Communication

9/1/11 Mrs. Self always clearly gives instructions in class and tells the students exactly what she wants them to do. She also calls each student by name when talking to them, so that she addresses each student personably.

9/6/11 Mrs. Self is very clear about what she expects out of the work/activity she assigns the students so that there is little or no confusion.

9/7/11 Mrs. Self and Mrs. Wendy communicate with me very well. One way that they do this is by giving me a heads up on what small group activities I will be doing with the students that day. They also inform me of what motivational strategies work best for certain students, and which students may need some extra help with certain activities, etc.

9/22/11 Mrs. Self has "clipman" for behavior issues. Each student's name is on a clip, and that clip will sit on the green section of clipman if they are behaving well. If they get in trouble for misbehavior, then they have to move their clip to yellow, which is a verbal warning. If they get in trouble again, they have to move their clip to the red part of "clipman", which is timeout and possible a note sent home to parents.

9/23/11 The communication between Mrs. Self and her parapro, Mrs. Wendy was very clear and effective. They get along great, and they are always bouncing ideas off of each other. They have very good classroom management skills, especially when they work together at keeping the classroom under control. They agree on all rules, which makes it easier for everyone. The students all know that they have to show equal respect towards Mrs. Self and Mrs. Wendy.

10/8/11 Mrs. Dickens has to be very clear and precise with her communication to the students, especially due to all of the testing that is done in second grade. When Mrs. Dickens is about to administer a test to the class, she plainly states what she wants the students to do, and the rules of the test. She also tries to encourage the students to do their very best before they begin a test.

10/9/11 Mrs. Dickens communicates with me extremely well. She always wants me to feel like I am "in the know", or included in what is going on in second grade. One way that she communicates with me, as well as all of the other second grade teachers is by sending us the second grade news letter in email whenever she writes up a new one. Another awesome way that I see communication is when Mrs. Dickens holds second grade meetings in her classroom. All of the teachers come together to discuss what they are working on at the time, where they class stands with the lesson plans and standards, and any new ideas. All the teachers make sure that they are covering the same standards, even though they all have their own unique way of teaching them. They do this so that all of the students are equally prepared by the end of the year to move on to third grade.

10/11/11 Today Mrs. Dickens gave a challenging math test to the class. During the test she informed them that she knows it is a challenging and more difficult test, but that she knows that they can do a wonderful job on it! As the students were taking the test, she walked around a said encouraging words to the class such as, "I really see some people working very hard!" She would also say things like "I see some people who are doing a fantastic job!" I feel this really helped the students to be confident and stay positive during the test. Mrs. Dickens would also repeat each direction that she read aloud to the class twice to make sure that everyone heard her correctly. As the reads the directions, she reads slowly and clearly.

11/8/11 Mrs. Dickens **always speaks with correct grammar,** and she will correct the students who speak with incorrect grammar. She also uses a "class bell" to communicate to the students that she either 1) needs the classroom's attention, 2) needs the students to transition somewhere within the classroom during centers, or 3) she is letting the students know that it is time to stop working on an assignment or test (if it is a timed test)

11/9/11 Mrs. Dickens writes what she wants the students to be working on in the morning on the white board. They know to look at the board when they arrive to class because they will always find clear instructions on what to do.

11/10/11 Mrs. Dickens will often give examples of what kind of behavior she wants to see. She will say something like, "I **//love//** seeing students who are sitting quietly at their desk with their hands to themselves".

11/11/11 Mrs. Dickens addresses behavior problems as soon as she sees them. Depending on how bad the situation is, is how she determines the punishment for the student(s). She communicates to the class precisely the kind of behavior she expects out of them on a daily basis, and they are old enough to know what kind of behavior Mrs. Dickens wants.