EP101 Unit 3: Effective Work Habits Please have your books handy. Feel free to chat with each other. We will start class at 10:00 pm ET !

Question 1 1. What are some key ingredients for establishing a successful learning environment?

Key Aspects of a Successful Learning Environment Organized materials Set procedures Student jobs/helpers Communication with parents Physical room arrangement Seating arrangements Room decorations (Burden, p. 7-9)

Question 2 How would you explain the importance of time management to a student?

Time Management Teachers Plan for benchmarks to be met throughout the year Plan for benchmarks to be met throughout the year Plan length of units Plan length of units Plan appropriate length of lessons Plan appropriate length of lessonsParaprofessionals Time needed to prepare materials Time needed to prepare materials Time spent with individual students Time spent with individual studentsStudents Use time in class appropriately Use time in class appropriately

Working 1-on-1 with students Question 3: What do paraprofessionals need to do before working 1-on-1 with a student? Question 3: What do paraprofessionals need to do before working 1-on-1 with a student? Know the student Know the student Know the lesson/material Know the lesson/material Know strategies for enhancing the lesson for that individual lesson Know strategies for enhancing the lesson for that individual lesson

Preparing students for lessons Make sure they have books or other materials they will need Find out what they already know about the topic/lesson Give them background knowledge Get them interested!

Classroom Climate Behavioral expectations are clear and consistent Mutual respect shown between teacher and students Encourage risk-taking Avoid negativity Use a lot of praise and encouragement ("Cultivating a Healthy Classroom" by Susan Mandel Glazer)

Paraprofessional’s Role Physical classroom environment Working 1-on-1 or with small groups Classroom behavior management Be sure to communicate with supervising teacher about how you can best support and work with each other (Ashbaker & Morgan, p )

Case Study— Working with Sonali Mrs. LoSapio, the 4 th grade teacher, has asked you to work one-on-one with Sonali, a 10-year old who tends to be easily distracted, on her social studies project, which is to construct a diorama. Sonali has trouble staying focused (hence the need for your support in this project) and is resentful that she has to be pulled away from the class to work with you. You suspect you will probably be doing more one- on-one work with Sonali in the future, since her ability to finish assignments on her own appears to be a trend. Sonali has decided to create her diorama on dinosaurs, since she is really fascinated by them, but seems to have lost her enthusiasm and is constantly turning around to see what the rest of the kids in the class are doing. What ideas do you have in working individually with her?

Individualizing Instruction Why a need for individualized instruction? Who provides individualized instruction? Learn about your student-strengths, interests, challenges, background Set goals together

Weekly Reminders Complete Readings View Web Resources Post quality responses to BOTH discussion questions and respond to your classmates’ posts by reflecting on his/her post and asking them questions to continue our discussion further Attend seminar OR complete option 2 for seminar There is no project for Unit 3.

Final Thoughts~ May I be excused? -actual excuse notes written by parents, from My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him. Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot. Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 29, 29, 30, and also 33. Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels. Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.

More Excuses…. Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault. Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday. My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the Marines. Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps. Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

References Ashbaker, Betty and Morgan, Jill (2006). Paraprofessionals in the classroom. Boston: Pearson. Burden, Paul. (2004). An Educator’s Guide to Classroom Management. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.