying to help
another student, I have noticed
that students will yell for me
continuously until I answer
them, look up, etc.

helper are given the stacks of

papers and then pass the
worksheets out to each person
on the end of the row. Those
people then pass their papers
down their row until each
person has what they need.
Ive developed a reading
incentive program within my
classroom. This program is
baseball themed; there are two
teams of nine and requires
students to have a certain
amount of points to advance to
the bases. Every time they
score x amount of points, they
get a prize. When they score a
homerun, they earn points for
their team.
To help these students to
understand that it is all right to
not know, but it isnt ok to give
up, Ive made a sign that says:
Its ok to not know, but it is not
ok to give up. Ive hung right
above the door in the
classroom. I make more of an
effort to break problems down
more thoroughly and praise
students for their hard work and
good efforts. Also, in small
groups, I utilize the one-on-one
instruction time and use
modeling to help them break
down problems and work
through their difficulties. Ive
also talked to them about how it
is ok if they cant do a math
problem in their head and need
to draw a picture, write it out,
think aloud, etc. because
everyone thinks differently,
which is cool because then you
get to see different ways to
solve problems.
Before independent work
begins, Ive started reminding
students to raise their hand and
try to patiently wait until I am
able to answer their questions.

spend teaching versus

the amount of time I
spend passing out
papers. By handing
the papers out to the
people on the end of
the rows, the TA and
the helper also do not
miss instruction time.
Im pleased to say
that all of the students
in my classroom are
eager to read now.
When they have free
time and are not
working on homework,
they are quiet and
reading. This has also
helped decrease
talking and noise
within the classroom.
Since Ive hung the
sign in the classroom,
broken problems down
more, given more
praise, and talked to
the students about
writing out their
thought processes in
order to come to an
answer or conclusion,
the students seem to
definitely be more
positive and are more
confident in
themselves. They
arent trying to
compete with each
other as much and are
focusing more on their
own work. Ive seen a
great improvement in
a lot of their work and
attitudes.

Many of the students

are more willing to
wait until I am ready
to help them. Some
still arent grasping
this idea and continue

3/27/13
Teaching:
When students have finished
working, they become talkative
and restless. Theyre supposed
to be reading or working on
homework, but they more than
likely are talking amongst each
other and being rude to others
who are trying to finish their
work.
3/1/13

Ive been allowing them to go to

the bathroom, take reading
counts tests, file papers, and do
other small classroom chores as
another option instead of just
reading or working on
homework.

to call for me
regularly.
By giving students
more options to move
and around, they are
occupied and quietly
completing other
tasks. They arent as
near as disruptive as
they previously were
being. This has helped
with students going to
the restroom during
class time. Theyre
also more willing to
complete work and
seem to be more on
task.