My name is Kelsey Bone and my students call me Miss. Bone. I chose to do a preschool inclusion classroom at a public school. I have always been interested in teaching at the preschool level and also helping children with disabilities. Teaching in an inclusive classroom will give me the opportunity to help kids with special needs celebrate their similarities with general education students. I would like to adapt my classroom to the needs of all abilities and cultures. I will create a classroom that will allow each child to learn as independently as possible. I look forward to working closely with parents to receive information about the progress of their child and also their needs and learning activities at home. In my classroom I will enforce the importance of becoming familiar with technology at a young age by getting the young children familiar and comfortable with technology. I will have laptops provided in my classroom; this will allow the students to always have access to a computer. In my lesson plans I will have time set aside daily for the kids to do an activity on the computer. They will participate in activities on websites such as Funology.com and Kiddiesgames.com. I will supervise the children while they are on all these websites so every child is safe and guided through their experience. If I have a child who is from a different country and speaks a different language I will come up with ways to make them feel like they can learn along with the other children. I will do things such as using a lot of visuals and talking to them privately when explaining an activity. This can help them create a mental image of what they are learning. Also if they are explained something one on one they may be able to learn some of the things you are telling them. The more a child hears a caregiver model the language they are trying to accomplish, the faster the child will learn and understand. Technology can also be a great tool for English language learners (ELL’s). I will teach the children how to use online translators. This can also become a great tool for me as a teacher. When I am trying to teach a ELL child the English language I can learn to communicate with my student better if I become familiar with their language. A website called Kids.net.au will be used in my classroom for translation purposes.
As a teacher it is important to make your classroom assessable for all students with disabilities. A physical disability such as Muscular Dystrophy causes a child's muscle fibers to weaken over time. The most common type of this disability is Duchene Muscular Dystrophy. This is most common in boys and usually is genetic even if neither of the parents are affected by this. If I were to have a child with this disability in my classroom it would be important for me to make sure isles were clear and easy for them to get through. I would also supply special furniture for children with physical disabilities. It is also possible to have children with language delays. Using picture schedules is something I would use to help children with language delays follow the daily routines. I would also supply adaptive scissors and crayons for children who have fine motor delays.
The way the classroom is set up effects a child’s learning. My classroom will be very colorful full of pictures. I plan to have a carpet area in the center of the classroom with a big carpet where the whole class can gather together. I will call this area circle time because the kids will form a big circle. In this circle we will discuss our lesson, tell stories, have show and tell and also we will read books together. In this circle we will include every student in the class. Children with all disabilities will fit in this circle whether they are in a wheelchair or they just need the support of an aid.
As a teacher I will be known as a referent and a expert teacher. I will be the teacher every child knows they can come to with any problem. I will let the children in my class know they can trust me. I believe a student should feel a special type of bond with their teacher. They should feel like they can rely on you. I will support all the children in my classroom equally. In my opinion every child should feel equal because they are all special in their own way. I believe that every child has been put on this earth to have their own impact on the world.
I will view myself as a student-directed teacher. I believe that students are responsible for controlling their behavior. A well managed classroom will be filled with children who care for and collaborate well with each other. My students will make good choices and I will always encourage them to try and do their best work. It is my responsibility as a teacher to make sure the classroom is a safe environment, but I also think students should be able to contribute their ideas. Therefore I will let the students decide on how they would like their classroom to be decorated. They will create posters and pictures for the walls. The classroom will be filled with work they completed in class. Having the walls in the classroom filled with their own work makes children very proud and they can also show their parents what they have done in school. I will assign children a different job every week, depending on their abilities. Someone will be in charge of turning the lights on and off when we exit and enter the classroom. I will assign a line leader and a teacher helper. There will be a job for each child so they all feel like they are helping the teacher. I believe children really do look up to their teachers and want to make them proud. I want to be the teacher who changes children’s lives and the teacher they will always remember.
Websites the Children in my classroom will be using:
These websites have great information on Inclusive Classrooms
Setting
I designed my room for students with physical and mental disabilities. In the center of the room I have a big circle rug. This carpet is in the center of the room because we will meet here as a class to read stories, have show and tell, play games, and watch movies. I also have three round tables for the students in my class. I have each table spaced out so that there is a lot of room for students to be able to get through easily with wheelchairs or any type of instrument a child may have for their disability. I chose tables instead of desks to make it easier for children with disabilities who are in a wheelchair. This will give them the opportunity to sit at the table with the other students. It is important for me to provide a reading area for my students. A child should always have a nice comfortable area to go read and look at picture books. In my classroom I have a sofa and beanbag chairs next to the book stand which will be filled with a variety of children’s books. I am hoping the children in my classroom will be influenced to read by looking at the reading center I have created. I also have provided a projector that the children can view from anywhere in the room. The children will be learning lessons from this projector, watching videos and also participating in activities. The projector will also have access to each of the children’s laptops. They will be able to connect their laptop to the projector so they are able to see their work on the computer on the big projector. This will allow them to share what they have done with their classmates. I also have beanbag chairs spaced out throughout the room. This is so the children are able to be comfortable while they are in my classroom. As a child it can be very difficult to sit in a desk all day. There are desktop computers on different sides of the room with beanbag chairs for the students to use during class with a teacher. On the left side of my classroom there is a computer lab. This lab is for students who do not have access to a laptop or the computers located in the classroom. The computer lab will give each of the children the opportunity to use a computer. In my classroom we have a class pet. Our pet is a rabbit named Trix. My students had the opportunity to pick the name. They chose the name Trix after the Trix rabbit on the kid’s yogurt. A classroom pet can give all the children the opportunity to learn responsibility. They will also have something to talk to their peers about and learn to share the love of a animal.
Instructional Glimpse
3.3a2- Introduce and explain characteristics of a object: color, size, shape and texture.
The object I will introduce to my class is a rock
-First the class will participate in chart responses to the question: What do you know about rocks?
- The children will be looking at a variety of rocks.
-They will be able to separate rocks by color, size, shape and texture.
-They will be aware of where rocks can be found.
-Students will know what rocks can be used for.
-They will explain what they learned about rocks.
Feedback
Bibliography
"Inclusion in Preschool Classrooms." Welcome to the Illinois Early Learning Project! 2002.
Web. 12 Dec.2009http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/inclusion.htm
McWilliam, Robert. "Early Childhood Inclusion."
Http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_EC_updatedKS.pdf. Apr. 2009. Web. Dec. 2011.
"Standards." Thousands of Free Lesson Plans and Educational Resources for Teachers |
Verizon Thinkfinity.org. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thinkfinity.org/>.
