Running head: MANAGEMENT AND ROUTINES

Education Field Experience: Classroom management and Routines Observation

Samantha Hess
Raritan Valley Community College
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I. Observation 3:
Classroom management and routines

II. Grade Level and Subject Area:

2nd grade

III. Setting:
Rural private school, the elementary building. 1 head teacher, 7 students.

IV. Pre-Observation:
As you learn about children and what they need to be successful in their
education, a huge part of that is routine. Throughout my education classes that
I have taken at Raritan Valley Community College, I have learned that
children need routine. They want to know what is coming next. It helps them
transition easier by knowing what to expect. Along with routine comes
classroom management. This includes how the teacher handles the students
throughout the day. The teacher is the student guide. From working in a
preschool, I have learned that misbehavior needs to be dealt with in an
appropriate way. There is a way to talk to the students about how they act,
without lowering self-esteem. I know personally that sometimes it can be very
difficult to handle certain behavior or conflicts. It takes a certain kind of
person to be able to handle these situations appropriately.

V. Data:
Right when you walk into the classroom, there is a poster of the class’s
weekly schedule on the wall. It breaks down what subjects they will be
learning at what time. The students start their day at eight o’clock. As they
come into the classroom, they put their belongings into their cubbies and go to
their seats. While they wait for their classmates to arrive, they know to either
read independently, or work on assignments they did not finish from earlier in
the week. Once everyone has arrived, they meet at the carpet and go over their
schedule for the morning.

They work on Language Arts first. They have a “work time” board where the
teacher writes down and goes over what they need to work on for the
morning. Their work time board the last time I went was:
Work Time:
 Spelling practice <5
 Poem <10
 Independent reading 10-15
 Timeline for legend
 Write legend
 Language arts choice
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Next to each activity they put a time on how long that assignment should take.
They discuss and decide on times as a class. The teacher uses math symbols
such as less/more than next to the time to reinforce those symbols. Each
student has a timer that they use individually to time their assignments. This
lets them manage their own time for their work. They can choose the order of
what they want to work on, as long as they work on everything at some point.
If they choose to work on their poem first, they set their timer to 10 minutes.
Sometimes they will finish their work before the timer. Other times, the timer
goes off, they finish up their last thought and move on to the next assignment.

Everyday from 10 to 10:30 the students go outside for recess. When they
come back to class after recess, the teacher has a read aloud time. The students
can get a snack from their lunchboxes and they sit at their desks and eat while
the teacher reads a chapter from a chapter book that they have been reading.
While I was there, they were currently reading “My Side of the Mountain” by
Jean Craighead George. Most of the students were not done with their snack
when the teacher finished the chapter, so he decided to read another one that
way they had more time to finish their food.

After their read aloud time, they move onto math. They start off by doing
“rocket math”. Rocket math is a double-sided paper with quick addition
problems on one side, and the other side has the answers. They get with a
partner and hold up the paper. They need to answer the problems as fast as
they can, while their partner looks at the back to check their answers as they
go. If they get a question wrong, they must quickly repeat the problem with
the correct answer three times before moving on. They have one minute to
work on this, then they switch with their partner. Each student has their own
chart where they keep track of how many problems they were able to
complete in a minute each time they do rocket math. After this math
challenge, they moved to the carpet where the teacher taught a lesson about
three dimensional shapes. They went over what the shapes were called. He
taught them about faces and angles and was emphasizing these throughout the
lesson. The teacher led into what their math homework would be for the week.
Then he sent them to their desks to work on their math packets. He gave them
a choice for when they finished their packets. They could either work on a fun
shape sheet or work with patterned blocks.

Once every student finished up their math work, they moved onto science
around twelve o’clock. They have been learning about light, and the teacher
was introducing the students to Sir Isaac Newton. The teacher asked the
students what they know about rainbows. Then they read the book “Skyfire”,
which he explained doesn’t have scientific information about rainbows, it’s
just a silly story. After the book, he explained why we see rainbows. Then he
gave each student a prism and had them go into the hall and put it in the
sunlight. It shined a rainbow onto the floor. He related this back to his
explanation about rainbows. By that time, it was time for lunch. The class
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always follows the schedule. The schedule can be flexible if they need extra
time to work on something.

Throughout their lessons, I have observed the teacher praising good behavior.
If a student is sitting quietly and paying attention, he compliments them. Then
the other students follow that certain student. The teacher models what he
expects from his students. The teacher always speaks to his students in a soft
yet confident tone. The students usually follow his lead and speak in a lower
voice. The cooperating teachers guidance has always been consistent
throughout my time observing. When the students are on the carpet, they get
very antsy. The teacher ignores it for a little while, then acknowledges what is
happening if it continues. When they were on the back carpet reading, one of
the students asked a question about the book the teacher read them. While one
student was asking the question, a few other kids were talking and laughing.
The teacher asked the talking students what that other students’ question was.
When they all said they did not know, he told them that is why they need to be
listening and that they could miss out on valuable information. Whenever
students are involved in issues with one another, the teacher tries to let them
resolve it themselves first, then gets involved if necessary. While the students
were on the carpet listening to the teacher read a story, two boys began
fighting over who gets to sit in one of the chairs on the back carpet. The
teacher told the boys that it is something that the two bots will need to work
together to solve, because it is unfair that one of those boys sits in that chair
every time and does not let anyone else have a turn. One boy said, “I will get
it all the time and “L” never gets it.” The teacher said, “if that is your solution
then you won’t like my solution because you won’t use it.” Then he told the
boys they will solve this issue together later because it was taking time away
from the rest of the student’s science time. The class does not have a reward
system for good behavior. It is expected in the class that the students respect
themselves, others, their classroom and their teacher.

VI. Analysis:
The class has a great routine set up for the students. Their schedule is hung up
on the wall right when you walk into the classroom. It is available for anyone
to look at. The students are so used to their routine that they can easily
transition from one subject to the next. A routine is so important for children,
cognitively and emotionally. Kids feel most comfortable when they have
established a routine (Stropes, 2018). The teacher works with the students to
make the schedule more flexible if needed.

My cooperating teacher is an excellent role model for these children. He

models the behavior he expects from his students, and they give him that
behavior and respect in return. He has appropriate expectations from his
students, and he continuously guides them towards this. He recognizes good
behavior and redirects bad behavior. As I observed, he facilitates problem
solving skills. The teacher does not get involved unless he needs to (Virtual
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Lab School, n.d.). He tries to get the students to work out their issues, while
directing them if necessary. He helps them come up with solutions and try
them out. The class gives their teacher the respect that he gives to them
(Virtual Lab School, n.d.). The class works cohesively, including the teacher.
They work together as a unit.

VII. Recommendations:
After a while, students start to lose interest if they are listening to the teacher
talk for too long or sitting on the carper for too long. Sometimes they can get
out of control and the teacher does not really say anything. I know you do not
want to pick on the students every time they say a word or bounce around on
the carpet, but sometimes it gets out of hand and it gets very distracting to
other students and he lets it go. The teacher must model effective discipline
that way the students know what will happen if they start to act up. Sometimes
the teacher needs to get a little firmer and make that comment for that student
to pay attention or sit back down on the carpet or else there will be
consequences (Mason, n.d.). This is the only recommendation I have, as what
I observed has been a great model of a well-oiled classroom.

VIII. Post-observation:
Overall, the class has a great daily routine. The students are used to it, which
makes them feel comfortable. This is a big step in giving students the ability
to learn. If they do not feel secure, they can never learn (Stropes, 2018). I
enjoy watching this classroom work together as a whole. It amazes me that in
second grade, these students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to
solve their own problems mostly without teacher involvement. They act like
young adults. The teacher always facilitates any issues in case they need a
mediator to listen and help come up with solutions. The teacher really invests
his time into his students, and it is really refreshing to see.

IX. Citations:
Mason, S. K. (n.d.). Second Grade Discipline Plan. Retrieved March 19,
2019, from https://shannonkelly08.weebly.com/second-grade-discipline-
plan.html

Stropes, A. (2018, July 23). Back to School: Importance of Structure and

Routine for Healthy Child Development. Retrieved March 19, 2019, from
https://www.familiesfirstindiana.org/back-to-school-importance-of-structure-
and-routine-for-healthy-child-development

Virtual Lab School. (n.d.). Guidance: Preschool Children.

Retrieved March 19, 2019, from
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool/guidance/lesson-2
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X. Appendix: