My study group of 4, Keely, Hannah, Nicole, and I, created a virtual classroom based on common criteria. We met several times to create and discuss the classroom. At the end of the project, we developed seating arrangements and classroom rules that we feel best addressed the needs of a diverse and inclusive classroom. This exercise demanded that we put a lot of attention into considering the needs of individuals. From learning outcomes to classroom arrangements, we focussed on the learning needs of the students.
Grade 4
Elements of learners:
Nicole and Keely: d, e and f (+3 others each)
Hannah and Vicki: a,b and c (+3 others each)
24 Learners Total (6 each)
a. diverse learning abilities
b. cultural diversity
c. faith based/religious diversity
d. linguistic diversity
e. behavioural diversity
f. gender/identity diversity
Vicki Chen – Classroom List
James Gordon Jr. (10) – January 31st
Canadian/ Australian
Identifies as a male
Parents are divorced – Parents are in a combative divorce situation. They are not communicating directly, so the school needs to keep track of which parent James is staying with in order to avoid conflicts when school calls are made.
Reads and writes above grade level
Diagnosed as being colour blind, but it has not been a major issue in his learning other than art and art related exercises.
Sarah Wong (9) – November 2nd
Second generation Canadian/ Singapore
Single child
Identifies as a female
Speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Malay, and English; there are minor issues with reading and writing such as vocabulary differences
Extending empathetic skills
Extracurricular: Excels at performing classical piano and competitive badminton
Brings high quality lunches (which seem to sometimes contain nuts in some form or another–which could be a cultural situation)
High anxiety around new people and exercises she feels are difficult.
Tamara George (10) – February 14th
Aboriginal—local First Nation
Identifies as a female
Speaks some local dialect
Raised by grandparents
Two older sisters also have similar IEPs
Enjoys sports
Open to working with others; highly empathetic
Exhibits difficulty reading: IEP established in Grade 2 focussing on one-on-one practice with Learning Resource Teachers; in class, emphasis on distinguishing letter sounds both visually and auditorily; extra time spent on sight words (pre-teaching vocabulary and concepts); repetition and rephrasing, syllabication; visual teaching methods; chunking information; direct teaching of language and structure—both written and oral; reinforcement of speech intelligibility, expressive language, and auditory comprehension.
Lebron Kimathi (10) – July 17th
Bron in Kenya, moved to Canada at age 1
Christian
Identifies as a male
Excels at sport, plays videogames
Undiagnosed ADST: behavioural problems are largely monitored by the classroom EA. There is no extra funding.
Bossy and fidgety, which makes partnerships difficult.
Zachary Partyka (10) — February 13th
Polish, Catholic
Identifies as a male
Extending reading and writing and sports
Reserved personality; rarely speaks out or volunteers in class.
Is very sensitive to bossy behaviour from teachers or peers.
Amira El Masry (9) – December 29th
Afghanistan, Muslim
Identifies as a female
Refugee – arrived in Canada 6 months ago – little English language
Positive attitude
Good at labelling images such as on maps
ESL assessment shows language skills are beginner, but her attitude suggests that she will gain knowledge quickly with peer learning (at the lowest levels).
Brings a strong sense of appreciation for education to the class, which improves the class mood.
Keely Murray – Classroom List
Tallulah O’Brien
– 9 years old, identifies as female, Irish-Canadian
– Tallulah is Deaf. She has a full-time interpreter, but a lot of the students in class have been with her since kindergarten and know basic signs. She has some verbal skills, but chooses not to speak. As this is an aspect of Deaf culture, which Tallulah and her parents (also Deaf) are very involved in.
– Rationale: IEP – As Tallulah is Deaf, any auditory lessons must have a written/visual alternative so that she can partake in them. Tallulah should be given extra time to understand and process instructions, as well as ask questions, as her questions and the teacher’s information has to go through the interpreter. Lessons, activities, and assignments should be created with both the interpreter and Tallulah’s Deafness in mind
– Tallulah loves to read, and writes very creative fictional stories. She gets along great with her peers
– Tallulah often needs extra time to understand math assignments, but will make it known when she doesn’t understand and needs more explanation
Page Richardson
– 10 years old, identifies as non-binary, Italian
– Page began identifying as non-binary last year. They use they/them pronouns
– Page is outgoing and a class clown. They are friends with everyone, but will distract the class and derail a conversation when given the chance
– Page excels at math, but struggles with paying attention to lessons
– Rationale: Page benefits from sitting at the front of the classroom. They are less likely to distract their peers in this location and more likely to pay attention to class. Page also benefits from additional and higher level math work. On Thursday afternoons, they go to the grade 5 class and participate in math activities there. They also benefit from direction once finished their work. If given specific tasks (i.e. helping their peers, making an exemplar for a future lesson, etc.), Page will be less likely to distract those who are still working.
Penny Spark
– 9 years old, identifies as female, German-Spanish
– Penny has a tendency to act out in class when things don’t go her way or when the schedule is changed without enough notice. Penny and her siblings are in the foster care system. She has supervised visits with her mother every few weeks, and the rate of her acting out increases in the days after these visits. She will scream and swear at the teacher and her classmates, and throw things around the room. She has never hurt another student, but her actions will occasionally hurt herself.
– Rationale: Penny benefits from structure, especially having the schedule for the day written on the board so she knows what to expect. If something in the schedule has to change or fire drill that is supposed to be a surprise to students is happening during the day, Penny benefits from being given as much notice as possible. She has strategies (take a walk, sit in the quiet corner with noise cancelling headphones, breathing exercises) that she can use when she starts feeling herself start to reach her breaking point, and will sometimes use them
– Penny loves doing art and PE, but needs extra encouragement to participate in math class
Mason Garcia
– 10 years old, identifies as male, Mexican-Canadian
– Mason is very knowledgeable in science, and is especially interested in volcanoes and outer space
– Mason likes to be “cool”, and will join in on whatever his friends are doing to make himself look cool. This can work for the benefit of the class (i.e. when his friends are very invested in the lesson) or detrimental (i.e. when other students are being disruptive, he will join in)
– Rationale: Mason benefits from being sat with quieter students, since he will take on the traits of the students he sits with. Mason also benefits from being allowed to use his interests in space and volcanoes in his work, as that will increase his engagement in an assignment even if his peers don’t seem to think the assignment is “cool”
Eloise la Fleur
– 9 years old, identifies as female, French-Canadian
– Eloise has a twin, Elaine, who is in this class as well
– Eloise is involved in a number of extra curriculars including gymnastics, figure skating, cello, and others
– Rationale: Eloise’s parents are very involved in her school work and expect her to do well in everything. Normally, Eloise has no issues with this, as she excels in most subject areas. However, sometimes her extracurriculars are too much, and she can be exhausted in class. Eloise benefits from having time to complete work in class, so she won’t have homework piled on top of her already hectic schedule
Maya Hope
– 10 years old, identifies as female, Swedish
– Maya is very scatterbrained, and is always losing her supplies. She is also very easily distracted and has trouble paying attention
– Maya is a natural peace-maker. She gets along with all of her classmates and uses her positive attitude and kindness to resolve any conflicts among the class
– Rationale: Maya benefits from written instructions for activities and assignments, as she can refer to anything she might have missed in class. Maya also benefits from having the blinds closed as often as possible during class or to sit with her back to the window. This gives her less distractions and will help with her ability to focus
Hannah Trombley- Classroom snapshot
Karissa Selwyn
Identifies as: Female
10 years old
Canadian, Swedish
Strengths: Shy but good sense of humour, enjoys independent tasks
Weaknesses: Struggles to work cooperatively as a group and gets easily aggravated (needs reminders for self-regulation)
Rationale/Needs: Karissa benefits from self-regulation techniques taught in class such as belly breathing, butterfly breathing, and bumblebee breathing. Karissa enjoys choosing her own calm-down strategies such as going for a walk, sitting on a yoga ball or drawing in the calm-down corner.
Melissa Johnson
Identifies as: Female
10 years old
Canadian, Indigenous
Strengths: Melissa is a very active student who enjoys participating in all school sports and physical education. She has a natural drive for leadership.
Weaknesses: Melissa is much taller and stronger than most of the boys and girls in the classroom. Because of this, Melissa sometimes bullies other students.
Rationale/Needs: Melissa struggles with social emotional learning because of poor role models at home. She often struggles being empathetic with other students and sensitive to other student’s needs. Melissa benefits from social emotional learning as well as leadership responsibilities. Melissa checks in with the teacher each morning to go over her kindness goals in the classroom.
Max Ricardo
Identifies as: Male
10 years old
Spanish
Strengths: Very confident young individual, is a natural leader and often helps direct other students in the classroom
Weaknesses: Max’s first language is Spanish and often has difficulty with English language conjunctions and grammar. Max is able to speak English; however, he has difficulty reading and writing in English without error.
Rationale/Needs: Max benefits from reading with a partner in class to help him improve his reading skills. He also gets pulled out for one of one support with the school ELL resource instructor. Max often refers himself to the classroom word wall and enjoys using visuals to support his reading and writing. Max does not appreciate his work being used as an exemplar because he is well aware of weaknesses in terms of his peers’ abilities.
Emmett Fitzgerald
Identifies as: Male
10 years old
Canadian, Christian
Strengths: Emmett is an extremely gifted student who is quite intelligent and performs above grade level. His strongest subject is Math.
Weaknesses: Emmett often gets in arguments with other students about his religious beliefs. Emmett follows the belief system of his parents and does not accept other students views or opinions. Teacher often has to contact parents about Emmett’s actions towards other students and often receives a negative response from the parents.
Rationale/Needs: Emmett benefits from lots of social emotional learning skills in order to better connect and respect other students. Emmett also sees the school counsellor once every two weeks to discuss his concerns, troubles and opinions on other students’ beliefs that he does not align with. Emmett benefits from writing about his feelings in his journal and reading them to the teacher when he is feeling like he isn’t heard or supported.
Lyla Alexander
Identifies as: they/them
10 years old
American
Strengths: Lyla is a very energetic and positive student. She cheers up a room when she walks in and always has a positive attitude. Lyla excels in arts and creative writing. They is a very imaginative, happy student.
Weaknesses: Lyla often second guesses themselves in subject areas like math, science, and social studies. They lack confidence in subject areas that are not of interest to them. Despite their answers or attempts often being correct, they still require lots of reassurance that they are on the right track.
Rationale/Needs: Lyla benefits from lots of one-on-one check ins with the teacher and classroom EA for emotional support. Lyla also benefits from simple and direct instructions or jobs. They do not do well with too much detailed instruction and will get overwhelmed. Lyla also benefits from instructions being written down in point form order on the classroom whiteboard to ensure they are on the right track.
Johnathan Wesley (IEP)
Identifies as: Male
9 years old
Canadian, Indigenous
Strengths: Johnathan is a very friendly and generous young boy. When creating crafts, he likes to share them with other students and staff members in the school. He is always polite and stands up for other students.
Weaknesses: Johnathan is diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and struggles with articulating his wants and needs. He also has difficulty with attention and memory and requires constant reminders and prompts.
Rationale/Needs: Johnathan works with a part time EA in the morning until mid-afternoon. The EA helps get him into his daily routine and create his visual/picture/tactile agenda. Johnathan has the hardest time in the morning leaving his dad from drop off and often takes an hour to get settled with the rest of his students. There is a reward system in place for Johnathan. He receives Mario and Pac-Man stickers when he completes a job because those are currently his favourite characters.
I.E.P
Johnathan has an I.E.P because he is a student diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and requires extra support in the classroom. Johnathan was taken away from mom and does not have any contact from her. Johnathan is currently staying with dad who is a recovering addict. Johnathan’s goals are to get through the day without any outbursts, to keep his hands and feet to himself peacefully, and get his jobs done. Johnathan struggles with remembering the alphabet and his speech is often slurred. He does a great deal of visual work with the EA and there are visual labels throughout the classroom to help Johnathan describe his needs. In terms of writing goals, Johnathan is able to copy over outlined letters and often supports his writing with drawings.
Nicole McNeil- Classroom
Student 1:
Steven Morrigan
– Age: 10,
– Gender: male
– Steven is a very outgoing and hard- working student that is at the top of his class but has difficulty transitioning between lessons due to wanting to always chat with his peers.
– Rationale: Steven needs to sit at the front of the class and beside students who do not talk during class as frequently. This helps regulate him to stay more on task. Steven knows he is smart, and needs multiple extensions to keep him engaged in lessons and on topic.
Student 2:
Rhysand Night
– Age: 10
– Gender: male
– Rhysand is a shy and quiet student. He pays attention in class and always gets his work done, but he had a difficult time making connection with his peers due to his quiet personality.
– Rationale: Rhysand benefits from group work with students who are regulated and work hard. Recognizing that placing Rhysand next to a student that talks a lot will make him more reserved due to his attempts to hide in their shadow. Rhysand benefits from having one-on-one conversations with the teacher rather than be called out in front of the class.
Student 3:
Tamlin Spring
– Age: 10
– Gender: male
– Behavioral IEP
– Tamlin is a sweet and loving little boy. He loves playing with cars and trucks and reading all about them. Tamlin has difficulty regulating his emotions when he becomes frustrated or overwhelmed in situations, and will physically and verbally act out in response
– IEP: Tamlin has ongoing goals of being able to recognize when he is becoming frustrated or overwhelmed and moving into his safe location in the hallway. Tam is allowed to take walking breaks as long as he checks in with the teacher or support in the classroom. Tam is working on self-regulating his emotions and talking about what is making him frustrated and overwhelmed rather than having a physical reaction.
– Rationale: Tamlin works well within smaller groups. There are certain students that Tam should keep a distance from just due to natural friction between him and students but loves playing with most students. Tam need a quiet space to be able to regulate and work, so having a spot near the front, or a standing desk works well for him.
Student 4:
Elaine La Fleur (Elouise’s twin sister)
– Age: 10
– Gender: female
– French Canadian
– Elaine is a busy body. She is involved in many afterschool activities gymnastics figure skating, cello, and others. She also volunteers at the Public Library in the daycare program (as she wants to be a future teacher). With Elaine’s extracurricular activities, and her parents being very involved in her life this sometimes leaves Elaine feeling exhausted and checked out during class time.
– Rationale: Elaine benefits from having time to do her work in class so that she does not have to do it late at night after all her other activities after school. She also benefits from quiet downtime in class where she can just read or draw for fun with the pressure of having to submit something for a grade.
Student 5:
Erin Cross
– Canadian, Swedish
– Age: 10
– Gender: female
– Identity: Bi, curious about males and females
– Erin is a sweet little girl who is always questioning everything and anything. She is always wanting to gain more information and is adventurous and loves exploring new things. When Erin started showing signs of being bi-curious her parents informed her teacher. Even though Erin has not fully come out to admit she is, there are things she does that make other students judge her for her likes in certain people.
– Rationale: Erin benefits from sitting need her close friends who support and care for her. In groups Erin is more comfortable and relaxed when there is a supportive peer with her that she can share her adventurous ideas with. Erin also benefits from talking to the school councillor once a week just as a social-emotional check-in.
Student 6:
Ivy Young
– Age: 10
– Gender: female
– Canadian, German
– Ivy loves reading and making up imaginary games in her head. She is above grade level for reading abilities but struggles when it comes to math due to ability to engage in lessons. Ivy would rather be reading and that makes it difficult for her to stay on task when other lessons are going on.
– Rationale: Ivy is working on always finishing her work first before she is allowed to start reading again. Ivy is allowed to draw silently while listening to a lesson but must still be paying attention. Since Ivy loves being creative, there are incentives towards her being allowed to read and draw after her work is done. Ivy also benefits from hands on manipulatives and ADST work as it allows her to be creative and show her work.
| Student Number | First Name | Last Name | Needs |
| Lyla | Alexander | ||
| Erin | Cross | ||
| Ivy | Young | ||
| Eloise | La Fleur | ||
| Elaine | La Fleur | ||
| Tamlin | Spring | IEP | |
| Rhysand | Night | ||
| Steven | Morrigan | ||
| Johnathan | Wesley | IEP | |
| Max | Ricardo | ||
| Emmett | Fitzgerald | ||
| Karissa | Selwyn | ||
| Maya | Hope | ||
| Mason | Garcia | ||
| Penny | Spark | ||
| Page | Richardson | ||
| Tallulah | O’Brien | IEP | |
| Amira | El Masry | ||
| Zachary | Partyka | ||
| Lebron | Kimathi | ||
| Tamara | George | IEP | |
| Sarah | Wong | ||
| James | Gordon | ||
| Melissa | Johnson |
1. Knowing what you know about your learners, now, and also what you know about yourself, design the classroom space to fit all needs (including yours). This should include:
a. table/desk placement, groupings→ refer to attached picture of layout
b. material placement – Each student would have a book bin, coloured duotangs for lessons (ex. Writing journal), binder for core lessons work, pencil case with essentials (in desk).
- Submit to hand in bin, in front of class by teachers desk
- Math manipulative in clean bins on the back shelf, teachers personal book collection in reading corner, front shelf will hold all subject duotangs, caddy with colouring sheets, extra paper etc.. Students are responsible for their own supplies, if using resources from the class set, students are responsible for caring for it and cleaning up after themselves.
- Reading corner, calm down corner with bike and soft manipulatives, daily 5 station, number corner/schedule/ calendar wall station. Spare table for different working zone/ small groups, and standing table
- Word wall, FPPL poster, 7 sacred teachings, Core curricular competencies, Big Ideas/objectives, classroom jobs, student display board (for work), triple scoop, posters with colours in Dakelh and French, ASL posters (colours, common words, alphabet)
- Smart Board, Ipads (Daily 5, ESL students, reading), mobile computer lab (when needed)
c. where is your teacher space? Why is it located where it is?
- Desk in front corner of the classroom. Located near students that need continuous or higher levels of support. Also then the students are able to glance up and see the teacher. Desk and caddy are also easily accessible when you walk into the classroom and the teacher keeps things in close proximity to them while they are teaching at the front.
d. how do you plan for learners to enter and exit the room? Think about flow of movement.
- There are two doors located in the classroom. One is for entering, one is for exiting. This allows for students, parents and other teachers to be able to enter and exit without running into other people. This also gives a designated spot for students to line up at when transitioning in and out of the classroom. Two doors also let students socially distance due to covid regulations and health reasons.
2. Using planning resources in our class resource folder, or from other lived experiences, plan your community building activities that elicit student voice and agency, and that target:
a. expected behaviours – both educator and learner
- Learner: think-pair-share: class rules and expectation, classroom contract= poster on the wall
- Educator: Same activity: teacher expectations, teacher philosophy/pedagogy posted behind desk to refer too
b. conflict resolution policies in learning space
- W.I.T.S poster and conversation, acting out/discussing situations (related to social-emotional learning), RRP Cards, Restorative Questions, Zones of regulation
c. use of technology
- Use of smart board, no phones, use of Ipads and mobile lab
- Adding technology to certain lessons
- Scratch (coding), Kahoot (create own for class), Class Dojo
- Adding technology to certain lessons
3. Lastly, create a clear plan to communicate to me how you, as educator, will be managing the day-to-day learning and energy of the individuals in the room. What are the routinized practices in the classroom that learners can rely on? How will these help learners regulate themselves in order to be ready to learn?
Morning:
- Soft start: Students hang up their backpacks and jackets, put on shoes, get ready for morning meetings (student check in’s) → Morning calendar and shape of the day (highlighting important events),
- morning work (journal or Daily 5).
Recess
Mid-morning:
- Instruction time → longer lessons because it is normally the best teaching/learning time or multi-lessons
Lunch
Outside time
Afternoon
- Instructional/ hands on learning/ out of class instruction etc.
End of Day
- Classroom clean up (class jobs), important notices for next day, final moments to gather books, check-out (like a check in but end of day version), backpacks and jackets, dismissal
Routine/attention grabbers
- Quiet coyote
- ASL (taught to students, front loading)
- Finish the lyric (Front load)
- Point in directions, end with both hands up
- Tuning fork/wand
- Meditation bowl (ding/vibration bowl and hum along)
- Chimes
- Forever lineup- permanent line up that never changes
- VIP/calendar helper
- Fidget toy/ standing desk for when needed
Note: This is the link to our co-created/ collaborated Pinterest board
- It visually shows our ideal classrooms, with layout, posters, bulletin boards etc.
- https://www.pinterest.ca/hannahtrombley/classroom-design/
Pictures of our Classroom Layout
