Today was my first full day in Ms. McCredie’s grade 5/6 split class. It was so fantastic to finally be able to observe a class for the whole day and begin to understand many of the inner workings of the classroom.
Today my main focus of observation was on 4 key things:
1. Control Cues
2, Praise Statements
3. Management Strategies and Routines
4. Community Building and Class Environment Strategies
The control cue that is most commonly and effectively used within the class is the ‘gimmi-5’ method in which Ms. McCredie says gimmi-5, and puts up her hand while waiting for all students to also put up their hands, stop talking, and pay attention. This control cue is very effective in this class, and works quickly almost every time that it is used. I was also able to use this control technique with the class a couple of times throughout the day and also personally found it very effective.
The praise statements that I noticed today within the class were many. Firstly, Ms. McCredie is very complimentary towards students who actively listen, participate, and work hard. Additionally, there is a larger chart in the room that ranges from the positive: ‘outstanding job’ all the way to the negative: ‘call home to parents’. Every student in the class has their own individual close-peg in the middle of this chart, and their behaviour and efforts throughout the day controls which direction their close-peg travels. I love the way Ms. McCredie uses this chart to praise students, but also to remind to students when they begin going off-track in the classroom. It is great visual reminder for students. One way that Ms. McCredie praises the class as a whole is through a bucket of marbles at the front of the class. When the class impresses her, she adds marbles to the bucket. Eventually once the bucket is full, the students can then vote on a fun activity or a party as their reward. I think this is a great idea for a class-motivator! Finally, at the end of the day Ms. McCredie sought out a student (who often is distracted in class, but who had today done a great job focussing and completing work) and wrote a kind message in his planner for him to show his parents. I thought this was a really great way to personalize praise in a more unconventional way. I will definitely use many of these ‘praise techniques’ one day in my own classroom.
The management strategy/routine that is most prominent within the classroom is Ms. McCredie’s organization. On the white board at the front of the class, she has the entire day’s schedule written out for the students to see and follow along. Additionally, she always gives clear instructions about her expectations for the class in terms of assignments, activities, free-time, etc. Also, it appears as if the general structure of each week remains the same with only minor changes here and there for special events. These techniques and routines in the classroom appear to have a great ‘class managing effect’ on the students. Her organization provides the students with basic day structure but with flexibility within each day. It is a nice balance.
Community building so far within this class is great! Ms. McCredie has the students participate in a lot of group work, and she has also both modelled and created a classroom environment in which students all help one another. This is so fantastic from an SEL standpoint.
In addition to observing some of the control cues and praise statements today within the classroom, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to try some of them myself. At several points throughout the day, Ms. McCredie allowed me to independently try a few management activities within the class. She provided me with an opportunity to properly introduce myself to the class and to explain to the students what my involvement throughout the year will be. Later on in the day, Ms. McCredie allowed me to independently get the students prepared and lined-up for DPA. This was a great opportunity for me to practice using her ‘gimmi-5’ control cue, which worked really well. Additionally, at several times throughout the day, I was able to move around the classroom and help students with the assignments they were working on. These moments allowed me to try praising students myself which was nice.
Overall, it was again a great day at Sunnyside. I really enjoyed spending the whole day in my class and getting to know the students better. To me, the most memorable and important part of my day was a long chat I had with Ms. McCredie about the different students and their different needs within the classroom. It was very eye-opening to hear about the wide-variety of issues that certain students struggle with in the class, and I think that is really important for me to begin to learn how to best support each student very early on.