Lesson 6: Diversity in Today’s Schools

My service learning placement has taken me to north Provo. When thinking of diversity my first thought would generally go to cultural or racial diversity. However, through this lesson I have come to more fully understand what diversity can mean. In the part of Provo I am in, the majority of the students come from white or mixed race homes. In my morning class there are two sweet little Asian girls, both quiet, and one that is a bit more quiet than the other. One of the girls has trouble with English, and so she spends extra time in special reading and writing programs to help her get at the same level with the rest of the class. She however is not the only one that spends extra time with reading and writing workshop, other students that are on a lower reading level spend extra time with Mrs. Hansen (Mrs. Nelson's teaching aid).

This example along with other accommodations show just how exceptional Mrs. Nelson is at working with her students and celebrating differences in her class. Another notable area of diversity in Mrs. Nelsons class is with religion. Many of the students in her class belong to the LDS faith. But no matter the faith of the children, everyone is treated in the same manner. It has been wonderful working with these young children, because they themselves often don't see themselves as extremely different from their peers. These wonderful little ones just see everyone as children and friends, which makes Mrs. Nelson's job, in that sense, just a touch easier.

Lesson 5: History of American Education

For this post we are looking at the history of American education. While considering this topic I looked at my service learning placement. I look at Mrs. Nelsons classroom and see such diversity. Children of different races, from Latin American to Asian to White, come together to learn. In the past few weeks I have done some research on Ruby Bridges and Brown vs. the Board of Education. As I look at my Kindergartners (The same age as Ruby was), it is so difficult for me to see a time with out integrated education. All I see are 40 smiling faces, ready to learn. For this I am grateful for Brown vs. the Board of Education for starting something that led to the wonderfully diverse classroom that I have the opportunity to work with.

Lesson 4: Engaging Learners in Today’s Classrooms

Mrs Nelson Uses many ways to engage her students in the classroom.

Active: Mrs. Nelson has her students do jumping jacks as they count to 100 by 10's, also she has them dance to the "Letter Song" The children watch a video about the Letter of the day and get to have a dance party as they make the sound that the letter makes. Activities like this help get the wiggles out of the students as well as using another way to reinforce the information

Hands-on: When doing math Mrs. Nelson uses block cubes to help students with addition. Instead of just looking at numbers they select how many of each color block they want to combine together and then do the addition sentence using that. This gives the kids another way other than written work to reinforce the difficult concepts of math.

Fun: This is probably what Mrs. Nelson is best at. Whether it be using a weather wizard to choose the weather for the day, or puppets to help the students structure sentences properly, most of the lessons in Mrs. Nelsons class are extremely fun for these Kindergartners.  One of my favorite examples of this was during a story time Mrs. Nelson had me conduct. We read The Mitten by Jan Brett. Instead of just reading the story, each student was given an animal mask that related to a character in the book and when their animal climbed in the mitten that student would climb under a white blanket we used. The students had so much fun with this, especially when it came time for the sneeze. The students scattered all over the reading time mat and laughed and giggled.

One area of Mrs. Nelson's class that is not as engaging is during writing time. Students do get to draw a picture to go along with their sentence or word, but it mostly consists of students sitting and working on their own. Perhaps every once in a while during writing time she could have the students collaborate to come up with a sentence, have each student write that sentence down and then draw a picture together, or create a scene acting out their sentence. This would incorporate Collaboration and Active to create a more engaging writing time.

Lesson 3: Creating Productive Learning Environments.

Mrs. Nelson does an incredible job at setting up her classroom to be a productive learning environment. Students feel safe, loved, as well as have structure for what they will be learning in that class time.

Mrs. Nelson starts every class in the same way which offers consistency to students. These clear routines that are established reinforce what is being learned. First the students gather in their assigned "house" or place on the mat and shoot a figurative arrow at their Learning Targets. Then each student recites,

"I can read and write (Capital Daily Letter, Lowercase Daily Letter) 

(Daily Letter) says (Letter Sound)

I can read (two or three Sight words)

I can (math concept)

After the students finish their learning targets, they decide the weather, recite their shapes, sing the days of the week song, and add a day to their "days of school count down". This routine has been in place each class session, and supports a productive learning environment by adding stability and consistency from day to day. Students come to class knowing what they are going to be doing, despite there being small changes in the words, letters and math problems.

I spoke about this in my last post, but with the daily King or Queen Mrs. Nelson makes her students feel loved, safe, promotes a positive classroom community AND recognizes students skills. When she selects a student she describes to the class what skills they have been exhibiting that she has been impressed with, whether it be how the student treats the others in class, or the way they have been neatly practicing their letters. Then when the student is chosen, a random few students are chosen to say what they love about their classmate. The students eyes always light up when it is time to choose the king or queen, and though at times students are disappointed when they are not selected (typical for 5/6-year-old's), they are always supportive of their friend.

Another way that Mrs. Nelson makes her students feel loved is through her end of the day song. She sings to her class at the end of every day thanking them for learning, and telling them that she "loves them so." the students respond by singing thank you for teaching. I can tell that the students love and appreciate Mrs. Nelson and are grateful for her.

Lesson Two: How People Learn

I have the opportunity to work with Mrs. Nelson, a Kindergarten teacher at Canyon Crest Elementary. The learning theory I see her use the most is Behaviorism. During her morning class on Friday she awarded her students popcorn during story time because they had each finished their "popcorn problems" throughout the week. She also selects a student each day who has been behaving well during that week to be the "king or queen" of the classroom. This child gets to wear a crown and cape for the day, acts as line leader to rotations, chooses which tables will be released at what times and gets to sit in the "Authors Chair" as a few randomly selected classmates say what they like most about the student. The chance to get to be the king or queen of the class for the day reminds these young students to behave. Another way she uses Behaviorism is by awarding 3 students that have achieved in some way during that class time a sticker and a chance to send 5 marbles down the marble track. It was so amazing to see each of the students eyes light up as they were chosen. I loved the way Mrs. Nelson utilized rewards, especially with king and queen of the class. Instead of having only tangible rewards she offers rewards that make students have a little bit of power, ownership and make them feel good about themselves.

Mrs. Nelson is very well rounded when it comes to learning preferences. Just within the short 2 hour session of her morning Kindergarten she had the students jumping and moving, pointing to letters on the board and writing words, and singing songs about the weather, days of the week, etc. There was something for each learning style, which engaged the different students she had in her class. She also has taken the time to place each child in the best place for their learning. Children that need more attention are closer to the edges of the tables so she, or her aides, can easily give one-on-one attention to those students. Her class runs smoothly, and the children stay engaged through out their class time, which can be difficult at times for 5-6 year olds!

one.

Through looking at schools to complete my service learning, there were many options to choose from. I decided to pursue my service learning opportunity at Canyon Crest Elementary in Provo, Utah.

Canyon Crest is a school that holds a special place in my heart because it is the elementary school I attended growing up. Located just over a mile outside the mouth of Provo Canyon, Canyon Crest is surrounded by small suburban neighborhoods tucked in the mountains and close to open fields and ranches. The openness makes for a peaceful setting, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.


The students at this school are primarily white, but the hispanic/latino population has grown through the years. Canyon Crest has many programs including PALs and Language emersion. And is a school that offers many opportunities for students to excel. Some of the brightest kids I know go to Canyon Crest. I have not yet solidified with the school which classroom I will be working in, but I am excited for the opportunity to work with a great group of kids!

And it will be fun to run into my baby brother from time to time.
<------(he is in kindergarten)


I think service learning is a wonderful way for us as future educators to get experience in the classroom as well as to give back to the community. It is through our service opportunities that we can gain knowledge.

Engaged Learning is one of Utah Valley University's core themes, and service learning is a way to obtain that hands on learning experience that UVU focuses on. Plus, service learning not only benefits us, but it also benefits the community. Through helping in classrooms we are able to make relationships with children and teachers and hopefully make their world a little bit better.