Blog #4: Pre-K Classroom

This week was the first day I was in the pre-k classroom. From what I heard from other people about the preschoolers, I knew going into the class that communication would a challenge.  I also was told there was much less students than there were in the kindergarten classroom.  My first reaction to that information was that the students would get more one on one attention from all the student teachers, which would be helpful for the students. By having more teachers, the students might open up more and communicate. I was not sure if this information would affect the lesson positively or negatively, but was interested in getting to know a new class that I have never worked with or taught before.

My long term goal for this clinical experience is get to know the ELL students and through that, find ways to differentiate instruction and accommodate for their needs. I know now after reflecting on this same goal while I was in the kindergarten room, that getting to know the students and their needs will take time. I don’t think the half hour that I was in the pre-k classroom I was able to get to know them that well. I believe a big factor in getting to know the students would be through communication. The preschoolers did not talk that much at all. I think there were about three students that contributed to the introduction and sharing time on the carpet. For the most part, the students would just stare at you and the teachers would have to answer their own group questions. The teachers did a good job providing guided questions. For the preschoolers, they needed a lot of prompting for most of the lesson.

The students were learning about hearing for this lesson. For the center I was assigned to, I lead the string cup telephones. This required the students to talk with one another so the other student could hear them in their cup. This was where the communication played a big factor and had an impact on how smoothly the lesson went. From what I observed,  the students needed guidance on what to say in the cup or they would just yell in the cup without conversation with the other students. It was challenging to understand what the students were saying and it was not clear. I think going back to my goal, I feel I did not accomplish it in the time allowed. I did, on the other hand, learn about their tendencies. I learned who the quiet one and talkative one were in the group. The quiet ones needed more direct instruction and the more talkative students needed less. I also felt that some of the students were quiet around me because they were shy and did not know me. For all I know, the students could have a more outgoing personality around their teachers and family because they have known them for so long. I think if I continued to teach in the pre-k classroom the students and I would get to know each other better.

Something that I feel would be beneficial to me in reaching my goal would be to know their names. Even when I asked the students their names I could not understand them. I also feel that it would help if I knew who the ELL students were. Even though I struggle with speaking Spanish, it would help because it would make me more understanding for not communicating.  Going forward, I think I would try to accommodate for the pre-k students by incorporating a lot of visuals and pictures in my lesson. I would also make sure to model what is expected of them clearly so the students can participate as much as possible and,  in the long run,  get the most out of the lesson being taught.

Below is a link for more 5 senses lesson plans that could be taught for further instruction:

http://www.pinterest.com/janamarie76/5-senses-preschool-theme/

EXCEEDS: I went over the word requirement by 150 words and I incorporated a link to 5 senses lesson ideas.