420 Placement Syllabus
& Procedures
Where to find
information:
• Council of Teacher Education
(www.cote.illinois.edu) for Student Portal
• Office of Clinical Experiences
(http://ed.uiuc.edu/ci/oce) for assessment portfolio,
evaluation forms, & other forms
• 420 website for forms
• IL State Board of Education
(www.isbe.state.il.us) for standards
To purchase:
•
•
•
•
420 notebook (binder 1)
421 notebook (binder 2)
Assessment portfolio (binder 3)
plastic sheet protectors (420/421
notebooks)
• tabs (labeled & inserted into
notebook in the order of
appearance in syllabus-9 plus
the “subcategories” of your
resources section)
• Printer ink & paper
Timeframe
• DO the work the week as
indicated
• SUBMIT the work the
following Monday in your
notebook packets.
• Notebook packets are due on
Mondays before 4:00.
• Pick up notebook packets on
Friday before 1:00
• Place in 420 notebook
immediately
Map
•Due once, week 7 (March 8
packet)
•Must be computer generated
•Answer the questions a) how does
the classroom environment
demonstrate expectations and
beliefs about children? b) what are
the environment’s strengths and
limitations?
Comments (March 3, 2009) (title, date)
1. Desmond (9:00-Arrival The children are arriving in the morning.
Desmond hangs up his coat and approaches me. (2 sentences at least
to describe context.)
D: Do you know what I had for breakfast?
Me: No, what?
D: Yucky Charms!
2. Sam (9:10-large group) The teacher was teaching a lesson on
national symbols. The discussion veered towards war and how war
has changed since the colonists began the American Revolution. Sam
raised his hand to ask a question.
S: "Do the soldiers today, like the ones in Iraq, still have swords and
stuff?"
3. Nora (9:55-transition) The class was waiting for a few minutes after
the history lesson was done for the next activity. Several students
around Nora were talking.
Tyler: "I've looked at people's desks and they're messy. Jennifer has a lot
of stuff inside."
Nora: "If you're complaining about messy desks, you should look at your
own desk!"
Focus on dialogue between students, or between teachers & students that
gives you a unique perspective or understanding of a child’s perspective.
Observation
Wednesday, Feb. 27 (date)
10:05-10:10 (five minutes exactly)
Context: outside time
Ali (first name only)
Description: (behavioral statements)
Ali sits in the sandbox on his bottom with his legs stretched out in front of him. He is wearing
long pants, gym shoes and a bulky winter coat. He runs his hands back and forth in the sand
as he watches his friend Devon scoop sand with a shovel into a red bucket. Devon leaves the
sandbox. Ali gets up to get Devon's bucket and shovel. He crouches in the sandbox, using
the shovel to scoop the sand. He holds the shovel in his right hand and moves it with ease. He
uses his left hand to hold the bucket. He places five scoops of sand in the bucket, then pats the
excess down on the top of the bucket with the shovel, wacking the sand. Still crouching, he
searches for rocks in the sand while still holding the shovel in his right hand. He places rocks
in a pile in the middle of the sand with his left hand. He places them carefully, a couple at a
time. Ali’s friend, Aidan, runs past the sandbox, calling his name. Ali looks up and smiles at
his friend. He immediately flips the shovel out of his hand behind him, and runs out of the
sandbox after Aidan.
Interpretation: (your thoughts about their behavior)
Ali usually plays tag and chase with a regular group of friends so I was surprised to see him
playing in the sandbox. This was the first time I’ve seen him play there all semester. I was
wondering what Ali was thinking when he was running his hands through the sand as he
seemed to be in a trance. Perhaps the movement and tactile stimulation was soothing to him.
Does Ali engage in tactile play (like the water table, finger paint) in the classroom? I wonder
if he was watching Devon in an attempt to understand what to do in the sandbox. He was
especially observant of his friend. Ali went right to the sandbox when we went outside. What
prompted this today? Did he have a busy morning at home and needed some solitude? Were
his friends giving him a hard time in the classroom this morning? Ali is confident and verbal
and has the skills to express his feelings. He looked very comfortable. Physically he was
adept at using the shovel and bucket. He seemed comfortable perched in a squatting position
for a while, even with his bulky winter coat. And he seemed socially comfortable-he didn’t
look up to search for his friends at any time in the sandbox. He was engaged in his play the
entire time. When his friend called to him, he looked up with a smile. He wasn’t upset by
being interrupted or seem to hold any bad feelings toward his friend.
Learnings (Week 7) (Title & week)
Monday (2/25) (day & date)
Today I learned how to use the copy machine. I introduced myself to two
other teachers in the copy room. One is right down the hall and invited
me to visit her classroom after the children left for lunch today. (start each
sentence with “I learned…”)
Tuesday (2/26)
I learned that my coop has 2 children: a girl named Heidi and a boy
named Brian. They are fraternal twins and attend Illinois State
University. (Single space)
Wednesday (2/27)
Today I met our speech and language therapist. We had a classroom
planning meeting. I was impressed with the therapist’s knowledge of the
students and their IEP goals. My coop asked lots of questions about how
to address their goals throughout the day. I learned that many of the
activities that we routinely do, such as opening, help address those goals.
Thursday (2/28) (indicate days you are absent)
I did not attend placement today. I was sick.
Friday (2/29) (indicate days & reason why you didn’t attend placement)
No School-Spring holiday
Photos
•follow the photograph policy of your school
•caption photographs
•take a wide variety: classroom activities, the
environment, etc.
•PPT is a good application for combining
photos and captions
•absolutely NO photos of children can be
posted on Facebook
Resources
•teacher handouts
•classroom newsletters
•teacher training information
•school information
•student work
Categorize the artifacts into various
subsections by topic (language, math, staff
information, parent information)
Connection Papers
•connect a placement experience to class
•specifically cite a reading, class
discussion, or Paley book
•”quote” (Walsh, p. 61.)
•1-2 pages long
•try to make sense of the experience. How
did the experience challenge or reinforce
your beliefs as a teacher?
•opening paragraph from an actual
connection paper:
I recently made an important connection between Vivian Paley’s The Girl with the
Brown Crayon and my placement. The Girl with the Brown Crayon tells a wonderful story about
wonderful teaching. I have observed this same manner of teaching in my co-op’s first grade
classroom, particularly during literacy activities. The Girl with the Brown Crayon proved an
important belief in early childhood education: No matter how young children are, they can
understand stories. Paley’s extensive use of Leo Lionni’s stories amazed me. She discussed the
ways that the characters entered “our stories, our play, and our ordinary conversations.” (Paley, p.
49) Under her guidance, the students made insightful connections between Lionni’s stories and their
own lives. These connections dealt with friendship, race, and gender; all of these issues are relevant
to children’s lives. I admired the way she tackled these issues by helping her students focus on
difficult moments in their own lives. Reading about these difficult moments helped me see the
power that stories can have on people.
Parents (Week 7) (title and week)
Monday (3/8): I met Emma’s mom at arrival. I mentioned
Emma’s obsession with the color pink, and commented upon how
we’ve been talking about the names of different shades of pink.
(Take an active role. Do not simply report what a parent said to
you. What did YOU do or say to initiate or contribute to the
conversation?)
Tuesday (3/9): Mason's dad came to the room before school
started to drop off the treats for her birthday. I introduced myself
to Mason's dad and helped Mason carry the juice to the snack
table.
Wednesday (3/10): Casey's Mom picked her up from school
today. I introduced myself and complimented Casey’s work
today during math tub time.
Thursday (3/11): no contacts today (list all days even if you
didn’t have contact)
Friday (3/12): I sent out my letter of introduction today.
If you’re in a placement where you see many parents, you need
not list all interactions. Choose one that is poignant to include in
this assignment.
Lesson Plans for Mentor Sessions
•word processed
•3 copies-one for mentor, one for yourself,
one for coop
•must be handed to mentor when s/he
arrives.
•use lesson plan template (420 website)
•during the session with your mentor, take
notes in the “post-lesson reflection”
section.
•post-lesson reflection section must be
completed and submitted in the next
notebook packet.
•standards can be found on the ISBE
website
Letter of Introduction
•1 page long
•nicely presented: neat, no grammatical or spelling
errors
• include a picture
•give professional AND personal information
•what can you share about yourself that will help
you connect to your students and families? (pets,
what you liked to do when you were in school,
girl scouts, favorite food, birthplace, etc)
•include contact info (email & school #) NOT
your home phone
•must be proofed by cooperating teacher and
mentor before you send it out
General formatting & management tips:
•follow format specifications exactly
•read & reread the syllabus
•you can print back-to-back
•please place papers back-to-back in
protectors
•have tabbed notebook ready
•when your work is returned, place into
your notebook sections immediately
•carry a notebook/clipboard for recording
comments, observations & your thoughts
•type up comments & observations daily
•be professional in all recordings-don’t
write anything that you wouldn’t want your
coop or a parent to read.
420 Final Notebook
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“View” binder suggested
tabs should be arranged & complete
Attractive cover
Name on cover and spine
Resources section should be divided
into subsections.
• Final notebook due on 4/28
(Wednesday)
Homework
• Go shopping!
• Begin to write your letter of
introduction
• Print out mandatory paperwork
forms off website
Attendance & absences
• Sick-call coop immediately.
Email mentor.
• All absences must be made up
in 4 hour chunks.
• Days off for holidays are
dictated by school district and
are the luck of the draw.
• You are expected to attend
teacher institute days.
Make up work
• Make up work is dictated by the
day you are absent.
• Complete work that or following
week.
• Label as: “make up work for
absence on ----”
• Corrected work must be revised
before placing it in your
notebook.
• Redos must be submitted in the
following week’s packet.