#4 Engaged Learning

From doing my service learning hours I have noticed that the teacher incorporates many engaged learning strategies. Due to the students being first graders, the teacher uses physical movement a lot. During their morning routine the students review vowels. As the students said them, they did actions that went along with the activity so that they remembered them better. It made the activity more fun and held the students' attention better.

While it may not seem as fun as movement, the teacher also enforced her classroom rules. The students always knew what was expected of them and so when they did something wrong, it was easily corrected. When everyone followed the rules the students learned better because no one's learning got interrupted. It also created a good environment where the students were able to learn safely.

The teacher also involved all of the students. When they did a fun number activity she made sure every student participated at least a little bit. Even though some students wouldn't raise their hands, she would call on them so that everyone shared at least one thought about the activity. This created a fun environment where the students were engaged and supportive of one another. 

One instance where the lesson was not particularly engaging was when a few of the students wouldn't go to the rug to participate in the activity. The teacher could have made this situation better by telling the kids to come to the rug for the activity and then finish what they were doing at their desk if there was extra time after. This way the lesson wouldn't be interrupted and every student would have been participating. Having all the students come to the rug would also show the kids that their participation is important because they themselves are important.