Classroom environment - English and Music classes

In this entry I want to focus on classroom environment during English and Music Classes that I saw this week on my teaching practice.

English lesson was conducted in the first grade. It started with a short warm-up - each child was asked what she/he ate for breakfast. Then students were practicing appropriate pronunciation of the words which were on the worksheet they got from the teacher. Next, there was a talk about Thanksgiving - what is this, where, when and how it is celebrated. Teacher has also written on the whiteboard  some words connected with this special day. Thanksgiving Word Search was the last exercise pupils were supposed to do - this time they were divided into pairs. During all these activities students were sitting on their chairs and they were not using any coursebook. 

In the classroom there are three rows of tables next to each other and teacher's desk in front of one of them. There is also a place for some standing and moving activities thanks to the space with a carpet and some pillows - children can also relax there or lay down if they do not feel well. There are only ten students and the classroom itself is rather spacious so children can comfortably work in  pairs or small groups. Moreover, I noticed that there is a cork board where students' works, and posters are hanged. What is also important, each child has his/her own box and a little drawer under the desk to keep books and other materials.

Music lesson was conducted in the third grade. There were about fifteen students. During this lesson children were practicing songs for the Winter Show. First one was the rap - pupils stayed in the two lines (one behind the other) and sang this song a few times with miming and gesturing. What is important, there were some solo parts which really impressed me. Then children came back to their places - it was a time for "Jingle Bells". This time teacher focused on drilling each stanza many times so as to students remember whole song correctly. 

During this lesson teacher did not use any coursebook. Instead of this there were soundtracks of each practiced song. While the beginning stage of practicing "Jingle Bells" version with words was also used. 

In this classroom there was another seating arrangement. Tables were put in a semicircle. Thanks to this students can see each other without any problems and there is a place where students can stand and interact in (this area was used during singing rap). Moreover I noticed that like in the first grade classroom I described above, there is a place for students' books and other materials - they also keep them in individual boxes. What is more, in this classroom there is also a cork board for some posters, decorations and children's works.

To sum up, in my opinion classroom environment should be various and fitted to students' needs because thanks to this it ensures effective learning. As a teacher I should, among other matters, have in mind what seating arrangement is the best for my students in different learning situations and what materials I should use in order to keep children engaged during the lesson.