Context for Learning Description of School and Students

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: Acero Marquez Charter School, Chicago, IL

Type of School: Elementary school, Middle School, High School, or Other: K-8 Elementary School

Setting: Urban, Suburban, or Rural: Urban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

1.    List any special features of the school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, co-taught with a special education teacher, pull-out program).

        Acero Marquez has a multitude of special features that include inclusion, pull-out, English Language as well as MTSS which services students who are in between the general education setting and the special education setting. There are 5 special education apprentices aka special education aides who support students in the pull out and inclusion setting as well.

2.    Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that affects the planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

        Acero Marquez has required curricula for Math called Eureka and required ELA curricula called Wit & Wisdom. They are required to give the NWEA tests and use their MAP data in order to place students in small groups and MTSS if needed. They currently do not have a specific Social Studies and Science curricula, but are hoping to source one soon. The plan is so use that time to enforce reading strategies while learning about the world.

3.    For special education only: List any educators with specialized expertise in the school/district (e.g., specific disabilities, subject-specific pedagogy, English language development, speech therapists).

        Acero Marquez has a special education teacher for every 2 grade levels which is 16 special education teachers plus 5 apprentices that support special education students as well. There is one social worker who is in the building to support students. The other services such as speech, nursing, OT, PT and psychologist come only once or twice a week to service minutes as laid out in the student’s IEP or 504.

About the Students in this Class (Pull out Special Education Class)  [Give a brief or one word response]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: 98%

2.    Grade level(s): K, 1 and 2

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 8

b.    males: 7

females: 1

c.     English language learners: 0

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: 0

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: 8

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room
Autism	2	BIB trackers, Preferential Seating, Frequent breaks and rewards, allow fidgets, time work, Visual Supports/schedule, reinforce instruction, close monitoring, extended time, step out work into smaller parts.
Specific Learning Disability	6	Visual schedule, reinforce instruction, close monitoring, extended time, scribe, highlight lines for writing, allow fidgets, frequent breaks and rewards.

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?

        For this particular pull out group there is 90 minutes for ELA and 70 mins for math. There are specific blocks dedicated to this time. They also get inclusion time in the classroom setting, but are often pulled into small groups during that time as well as for science and social studies which is 35 minutes.

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

                The entire pull out group is 8 students but because they are at different levels they are taught in                3 different groups. The kindergartner unfortunately is in a group alone and gets 1:1 time with                       an apprentice. The other two groups consist of a group of 3 2^nd graders and the last group is 3 1^st     

Graders and 1 2^nd grader. This grouping affects the way we teach because they are taught in 3 different ways within each block of learning. It is very important to have independent work they can work on while they are not in the small group.  

3.    Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

Kinesthetic movements associated with letter sounds, Michael Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum. Handwriting without tears, guided reading books at independent level and instructional level.

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.

        Math block manipulatives (ones, tens, and one hundreds), play doh, lite brites and Exact Path Edmentum on chromebooks.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

      The kindergartener is new to the group. He has been been working on learning one letter a week. He came into the group knowing 1 uppercase letter, 0 letter sounds and 1 lowercase letter. He is a very bright and sweet kid who has difficultly with letter recognition and sound despite knowing how to form all the letters in his first and last name. We progress monitor his ability to recognize the letters and sounds each Friday. Last Friday he recognized 3 uppercase letters, 2 lowercase letters and 2 letter sounds, the progress is being seen already. The kindergartner has an older brother who is also at Acero Marquez who helps him with school work. His mother only speaks Spanish, but works with him as well as best she can. He enjoys spiderman, playdoh and loved when I brought my preschooler to work with him on Halloween.

  

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

        I work closely with the kindergartner and currently we pull a 1^st grader who has phenome awareness as an IEP goal. I use the kinesthetic hand movements to model the behavior and action that I want to see the group achieve. I have the 1^st grader who has been working on the letter sounds and movements longer go first by asking what the letter name is. Once the 1^st grader answers, the kindergartner knows that he can repeat or copy his groupmate. Then we go back to the 1^st grader for the movement and letter sound and all do the movements and sounds together then each alone. For the letters that the K student has already been working on, he goes first in the group. Each of the movements is associated with a common action with a picture that can draw on the student’s prior background knowledge to future their understanding for example the sound for A is Ahh and depicts a student putting a bandaid on a skinned knee, an event that even a 5 year old has experienced.