COYNE 1

Ms. Tracie Coyne

Long Cane Primary School
1st Grade: Ms. Donaldson
February 2017
329 Teacher Work Sample
Lander University Teacher Education

1. Contextual Factors

A. Classroom factors

School Overview:

Long Cane Primary School is located in Abbeville, South Carolina. Long Cane Primary is
a Title 1 school that houses grades K4 through 2nd grade and a 3-year-old special education
program. Title 1 school means that most students who attend receive free or reduced lunch due to
parent or guardian income. This school is very welcoming to anyone who walks through the
doors as any teacher, student or administrator will smile and greet you when you pass. Student
work is proudly displayed throughout the hallways. The students strive to have excellent All-
STAR behavior. STAR is the school wide acronym standing for Stay focused; Try your best; Act
safely; and Respect others. When first walking into the school, you walk into a long hallway.
On the right is the main office, to the left is the cafeteria. Next is the gym on the right and Pre-
Kindergarten hallway. Continuing is the music room on the right followed by the art room. There
are two computer labs, one on each side of the hallway. At the end of the hallway is the library.
Connecting around then library is a hallway shaped in a circle, each side holding another hallway
for Kindergarten, First grade and Second grade.

Classroom Physical Features and Arrangement:

Ms. Donaldsons class is very bright and welcoming. Many of the

physical features in this classroom facilitate learning and are placed
strategically to help students. Also placed throughout the room are the
students class work and classroom/ school rules. The desks are arranged in
a U shape, facing the Smartboard with three desks lined in between the
U. To the immediate left of the door is the bathroom. Along that left wall is
a counter which holds a sink and further down two computers for students to
complete Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. Above the counter is a row of
cabinets. In the back left of the classroom is the meeting area. Ms.
Donaldson uses this for morning meetings, book readings, and to share
important information. This area includes a sofa, carpet, Ms. Donaldsons
chair, number of the day chart and small whiteboard. Some of the items
along the left wall include lists of All-Star Helpers for the week, calendar,
Alphabet cards with pictures, money chart and metal shelves to hold books.
The Number of the Day Chart is a bubble map that lists the following:
 COYNE 2

number of the day, ten more than that, one less than, ten less than, one
hundred less than, odd or even number and one hundred more. The small
whiteboard is used to communicate the morning message each day. Along
the wall directly in across from the door is the classroom library. In the back
right corner is cabinets holding materials like manipulatives for math. On the
right wall of the classroom is also the front of the classroom. This includes

the whiteboard, book bag hooks, Smartboard, the American Flag, clock, the
Elmo and Ms. Donaldsons desk which also stretches to the wall that the door
is on. Hanging from the ceiling are a ladybug, dragonfly and butterfly.

Availability of Technology in the Classroom:

 COYNE 3

Ms. Donaldson has a Smartboard at the front of her classroom for easy
access to everyone. The students are able to watch the morning school news
and watch a variety of BrainpopJr.com videos about the lessons that they are
learning on the Smartboard. There is also an Elmo projector, that connects to
the SmartBoard. Ms. Donaldson uses the Elmo every day in the classroom.
Whenever she is going over a leaflet or activity she does the leaflets on the
projector so that the students can see her working through the problems in
real time. There are two computers located at the back of the classroom for
students to take A.R. tests. Ms. Donaldson also lets students use her
computer on her desk to complete these tests in the morning. Also in the
classroom are iPads, one is Ms. Donaldsons. These are used for A.R. testing,
but also have various educational apps downloaded.

Equipment:

Every classroom used by teachers and students are equipped with a

telephone and SmartBoard. These telephones can connect with other rooms
and the front office for things like classroom attendance. Printers are located
throughout the school for teacher use. In the front office is the teacher work
room which holds a copier, fax machine, and laminator that is available to
the faculty and staff.

Resources:

Ms. Donaldson has many visual resources located throughout the

room. As she used the SmartBoard to do classwork, the regular white board
is filled with reminders. For example, she has the school-wide All-Star matrix
ready rules, the date, and a list of the weeks spelling words. Located on the
cabinet next to Ms. Donaldsons desk are cards with the spelling words from
previous weeks. The students have small whiteboards located in their desks
that are used for things like mental math time as well as other lessons. Ms.
Donaldson has classroom library for the use of the students in picking out
level books and A.R. books. Other resources include locations and people
throughout the school. For example, the students use the library for find
grade appropriate reading material, the speech teacher, and other teachers.
The first grade teachers get together each week to plan out the following
weeks lesson. Each teacher is responsible for a different subject.

Parental Involvement:

Ms. Donaldson sends home weekly reports in a folder. One pocket on

the folder is labeled Bring to School and the other is labeled Keep at
Home. Placed in the Bring to School pocket are things like homework, and
 COYNE 4

information that need parental/ guardian signatures. Items such as classroom

information sheets, newsletter and student work are placed in the Keep at
Home pocket. Ms. Donaldson is required to contact all parents at least six
times during the school year. She contacts them more regularly than that.
She also contacts parents weekly behavior sheets, phone call, text, email, conferences,
and social media via Facebook.

Student Grouping:

As stated under Classroom Physical Features and Arrangement, the desks are arranged in
a U shape, which faces the Smartboard with three desks lined in between the U. Ms.
Donaldson groups her student academically. She changes these groupings throughout the year
based on the students ability level. Ms. Donaldson changed the students desk arrangement
every 4th 9 weeks.

Class Schedule and Routine:

Ms. Donaldsons First Grade All-Star Class

Schedule
2016-2017
 COYNE 5

*Please note-Science and Social Studies are integrated throughout the

7:45-8:00 Morning Routines:

*Attendance
*Lunch Choice
*Morning Work
8:00-8:10 Morning TV News
8:15-8:25 Independent Reading
8:30-8:40 Morning Meeting:
*Morning Message
*Calendar Math
*Character Education Mini-Lesson
8:45-9:00 Shared Reading (Big Book/Poem)
*Grammar Skill Mini-Lesson
9:00-9:10 Spelling
9:15-9:45 Shared Reading (Basal)
*Target Skill Mini-Lesson
9:45- Open Court Phonics
10:05
10:10- Writing
10:40
10:45- Reading Workshop:
11:00 *Guided Reading
*Literacy Workstations/Partner
Reading/Accelerated Reader
11:00- Math
11:30
11:40- Lunch/Bathroom
12:15
12:15- Related Arts
1:15 (Small Group Intervention: 12:20-12:40)
1:20-1:25 Pack up
1:25-1:40 Interactive-Read Aloud
*Target Strategy Mini-Lesson
1:40-2:05 Recess
2:10-2:30 Water/Interactive-Read
Aloud/Announcements/Dismissal
literacy block.
 COYNE 6

Classroom Rules:

Ms. Donaldson follows the school-wide matrix of being All-STAR. As

mentioned previously being a STAR means stay focused, try your best, act
safely, and respect others. The white board also contains the behavior
chart; this is where the students clips are and depending on their behavior
will move to different colors throughout the day.

B. Student characteristics

Demographics:

Characteristics Description Males Females Total

Number of 9 9 18
Students
6 Years old 5 8 13
Age
7 Years old 4 1 5

African- 4 4 8
American
Race Caucasian 4 5 9

African- 1 0 1
American and
Caucasian

English as 9 9 18
Language first
Language
English as 0 0 0
second
Language

As shown above in the graph, Ms. Donaldsons class consists

of eighteen students. There are nine males and nine females in the class.
Eight of the students are African-American, nine of the students are
Caucasian, and one student is African-American and Caucasian. All eighteen
students speak English as their first language.

Special Education:
 COYNE 7

Description Number of Students

IEP 0
504 0
Speech Services 5
Mental Health Counseling 1
ADHD 2
Aspergers Syndrome and sensory 1
processing disorder

Ms. Donaldsons students are of varied abilities. Five students receive

speech services. One student receives Mental Health counseling. There is
one student that repeated Kindergarten and one student who is currently
repeating first grade. Two students have been diagnosed with ADHD. One
student has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and also has a
sensory processing disorder.

RTI Tier Levels:

Tier One 72%

Tier Two 28%

Tier Three 0%

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of
students with learning and behavior needs.

Interests and Learning Styles:

Interests- the students in Ms. Donaldsons class enjoy playing sports and
video games, building with Legos, playing with dolls, dancing, and playing
games on their electronic tablet/iPad.

Learning Styles- 72% of the students in Ms. Donaldsons class are

classified as tactile/kinesthetic learners and they seem to benefit the most
from lessons that involve hands-on experiences and interaction with
technology.

Student Skill Level:

 COYNE 8

Developmental Levels-

Math Language Arts DRA2

Winter Winter Winter
Student 152 152 6
1
Student 170 169 4
2
Student 161 162 4
3
Student 168 161 6
4
Student 170 159 6
5
Student 178 175 14
6
Student 177 175 6
7
Student 172 176 8
8
Student 171 177 24
9
Student 180 178 16
10
Student 173 173 10
11
Student 183 183 20
12
Student 185 184 14
13
Student 181 179 10
14
Student 182 175 20
15
Student 182 164 8
16
Student 185 180 10
17
Student 189 187 28
18

The graph above shows the math and language arts MAP scores and
DRA2. The purpose of MAP testing is to show student growth throughout the
 COYNE 9

year. MAP testing is administered at the beginning of the year, middle of the
year and end of the year. The scores above are taken from the MAP testing in
the middle of the year.
The last column of the graph above shows the DRA2 independent
reading levels.

STAR Early Literacy-

STAR Early Literacy

Early Emergent Reader 0

Late Emergent Reader 1

Transitional Reader 4

Probable Reader 13

STAR Early Literacy classifications showed that no students are early

emergent, one student is late emergent, four students are transitional, and
thirteen students are probable reader. The results of the reading questions
for families indicate that 72% of my students either read with their parents
or have books read to them.

C. Instructional implications

As a teacher the information above is critical to me for creating and

teaching lessons. This information is important because I need to know how
the students learn best and if I need to provide any accommodations. Since
the majority of the class are tactile learners I need to include more hands on
lessons, but also keep in mind the 28% who are visual and auditory learners.
I will need to include all of these methods so that the students are learning in
ways that best meet their needs or to maximize their learning.
Classroom factors are important for establishing stability. Ms.
Donaldson has a routine that sets the learning tone for the day and if I
change that routine, the students could be distracted or upset about the
change. For example, while doing morning work I forgot to label the type of
sentence and one of the students called me out on my mistake. Instead of
focusing on what the morning work was teaching, that student was focusing
on my mistake.
As previously mentioned the students in Ms. Donaldsons class do not
have an IEPs or 504 plans. As a result of this I will not need to provide any
accommodations. However, under the Special Needs chart I have listed that
there are students who receive speech services and one who has Aspergers
 COYNE 10

Syndrome. Due to this I will give adequate wait time after asking a question
to allow for processing and to respond. This would be classified as a
differentiation.