Mrs.

Dickersons 3
Grade Class

rd

The teacher I was assigned to this semester was Mrs. Dickerson. She is a
third grade teacher. Ms. Dickerson classroom is located in the back of the school
across from the library. Upon leaving the main office you make a right, then a quick
left and continue all the way down until you have reached the third grade wing.
Then, you would make a left and go all around the building and enter the first door
on the right. Her name is displayed outside the door. Mrs. Dickerson has a total of
twenty three students in the classroom. There are thirteen males and ten females.
Out of the 23 students, 21 of them are African American, 1 Caucasian and 1
Hispanic. My first day there I instantly noticed how put up and neat the entire class
was. The classroom is a fairly small yet very inviting. There was student work and
the classroom rules displayed on the bulletin boards. Materials such as the smart
board are located at the front of the classroom. There was also a word walls located
on three of the walls of the classroom. Ms. Dickersons storage area and classroom
bookshelf is located at the back of the classroom and behind her desk. The
materials on the work station there is a lab top, projector, and in front of the entire
class is a smart board. The classroom television is located in the front left corner of
the classroom. The students desks are formed in different groups, in two large U
shape forms, during classroom instruction, and each student has a storage area
under their desk to keep their books and belongings. There is a bathroom in which
there is a sink and sanitize area located within the room, and there is a guided
reading area for the students, who the teacher feels needs extra help with her. The

classroom even has a computer area for students, where they can do certain tasks
for class. There are three computers to the far left of the classroom. As soon as you
walk in the room you begin to feel very comfortable due to its homely feel. There is
one big book bag rack in the room, one on each side; one being for the males and
the other of education. This is where students spend the majority of their day and
time at school. Teachers must ensure that the classroom is an effective learning
environment. Ms. Dickerson has arranged her classroom in a way that is inviting and
student centered. The small classroom size gives the room a more cozy and family
like atmosphere. The teacher keeps the manipulatives in clear labeled bins on
shelves in the classroom. Most are separated into baggies for individual student use
to save time. When manipulatives are needed for certain lessons or activities, she
allows the students to pass them out. They are not stored in student desks. Her
math manipulatives and materials include rulers (metric and universal), tape
measures, capacity containers, measuring cups, scales, protractors, pattern blocks,
calculators, various colored counters, geometric shapes planes, geometric shapes
solids, decks of cards, various types of dice, fraction bars, geo boards, math games,
manipulatives for the overhead projector, fraction strips, connecting blocks, math
calendar with monthly pieces, graph paper, spinners, bingo games (addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division), whiteboards and markers, math journals,
clocks, base ten blocks/mats and units, scissors, teaching posters, and much more.
There are enough of most math tools and manipulative items for students to have
their own.