In a classroom where there are only nine students and three adults (one teacher, two teacher assistants) you may think it would be an ideal world. The teacher and teacher assistants in the self-contained classroom at Thomasville Primary School could tell you that in order to achieve that ideal world, it takes hard work. Day in and day out these ladies give love and support to the students in their self-contained classroom. They establish a strict routine, but know how to be flexible. They incorporate movement and dance, but know when to work. They do so many wonderful things for the children in their classroom, which I'm sure most of them they do not even realize.
A self-contained classroom is defined as a "typically smaller setting with a fewer number of students. Created to help foster enhanced support for students with special needs or specific difficulties, self-contained rooms are generally comprised of about ten students with unique struggles who are most commonly instructed by a lead teacher with a certification in special education. Self-contained classrooms will also have at least one paraeducator who provides instructional support under the guidance of the classroom teacher." (Public School Review)
I was only able to observe in the self-contained classroom during the same time block each day, due to my busy schedule. I was able to see the morning routine, but how it varied depending on what the day held. When I first visited the classroom, I was captivated by the room itself. I noticed print everywhere. Everything in the room had a label. It had a lot of open space, with three U-shaped in various places around the room. The carpet space was large and open as well. There were two desks in the room, but off to the side with no chairs near them. I later learned that these were focus spots, and only used if a child needed a separate space to work on their own. The classroom had an activboard, as do all of the other classrooms at Thomasville Primary School.
It seemed as though each day began with a writing activity when I came into the classroom. The students were asked to sign in each day in order to practice writing their name. Then, their morning would consist of breakfast in the classroom and calendar. I was unable to see this part of the day during my observations but was well aware of the schedule that they followed each day. They would then gather around the U-shaped table closest to the activboard to begin writing. In large print, the board would contain sentence stems like "My name is _____., My birthday is ______., My favorite color is ______." Only one sentence would be visible at a time, in order to minimize distraction or create stressors. Students were also given options. For example, when asked when their birthday was, the teacher or teacher assistant would write down a few birthdays and have the students identify which was theirs. When it came time to answer questions about their favorite color or food, a discussion began about what "favorite" means. This was repeated each time the word favorite was used in a sentence stem.
Although each student was doing the same thing, it seemed individualized. The teacher and teacher's assistants were meeting the students' needs by challenging those who needed to be challenged or guiding those who needed extra support. I was able to see a student become frustrated and upset during the writing. Whether this came from inability to complete the task or something else, I am unsure. But one of the teacher's assistants pulled her to another table immediately and gave her an activity for fine motor skills. She had a heart shaped object with many holes it in where she began threading yarn through the holes to make a pattern. This calmed her down and she was quickly back to her bubbly self. Knowing your students and being able to anticipate or be flexible to their moods is so important, especially in a self-contained classroom with so many varying disabilities.
On some days after writing came songs. Other days, the students did this prior to writing. Again, it all depended on the needs in the classroom at that current time. Songs they would play throughout the week included the good morning song, the weather song, the months and then movement and dance songs which varied based on student preference. You could see the smiles on the students faces and feel their sense of comfort and excitement as the songs played and they danced around.
"Efforts should be taken to emphasis a child’s talents, not their shortcomings, which is why self-contained classrooms offer a welcome respite from the jungle that can be elementary, middle or high school." (SpecialEdResource.com) Incorporating dance and movement, real life skills, and a flexible schedule are many of the reasons that this self-contained classroom is so beneficial for its students. Although I was only able to observe the morning part of this classroom during my visits, I left each observation feeling confident that the students in this classroom not only felt safe, but were spending meaningful time learning life skills in their classroom.
Resources:
Self-Contained Classroom Defined | SpecialEdResource.com. (2014). Retrieved March 01, 2016, from http://specialedresource.com/resource-center/self-contained-classroom-defined
Understanding Self-Contained Classrooms in Public Schools | PublicSchoolReview.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2016, from http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/understanding-self-contained-classrooms-in-public-schools
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