On Wednesday, February 15th, I observed one of the three 4th grade classes at Thomas A. Edison Elementary School in Port Chester, New York. There were twenty-four students in the class that day, 99% of the students were Hispanic, six of them were English Language Learners, eight of them had IEPs, and one child had a 504 plan due to a lost limb. Class started with their morning routine; Ms. Simmons greeted the children as they walked into the classroom, they hung up their backpacks in the closet and gathered their notebooks for the day. There were four children helpers who were assigned specific jobs as taking attendance, collecting homework, taking lunch orders, and collecting field trip forms. During this time the teacher sat on a corner table
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After they read for 25 minutes Ms. Simmons asked them to stand up, and led them on more stretching exercises, gave them homework, and asked the students to tell her three new things they learned that day. They reviewed the new vocabulary, and the students transition back to their classrooms. When all the children were back, she asked them to raise their hands if they haven’t finished their scripts. Many of them began talking at the same time, she pointed to a wall and reminded them of the yellow rule; raise your hand to ask a question or participate. The children who weren’t finished were asked to get a laptop to finish typing their script. The rest of the children were given directions for independent reading. She came by to tell me that they had been learning about early explorers, in particular about Henry Hudson. She mentioned the school’s participation in the Neighborhood Bridge Program, a literacy program that focuses on using storytelling and drama to help children build literacy skills. A teaching artist from the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College come into the school for a 10-week residency to bring theater and storytelling arts into ELA
After they read for 25 minutes Ms. Simmons asked them to stand up, and led them on more stretching exercises, gave them homework, and asked the students to tell her three new things they learned that day. They reviewed the new vocabulary, and the students transition back to their classrooms. When all the children were back, she asked them to raise their hands if they haven’t finished their scripts. Many of them began talking at the same time, she pointed to a wall and reminded them of the yellow rule; raise your hand to ask a question or participate. The children who weren’t finished were asked to get a laptop to finish typing their script. The rest of the children were given directions for independent reading. She came by to tell me that they had been learning about early explorers, in particular about Henry Hudson. She mentioned the school’s participation in the Neighborhood Bridge Program, a literacy program that focuses on using storytelling and drama to help children build literacy skills. A teaching artist from the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College come into the school for a 10-week residency to bring theater and storytelling arts into ELA