week 3: classroom management

Over the past three weeks I have aided a third grade classroom in about six times. All of these times have been great experiences as the kids and I start to get to know each other. I have observed several of my teachers methods he uses to get and keep their attention, keep a positive atmosphere in the classroom and everything else. I really admire my teacher because he is very good with the kids in his class, he knows how to manage eighteen kids at once. There is a child with turrets and child with ADD in this class but my teacher is great in being to work with them and not "baby" them. One way he keeps the class positive and calming, is that he dims the lights and turns on calming but quite music when they have silent reading time. This really seems to keep the kids calm, and they are allowed to sit wherever they want in the classroom at this time, some lay down with bean bags in the back of the classroom and read or some prefer to just sit at their desks. But during this time all the kids stay focused really well, they read for about twenty or thirty minutes and do very well with it. I really think the music and atmosphere allows the kids to really enjoy that reading time. I have also seen how my teacher encourages positive attitudes and good behavior in the class. When the kids do well on something or are behaving better than others they receive a "husky ticket" and my teacher may say something like, "Look how well [suzy] is following instructions." The techniques my supervising teacher use are very effective in his classroom and He really knows how to manage his classroom.

Teachers Philosophy

The teacher I am aiding for has teaching philosophy that I really like and agree with. His philosophy geared toward hands on learning, thinking like a third grader, and his classroom being a positive class rather than negative. He likes to do interactive learning games rather than just worksheets because it gets the children more involved and excited about what they are studying. Also to make the environment calm, he plays soft music and dims the lights when the kids are transitioning or reading. My supervising teacher also believes in being consistent, organized and planned.