Anna Ward

North River ES
Grade 5
9 January 2015
Word count: 1064
EDUC 380: Week One Assignment
My first week in Mrs. Ms fifth grade class has been extremely beneficial for
demonstrating factors involved in creating a positive classroom climate. I was blown away by
the smooth transitions and overall management of the classroom. Observing Mrs. Ms class has
already given me plenty of ideas about ways to manage my classroom. Furthermore, I have
witnessed the use of varied instructional strategies that I have added to my instructional
strategies notebook. Every day I learn something from my teacher, and watch the students enjoy
learning from her as well.
A positive classroom climate is a place in which students feel safe and supported.
Students also work well with one another and care for one another and their teacher does the
same. One of the reasons that Mrs. Ms classroom has a positive environment is because she has
created a sense of community. After making their lunch selections, students join one another on
the carpet. When the majority of the students have made it to the carpet, they greet one another.
They can fist pound or high-five while they say hello to everyone. In the time leading up to
morning announcements, Mrs. M calls on different volunteers to share things with the class.
Students can then ask questions about the story their classmate shared. Mrs. M begins every day
like this; students greet one another and hear about life outside of school. Mrs. M is a part of this
routine, so she has created a community that involves the students and the teacher. Lastly, she
says goodbye to every student and gives them a high five as they leave the classroom. The
students always enter and leave the classroom with Mrs. M acknowledging them!

Mrs. M also frequently uses partner and group work. Sometimes she lets the students pick
their partner, while other times she will draw popsicle sticks to create the pairs. Partner work is
used frequently enough that students know what to expect, pick partners (if necessary) quickly,
find a quiet spot, and begin to work. The students also know that if they have worked with
someone recently, they need to pick a different classmate. It is amazing to me how well the
students regulate themselves and make sure to pick new partners. This helps to create community
because the students all work with one another; no one has the opportunity to be a stranger or an
outcast.
Clear expectations and routine also contribute to the positive climate of Mrs. Ms
classroom. The students always know what they are supposed to be doing. Of course, Mrs. M
will remind them of what they should do if they finish an activity, but for the most part the
students can figure it out on their own. A lot of this is because Mrs. M has kept a consistent
routine and set of expectations for her students. While using a variety of instructional strategies,
she has taught her students how to engage in certain activities appropriately. For example, while
students finish their daily math review, other students go to the carpet to play a math game. This
gives those still working the opportunity to finish, but it also gives the faster students something
to do while they wait for their classmates. One day, the students played hot potato with a bean
bag; a student would have to name the first 5 multiples of a given number before the beanbag got
around the circle and back to where it started. Mrs. M uses a variety of games and activities like
this to keep the kids focused on math and busy.
Aside from an overall positive classroom environment, Mrs. M has created a classroom
climate that encourages student learning. Mrs. M created a math lesson where the students made
fraction candy bars using Unifix cubes. They were practicing making candy bars using

unlike fractions. Before independent practice, the students worked with Mrs. M and one another
to check for understanding. When practicing adding unlike fractions, Mrs. M let the students try
to solve the problems with a partner. Then she would ask a few students who got the answer
correct to share how they solved the problem. It was interesting and exciting to see how many
different ways students found the answer. Walle and Karp (2013) emphasize the importance of
allowing students to share their ideas, take risks, and listen to one another. Mrs. M does this
regularly, and above is just one example of how she allows her students to collaborate.
Mrs. M gives the students a lot of responsibility and ownership over their learning. For
example, she recently had the students working in small groups in social studies. They were
responsible for researching one of the four founding fathers. Then each group had to create a lifesize cut-out of their founding father and cover him in facts. When the students finished, Mrs. M
had the classroom become a museum. The students then had to walk around the museum and
collect 5 facts about each founding father. Mrs. M made sure that the students understood that
they were each getting an individual grade; students would be assessed on their individual
performance and contribution to the group. Mrs. M created student accountability, which is one
of the keys to using cooperative learning (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, & Stone, 2012). This helps to
ensure that every students contributes to the groups work and success.
Observing and working with Mrs. M has provided me with valuable strategies and ideas
to improve the overall climate of my classroom. I hope in the future that I manage my classroom
as efficiently as Mrs. M. She doesnt have to waste time reminding students what they should be
doing. She has consistently made the expectations clear, and students have had plenty of
experience with perfecting their routine. Her classroom management is so efficient that it is
almost difficult to notice she is managing at all! I hope that I can develop a fair and consistent

routine like Mrs. M so that our class can avoid behavior problems like Mrs. Ms. In my future
classroom, I also plan on integrating cooperative learning like Mrs. M. She doesnt just use
group work, she actually has the students work together collaboratively. I want to start every day
with a class greeting and meeting to make my students feel welcomed and to build a sense of
community.

References
Dean, C., Hubbell, E., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Cooperative Learning. In Classroom
instruction that works research-based strategies for increasing student achievement (2nd
ed.). Alexandria, Va.: ASCD.
Walle, J., & Karp, K. (2013). Exploring what it means to know and do mathematics. In
Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally. (8th ed.). Boston:
Pearson.