Contextual Factors

Physical Features
At Merrywood the first grade classroom is bigger than most. There is tile on the floor and the teacher has
carpet rug at the front of the class in front of the smart board. The room is both wide and long and has 20
student desks in it. The desks are organized into 5 squares that each has 4 desks to a square. The students
have hooks on a back wall where they hang their backpacks and coats. Something interesting is that the
classroom has a restroom in it, along with a sink and a water fountain. The teacher does not have a desk,
she uses a horseshoe type table. The table is used as her area, the guided reading table, for writing
workshop along with other small group or testing activities. There is enough room in the class for a book
center, a letter writing center and a round table with 4 chairs. There is room in the classroom for students
to be able to get up and walk around and still be comfortable. There are books on high shelves and in
cubbies; the books on the shelves are hard to reach. The teacher keeps the room clean and very organized.

Availability of Technology
Compared to other schools there is quite a bit of technology for both the teacher and the students. The
teacher has her own laptop which is connected to the Smart board and is for her use only. The teacher also
has a google chrome for her use only as well. There are 5 computers located in the back of the room. The
students use the computers for educational activates only such as: Dream box, Fast Math and other
websites. There is also a class IPad, which stays close to where the teacher is, and is located next to her
laptop. If needed the teacher is able to check out IPads for the entire class to use. The Smart board is
another source of technology the classroom has a whiteboard, but it is used to place the class routine on it.
The Smart board is also used to write on while teaching a lesson, or watching educational videos.

Equipment
As far as the equipment in the class, there is a lot of it. The Smart board is what is being used the most.
There are plenty of books, papers, and math manipulatives in the class that the children have access to.
They have permission to read the books that are in the reading corner and others that are on their reading
levels. They can do this when they have free time in the class or after work has been completed. The
students have to do reading workshop, so they do not have one particular reading book. They receive one
book from the teacher at a time that is on their reading level. They also use My Math workbooks and
textbook as one text.

Learning Environment
While in the class I noticed that they children have a lot of freedom. With the reading and writing
workshop being such a big thing in the school; the teacher does a lot of small group teaching. During the
time when she is with other groups, the other students have something else in relations to the topic at
hand to work on. After they have finished their class work, they are able to go to what they call centers.
The centers in the class are the computer center, classroom games and scavenger hunts, a reading center, a
letter writing center, etc. They know their routine and they know the rules of the classroom. When giving
out assignments the teacher brings all the students to the carpet so that they can know what is expected.
During the time the students are in the centers they work independently and seem to be very engaged in

free time. At times it could be a little disturbing to the students that are doing their work. Overall the
classroom in calm and there is little to no disruptions that take place.

Resources
In the class outside of the math text book there is not any other text books that are used. In the class there
are calendars, number lines, the alphabet line, and a word wall. All around the room there are posters that
help students with how to tell a story, how to say and spell words, and other KWL charts that will
improve student knowledge. There is a math word wall, and touch math charts as well. These charts are
used as tools for the students to use if the teacher is not able to help them.

Parent Involvement
The parents help as needed. They are aware of what goes on in the classroom because she sends
homework charts home and it requires a signature. They often communicate through letters and notes.
Some parents are more involved in the class than others, but that is to be expected. There are also two
volunteers that come into the classroom two days out of the week. They often help the lower students in
areas they need help in. The volunteers also help with the busy work that the teacher normally has, such
as: tearing out homework paper, making copies etc.

Classroom Rules and Routines

The classroom rules are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Follow directions quickly

Raise your hand to talk
Use helpful hands and words
Use inside voices
Make smart choices
Keep your dear teacher happy

The class routine:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Place homework folder in basket

Put materials up
Pick a lunch choice
Eat breakfast
Do morning work/ pledge / moment of silence
Come to carpet for morning procedures
Shared reading/ reading workshop
Guided reading
Related arts at 10:00
Lunch
Read aloud
Writing workshop
Social Studies/ science
Recess
Math
Read aloud/dismissal

Grouping patterns
All of the groups in the class are based on reading and math levels. In the classroom the students must be
seated next to another student with the same reading level as them. The can be paired with another group
that is not on the same level as them. This way they are more likely to have someone to connect with and
challenge them at the same time. On the carpet for turn and talk time as well, the students must sit next to
someone that is on the same level as them. The 5 groups of desks are given a number 1-5 with the number
1 table starting in the back of the room. As far as the guided reading groups, the teacher picks those as
well and she tries to be sure that the groups are even and that all the students in that group are on the same
level. She does this by color and this way each students will know if they are a part of the greed, red
orange, and purple group. The groups are also chosen based on test scores from a variety of test.

Scheduling
The scheduling is based on both the teacher and the school. The first grade teachers all teach the same
things, but they do not have to teach them at the same time. The schedule can be changed to fit certain
days in the school. For example teachers have to make adjustments for special testing days. The first
grades all go to special areas at the same time and are the first to go to lunch. The times for lunch differ in
about 5 minutes.

Classroom Arrangement
The 20 desk that are in the room are arranged in to 5 squares. All of the students are able to see the Smart
board. In front of the Smart board, there is a large rug with 4 color rows. The backpacks and jackets are
on hooks out of the way, and they are to table in the room one is in the back corner and it is round and the
other one is more for the teacher and it is horseshoe shaped. There are a lot of shelves and cubbies
throughout the room. In the left back corner of the room there is a reading center with inflatable chairs
and books. The wall is full of resources that the students can use. The computers in the class are located
on the wall to the right.

Student Characteristics and Demographics

There are 19 children in the 2nd grade classroom at Merrywood. There are 10 boys and 9 girls. The ages of
the girls are 4 are six and 5 of the girls are 7 of the boys there are 6 seven year old and there are 4 that are
seven years old. The diversity split for the girls are as follows: 3 African- American, 2 White and 1 other.
The diversity split for the boys are as follows; 4 African-American, 1 Latino, and 4 White. There is 1 boy
with IEP and 1 boy that its ESOL. There are 8 students that are Tier 2. Tier 2 is when a student does not
have and IEP, but they do have special situations going on.
First Grade Class Merrywood School
Fall 2014

Age

Description
Nos. of children

Female
9

Male
11

Total
20

Six years old

Seven years old

4
5

6
5

10
10

Race/ethnicity

AfricanAmerican
White
Latino
Other

5
1

11
1
1

2
6

2
8

Special needs/IEP
Tier 2

Interest Chart
There is not an interest chart for students in the class. The students often do have the time to write stories
during the writing workshop on things that they find interest in. During the writing workshop time the
students are to follow the assignment given before writing workshop starts. This will help in developing
their writing. The teacher does writing conferences during this time, to see what the students may need
extra help in. This way later on the teacher can help improve the students writing.

Learning styles/modalities
The learning styles in the classroom vary. Most of the students learn best in situations where there are
small groups. The students need a lot of one on one time for the best understanding of the content that is
being taught. The students who also learn best they are doing something creative. If they have something
to make or an action to do with the lesson, the students learn best.

Testing and Skill Levels

The students test scores and skill levels are tested by running records and Map testing scores. The Map
testing is in both reading and in math. The running records are allows the teachers to see what level of
reading the students should be on. In the first grade by the end of the first nine weeks, the level that
students should be on is a level 6. A 1 or 2 is low, a 3 or 4 is on level and a 5 or 6 is considered to be high.
If the scores below are the Map testing scores in both reading and math and running records scores.
The second chart shows the test scores from Map testing and running records for the end of the second
nine weeks. The student at this point are required to be on a level 12, by the end of the year and should be
at least on a level 10 or close to now. There are 6 students that are low, 10 that are on level, and 4 that are
above level. Three student were taken off of tier 2 and 6 students have the possibility of being retained
Skill Levels of First Grade Class at Merrywood School
(Based on Map scores and Running Records)
Fall 2014
Student
Numbers

Map Testing
Reading

Map Testing
Math

Running
Records
Levels

IEP or Tier 2

High, Low,
On Level
Readers

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

152
150
168
177
169
157
160
156
141
157
178
140
173
163
162
169
164
156
146

149
154
159
176
169
171
158
161
134
161
183
145
175
158
174
163
172
157
No Score

2
2
6
14
6
3
6
4
2
2
6
2
2
3
3
10
6
2
6

Tier 2
Tier 2

IEP
IEP
Tier 2
Tier 2
Tier 2

Tier 2
Tier 2

Low
Low
High
High
High
On Level
High
On Level
Low
Low
High
Low
Low
On Level
On Level
High
High
Low
High

Skill Levels of First Grade Class at Merrywood School

(Based on Map scores and Running Records)
Winter 2014
Student
Numbers

Map Testing
Reading

Map Testing
Math

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

147
162
180
183
175
160
168
156
147
154
177
144
174
160
170
181
169

153
163
173
190
177
165
177
165
152
173
193
148
181
172
181
175
178

Running
Records
Levels
4
10
10
34
10
3
10
10
2
6
10
3
12
10
10
28
12

IEP or Tier 2

Tier 2

IEP
IEP
Tier 2
Tier 2
Tier 2

High, Low,
On Level
Readers
Low
On Level
On Level
High
On Level
Low
On Level
On Level
Low
Low
On Level
Low
High
On Level
On Level
High
High

18
19
20

165
154
-

164
160
-

10
10
4

On Level
On Level
Low

Instructional Implications
a. The students learn best when n a small group situation. They learn best this way, because it is
what they are used to, and can receive more one on one time. So it will be important that I make
time for small groups for certain lesson. The one-on-one time seems to help the students perform
better. I will have to plan so that during small group time other students will have something to do
that while their group is not being called. The students will have to be engaged so the activity
needs to be soothing that uses their creative side. This will keep their interest and I will be able to
get more done in the small group sessions.
b. The ESOL student and the student(s) that are on Tier 2 will be placed in a group together. This
will help because those students are on or close to the same level. The small groups will be on
basic skills on what we may be learning at that time. The students that are on the same level will
be all placed in the same group.
The student with the IEP of Speech has to work one on one. He is very shy and will not speak on
a group because he is afraid of being wrong. So the one on one time will be best because he will
only have to talk to be. The test are going to be on paper so therefore he wont have to speak
aloud.
c. I will have to modify the way I give my test. Many of the students are on low reading levels and
do not understand the directions. I will have to read the test aloud to the student beforehand. The
students that are on the same level sit at the same table. I will have to go to the table with the low
students and spend more time coaching them during the test. Other than that not modification will
have to be made for students with special needs.

School and Community factors

Merrywood Elementary School has 542 students enrolled and 34 teachers. The theme of the
school is Hollywood. In the years 2012 and 2012 they received a silver award in general performance.
The school is a supporter of the Lucy Calkins reading and writing workshops. The style of teaching is
mainly small group instruction. The school is improving in most areas, but they are also struggling in
others.
Since I have been at Merrywood Elementary School I have seen some community involvement.
There are various fundraisers that have taken place. The school works with the community McDonalds,
and booster-thon run fundraiser. The YMCA is a major part of the school after school programming, and
the school also offer transportation to and from doctors, and dentist appointments that are assigned
thorough the school with parents permission.