What
For this performance task, I created a seating chart used in my internship classroom. This semester I am in a Kindergarten class. The teacher has three students at each table. The tables are in a “U” shape facing the front of the classroom. All the tables contain a name tag and the students’ pencil boxes. When making my seating chart of the classroom, I was able to use the name tags to help get to know the students on my first day in the classroom. This was very helpful to me because it helped me put a name to each face in the classroom. Throughout the day, I observed the students while they did their work and interacted with each other. I also collected the students’ birthdays. This allowed to me see who in the class was the oldest and who was the youngest. I could also tell, by the birthdays, if any of the students had been retained. I found out that one student in the class was retained last year. I also collected each student’s personal and academic data. I found out that one child is Vietnamese and was born in New York. Another child, in the classroom, is Indian and uses it as a reason when she does not understand a word.
Having to complete the seating chart made me really think about the card game we played in class. I never realized how hard it was to create a seating chart and how as a teacher it becomes a lot of trial and error. According to Levin and Nolan, “No matter what basic seating arrangement is used, it should be flexible enough to accommodate and facilitate the various learning activities that occur in the classroom (p. 153)”. I feel that the way in which the classroom is set up and the way the students are arranged in the classroom, it is easy for all students to participate in classroom activities whether it be working independently or working in small groups.
So What
By doing this performance task, I learned why seating charts are important. In Kindergarten, it is really hard for a teacher, at the beginning of the year, to determine what students will work well with each other and what students will need to be kept apart. This is something that teachers are learning every day. Since I have been in my internship classroom, the teacher has moved two students because either they were too talkative with the others at their tables or the parents had made the request to have them moved away for another student. This experience also helped me learn the names of the students faster than normal. By collecting information about the students, I learned more about each student. This will help me in the future when writing lesson plans.
Now What
This activity has shown me a little about what it will be like when I become a classroom teacher. I know that at the beginning of the school year, I am not going to know what students will work well with others. I also know that the first month of school, I will be changing my seating chart until I feel that all the students will work well with the group they are in. In my future classroom, I want the students to sit in groups and work with other students throughout the day. This experience has helped me understand what teachers go through every year when it comes to creating a seating chart. In my future classroom, I plan on taking what the parents tell me about their students at open house to help plan my seating chart.
This blog represents FEAPs:
For this performance task, I created a seating chart used in my internship classroom. This semester I am in a Kindergarten class. The teacher has three students at each table. The tables are in a “U” shape facing the front of the classroom. All the tables contain a name tag and the students’ pencil boxes. When making my seating chart of the classroom, I was able to use the name tags to help get to know the students on my first day in the classroom. This was very helpful to me because it helped me put a name to each face in the classroom. Throughout the day, I observed the students while they did their work and interacted with each other. I also collected the students’ birthdays. This allowed to me see who in the class was the oldest and who was the youngest. I could also tell, by the birthdays, if any of the students had been retained. I found out that one student in the class was retained last year. I also collected each student’s personal and academic data. I found out that one child is Vietnamese and was born in New York. Another child, in the classroom, is Indian and uses it as a reason when she does not understand a word.
Having to complete the seating chart made me really think about the card game we played in class. I never realized how hard it was to create a seating chart and how as a teacher it becomes a lot of trial and error. According to Levin and Nolan, “No matter what basic seating arrangement is used, it should be flexible enough to accommodate and facilitate the various learning activities that occur in the classroom (p. 153)”. I feel that the way in which the classroom is set up and the way the students are arranged in the classroom, it is easy for all students to participate in classroom activities whether it be working independently or working in small groups.
So What
By doing this performance task, I learned why seating charts are important. In Kindergarten, it is really hard for a teacher, at the beginning of the year, to determine what students will work well with each other and what students will need to be kept apart. This is something that teachers are learning every day. Since I have been in my internship classroom, the teacher has moved two students because either they were too talkative with the others at their tables or the parents had made the request to have them moved away for another student. This experience also helped me learn the names of the students faster than normal. By collecting information about the students, I learned more about each student. This will help me in the future when writing lesson plans.
Now What
This activity has shown me a little about what it will be like when I become a classroom teacher. I know that at the beginning of the school year, I am not going to know what students will work well with others. I also know that the first month of school, I will be changing my seating chart until I feel that all the students will work well with the group they are in. In my future classroom, I want the students to sit in groups and work with other students throughout the day. This experience has helped me understand what teachers go through every year when it comes to creating a seating chart. In my future classroom, I plan on taking what the parents tell me about their students at open house to help plan my seating chart.
This blog represents FEAPs:
- 2a (organizes, allocates and manages the resource of time, space and attention)
- 2h (Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students)