Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Amelia L. Jennings
For my internship this semester, I observed and assisted in a first grade classroom at
Pasadena Christian School. Each time I came to the classroom for the first two hours of the
school day, in which the students settle in for the day and participate in reading group work
stations, including grammar worksheets and reading, educational applications on iPads and
computers, and activities ranging from crafts to written reflections and experiments. I helped set
up stations, distribute materials, return student work, monitor the classroom, assist students in
focusing during reading times, monitor station work, set up classroom displays, read with
students, grade worksheets, prepare materials, run science experiments, and guide students in
One of the seemingly easier goals I set was to connect with the students, learning their
names and discovering interests or qualities to help connect them with their learning and
activities. Although names are typically a struggle for me, I found that the social aspect of
working with these children, experiencing different personalities and interactions with each,
helped immensely with this part of my memory. As I thought about the adventures of each
morning, I started to connect different aspects of each childs person with their name, but from
the start I had planned to accelerate name recall by interacting with each child using their names
as much as possible. In order to learn about points of interest, I would sometimes ask questions
based on things they mention or imply. Some children make this task easier in their eagerness to
talk about the things they find fun or exciting, or if they just generally desire to have attention
from adults they look up to and so will share any piece of news they can come up with. I learned
how to balance engagement and management in those instances, because often the time a student
wants to share is actually a time for them to be focusing on a learning experience or instruction.
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Another goal I had set was to learn how to grade student work and practice grading. After
I had shared my goals with the classroom teacher, I also highlighted that goal when appropriate.
After she had shown me how to grade a set of worksheets I was able to grade for her a few times
throughout the semester. Although I aimed to learn this skill, I assumed it would be more
complex than my experience grading worksheets as I did when I taught math to some of my
younger brothers. At this level, at least, with worksheets, the process is fairly standard so I was
actually quite familiar with the process and what to look for in student work.
Because of how much I have already learned about the need for continual assessment in
education, I wanted to work on observing student progress and providing feedback to the teacher.
As a station supervisor, I intentionally undertook this effort in an informal way. Mrs. Ryor
specifically asked me to observe how successful or discouraged certain reading groups were
when playing some of the apps on the iPad because of the possible disparity in their level of
reading and math competency and that which the game required. In addition to monitoring that
particular app, I watched for improved methods and results in student efforts when they asked for
extra assistance, complained about difficulty, showed frustration, or otherwise seemed to indicate
room for growth. It is fascinating to see the various different manifestations of this and how
students respond to offers for help differently. Each student has a unique personality, learning
profile, and different daily factors at play in how well they respond to the request for
engagement. Because I got to spend so much time with the students, however, I was able to
understand and assist them increasingly more. Not only did I participate in this informal
assessment of skills, but Mrs. Ryor actually had me work with a few students one on one on an
assessment of student understanding of a certain math concept. As beneficial as group work is, it
does limit how closely the teacher can monitor whether specific students understand a concept,
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of whether they are merely mimicking/copying other students, or even if they are not doing work
out of behavioral issues or actual lack of understanding. So my teacher had me isolate a few
students to eliminate a few of those factors and unearth their actual progress.
It seems that one of the main goals of student internships is for future teachers to see how
current teachers manage their classrooms. Classroom management is so critically important and
evident, but easy to discount when you are reading about classrooms instead of being in them. In
my internship, I aimed to help maintain order by upholding classroom procedures and rules. It
turned out that learning how the teacher manages the classroom was just as much work as
participating in her efforts. As a homeschooled student, I had no concept of how things work, but
since Mrs. Ryor needs first graders to be able to understand the procedures and rules, I was able
to grasp them too. As a station supervisor, I had no choice but to help manage the classroom, so I
did not have to make a special effort to implement this goal. When our class had a substitute
teacher I was able to step up even more in this capacity because, while the students were so
successfully conditioned to do things certain ways and informed the substitute of these
procedures, they conveniently neglected the rules of quiet times. Additionally, as the students got
more familiar with my presence in the classroom, they were less excited and awed into good
behavior. Time also had an effect on their relationships with each other, so that with the passage
of time rose the need for conflict mediation and discussions about when to tell the teacher about
Part of the beauty of a well managed classroom is that when a volunteer such as myself is
in the classroom, delegation runs smoothly. I arrived to the classroom anywhere from half an
hour to ten minutes early in order to debrief with my teacher and prepare for the morning, and
once the students came into the room at the bell, I was ready and able to help with minimal extra
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communication with the teacher. Both she and I were able to be flexible with simple instructions
for times where she wanted additional help on a task, or when I encountered an issue or question.
This was helpful, because in a first grade classroom, there is always something to keep busy
with. Once I knew the procedures for different tasks I could fill spare time and keep efficiency.
Because of how quick those tasks are, I was able to help get quite a few small things
accomplished which Mrs. Ryor and Mrs. Knott did not typically have time for. In general,
however, most of my work consisted of management and leadership tasks. From encouraging
quiet whispers in work groups to motivating students to stay on the apps they are supposed to
stay on, I interacted the most with the children. Many times I had to use different strategies to
keep students interested in the games they had in one case, the student complained of boredom
and said the game was too easy. In order to motivate her, I suggested that she use her time to
investigate for students who struggled more with the app by doing the tasks in different ways and
finding the best methods. Differentiation does not have to be complicated in this case, all she
In EDU 101, we learned that probably the most important aspects of the school day are
who the teacher is and how they handle classroom management. Unfortunately, while we could
watch Harry Wong videos all day, we would never really learn how to do management without
firsthand experience. Without a doubt, this was one of the things I observed the most in the
classroom. As the year progressed, the children got better and recalling and executing the
procedures that were in place (procedures such as packing and unpacking, moving around from
tables and stations, and collecting or distributing materials). I think the order and grace with
which this classroom strives to run speaks to the philosophy of education that Mrs. Ryor and
PCS have. Children are learning more than reading and math, they are learning how to treat each
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other kindly, how to interact with people when they have a complaint or concern, and essentially,
what is of worth. Students are whole persons with potential and worth.
student interest in reading material. Childrens books become classics not only because they are
written well, but because readers love the stories from generation to generation. As I observed
the students library selections and the classroom book collection, I could see a good mix of old
classics and new favorites. Children still love to read the Frog and Toad books because of the
enduring theme of friendship, and Eric Carle books will always hold a certain charm for the
brilliant, creative illustrations, but for some students, the choice is a little different. One of the
particularly difficult to manage children will not typically not sit and read while he waits during
the morning unpacking, but one morning he had a book about a superhero that he could not wait
to open up. This also ties into a principle from the teaching reading class I took this semester. It
is critical to include books of various topics and styles in the library and classroom. The
important thing in developing literacy is for students to read in more quantity of books. That may
mean sacrificing the quality of the content some of the time to allow student-interest led
selections.
Mrs. Ryors classroom is exceptionally differentiated this year, as the children are not
only at a variety of reading levels, but one of her students has ADHD and another has
I have seen and been part of efforts to differentiate curriculum and instruction. Some of the
students need as little as an extra effort to motivate them, and others need more creative
instruction. At first, seeing that the morning station groups were split according to reading level
struck me as remarkably fixed in mindset, but actually, each student is expected and supported to
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reach the desired learning goals. While the lower reading level students may evince lower grades
from time to time, often all they need is a different way or time to work. Parent-teacher
partnership is clearly prioritized in this school, as Mrs. Ryor not only has parent volunteers in the
classroom, but also communicates with parents and families about things they can do to help
their children. One of the lower reading level students, for example, came in with her
grandmother on morning, and as they discussed the reading homework, Mrs. Ryor highlighted
the importance of the students home reading time. Her positivity about the students progress
encouraged her family and I think probably motivated them to continue fostering this healthy
learning practice.
In correlation to this internship, I read Eric Jensens book, Teaching with the Brain in
Mind.1 Some of the brain-based learning approaches this book discussed are already in practice
at PCS. For example, Jensen describes best practices for the brain to learn new information. The
iPad stations keep learning chunked into brief time slots, and reinforce practice of learned skills.
According to research, repetition of less quantity of material helps the brain retain. Brain
research also shows that learners need settling time where they are not getting new information
and their brain can process, sending things to the right storage places. Having recess and moving
breaks helps this. At PCS, recess and snack started at 10, which means that they were only
getting instruction for two hours, then get a break, and get a break again not long after for lunch.
Even just moving from station to station is helpful, as exercise uses more brain mass and gets
blood flowing (the brain gets more oxygen that way). One of the most interesting chapters in the
book dealt with brain states and motivation. Motivation includes both willingness and action,
which means that a positive brain state is part of the battle. In this classroom, there was varied
1 Jensen, Eric. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria: ACSD
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success at making activities interesting, to stimulate curiosity, and relevant, to give students
opportunity to see the value and buy in to learning. Jensen argues that teachers should make
students aware of their brain states and that they can control them themselves. A couple of the
students in this classroom are starting to learn that they can take responsibility and control of
their attitude, and they may be on the road to learning how to more directly work on getting into