Running head: OBSERVATION # 3 Classroom Management and Routines 1

Observation 3
Jamilex Polonia
Raritan Valley Community College
Professor Kimberly Schirner
November 23, 2019
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EDUC-230-02 FIELD EXPERIENCE

I. Observation # 3:
Classroom Management and Routines

II. Grade Level and Subject Area:

5th Grade, Language Arts and History

III. Setting:
Classroom type is inclusive general education, in a public school which is located in an
urban area. Consists of one educator, one special education teacher, 24 students (13 girls,
11 boys).

IV. Pre- Observation:

Prior to my observation I expect the students to have a consistent weekly
schedule. I am expecting the schedule to be visible to the students and anybody who
walks into the classroom. The schedule should consist of when each lesson will start,
when the specials are, when lunch time and recess are, the time that the students pack up,
and any other events that usually do not happen during everyday (ex. Assembly, field
trip, visitor, etc.) “Schedules should be detailed, include a list of all the day’s lectures and
activities, and the times at which all events will occur.” (Lewis, March 2015)
Being that it’s 5th grade I expect there to be a lunch calendar somewhere in the
classroom that is accessible to the teacher and the student. This is important because
students have the chance to know beforehand what they want to eat and if it’s something
that they don’t like they can always bring lunch from home. I also think this is important
because from my previous observations a lot of the students are low income and “School
lunch is critical to student health and well-being, especially for low-income students and
ensures that students have nutrition they need throughout the day to learn.” (frac.org)
My next expectation is for there to be the ground rules that the teacher follows but
also classroom rules that the students made together. I expect the students to respect the
ASI teacher just like the main teacher even if they’re not an ASI students. I also expect
there to be a reward system where the students get a reward when they do more then
expected, this would be excluding the ground rules. Students shouldn’t be getting rewards
for listening but instead for helping another student or helping a teacher when they need
the help.

V. Data:
 Schedule is written next to the smartboard and updated everyday
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 Lunch calendar is taped up next to the white board

 Options for lunch are projected on the interactive smartboard in the morning, as well
as written on the whiteboard
 Students choose what they want to eat for lunch when they walk into class
 5 different options for Lunch
 There is a picture hung up of what special is on what day.
 There is a “classroom constitution” hung up in the classroom with all the students
signature
 Everybody respects the teachers and the students, disrespectfulness is addressed right
away
 There is an app called class dojo which tracks the students points throughout the year
 There’s a list hung up of the different rewards that the kids can choose for getting 25,
50, 75 or 100 dojo points from which include:
o Chew gum
o Sit next to a friend
o Homework pass
o Eat candy
o Extra snack time
 There is nothing that shows the disciplinary actions for first, second and third offense
 There is a classroom chart with “jobs” and who is in charge of each job ex:
o Line leader
o Line ender
o Paper passer
o Paper collector
o Homework checker
o Clean up crew (2)
 There is a classroom routine that the students have learned so it’s not written
anywhere in the classroom

VI. Analysis:
While observing I’ve noticed that there is a schedule next to the smartboard which
has the schedule for the day. The teacher changes it every morning before the students
comes into class, and she also updates it while they’re in their special if something isn’t
completed by the time it’s supposed to or if something is finished before hand. The
teacher is always prepared with more activities for the students to complete and material
to teach.
When the students walk in to the classroom they have a morning routine that they
were taught to follow at the beginning of the school year. When the students walk into
class at 8:10 they have to go straight to their seats and take out everything they need for
language arts and history and put it in their desk and then wait to be called to go put their
things away. After the students put their things away they have to go to the smartboard
and choose what they want for lunch, on Fridays they usually have a pizzeria deliver
pizza so they usually all choose Pizza for lunch. At this time the students also have to
hand in any homework that was given and grab their breakfast. While their eating they
also have to work on their Do Now and be ready for class at 8:30.
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The teacher uses an app called “Class Dojo” where she gives the students points
for doing good things like helping other students or the teacher. With this system she can
show the students how many points they have but just like how she can give them points
she can also take the points away. She does have a class dojo point reward system where
you can choose a reward for every 25 points that you get. She also sets a goal for the
classroom and if the class gets a certain amount of points then the students get a pizza
party. This is something that works really well because when the students get dojo points
it alerts the parents and it also lets the parent know why their child is either getting points
or having them taken away.
Something else that I observed was that the teacher has a classroom constitution
that she created at the beginning of the year with her students. The classroom constitution
is signed by every student in the classroom and is hung up in the classroom. It isn’t the
first thing you notice in the classroom because it’s hung up above the white board and it’s
really close to the ceiling. This has helped the students follow all of the teachers
directions because the students agreed to the rules that were made and therefore they
follow it. With this I also notice that the teacher always lets the students know why things
should be done the way she has it done; “spend time discussing why the procedures and
rules are important and should be followed. I have found that most students will respect a
rule or procedure more if they understand the purpose.” (Findley, February 2019)

VII. Recommendations:
Once I finished my observation, I made some recommendations that I feel would
help more with classroom management. My first recommendation is to have the
classroom schedule written somewhere else in the classroom because the place that it’s
located right now is a bit messy. I saw that there’s a teacher that closes the shade in one
of her windows and then she writes the schedule on the window with a dry-erase marker.
I think this is really creative and smart idea and something that anybody who walks into
the classroom will notice the schedule and have their attention drawn to it. This is
important because if the teacher is being observed the schedule is very visible, as well as
when the students parents come into the classroom.
My next recommendation if for the classroom constitution to be hung up at eye
level for the students. I feel that this would work better for anybody who enters the
classroom because it’s something that is hung up so high that you don’t really notice. I
feel that it’s important for the classroom constitution to be at eye level because these are
the ground rules that the students made and agreed to so it should be easily visible so that
they don’t forget. Also it helps anybody who walks into the classroom to understand how
the teacher runs her classroom and the things that all the students should be following.

VIII. Post Observation:

When I look back at the observations that I completed in my classroom, I
understand why the teachers does things the way they are. There is no need to have the
classroom constitution at eye level with the students because it was created by the
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students. They should remember what they have to do and know what they signed for and
agreed to follow when they made the constitution. Although the classroom constitution is
not the first thing that you see when you walk into the classroom it is still visible to the
people who walk into the classroom and the point of the classroom constitution is for
students to work together and come to an agreement of what should be done in the
classroom and what shouldn’t.
Something else I noticed when it comes to the teachers “classroom dojo” is that it
works well because the students don’t always know when they are getting dojo points.
The students are aware that the teacher is always observing what they are doing to give or
take away points so there’s no need for the teacher to announce when she’s giving certain
students points. This also works because students in elementary schools tend to follow
each other, so if the teacher praises every student for things they are doing correctly all
the students will do the same thing just to get praised and to get class dojo points. With
saying this I don’t mean that students shouldn’t get praised because they should they just
don’t need to be praised for everything that the students do because that also takes up
time from lessons and other activities if you are constantly praising every good thing that
the students do.

IX. Citations:
Benefits of School Lunch. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2019, from

https://www.frac.org/programs/national-school-lunch-program/benefits-school-

lunch

Findley, J. (2019, February 28). Classroom Management Tips for Upper Elementary.

Retrieved November 23, 2019, from http://jenniferfindley.com/classroom-

management-tips-for-upper-elementary/

Lewis, N. (2015, March). Daily Agendas: The Key to Organizing the Classroom.

Retrieved November 23, 2019, from http://teachingonpurpose.org/journal/daily-

agendas-the-key-to-organizing-the-classroom/

X. Appendix:
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