This week I started my placement in a grade 1 classroom specializing in speech and language. The program is essentially an intervention program for students who had difficulty during their kindergarten years. The program focuses closely on language skills through dedicating the majority of the day to improving reading, writing and speech. Although none of the students have been officially diagnosed with a learning disability, all of the students are on I.E.P.s.
A noteworthy feature of this classroom is the sense of community. The teacher in this classroom goes of her way to encourage classroom sharing. For example, each morning the students sit on the classroom carpet. During this time the teacher asks one student if they have any news they would like to share with his/her classmates. After having shared, the student asks another student if he/she has any morning news to share with the class and so on until all students have had the opportunity to share with the class. The students are excited to share their news with their classmates. Through sharing and listening to the ideas and experiences of others a sense of community is established.
I feel very lucky to have been placed in such a warm and welcoming classroom. I think that along with helping all of the students learn, I will also learn a great from this experience. In this reciprocal process of learning and teaching, I hope that I will be able learn valuable strategies to help my own students succeed in the future while helping these students acquire the necessary skills to succeed within a grade two classroom in the year to come.
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