Blog 4

Journal Directions

From September 29, 2008 until October 2, 2008 the listserv was discussing different ways to address the students.

A. These include descriptions of classroom activities, resources, and issues discussed.

The discussion got started by one woman saying that she calls the kids to the carpet by even/odd numbers. She said that she taught first grade. She felt that it was helpful to the students to call them by numbers that were even and odd because 1—it was like a game for them and 2—because it helped them with number recognition.

B. Explain areas of agreement, disagreement, concerns, and advice

Throughout this weeks discussion there were mixed views on this woman’s approach to classroom management. One person severely disagreed with her because she thought that it completely desensitized the relationship between the teacher and the student. Another person also disagreed and said that the students were not being addressed in a human way and she would not want her child to be called by a number. She also added, by addressing them in a human way it teaches them respect. Some people were in the middle by saying that what works for one teacher does not work for all teachers. They also said that the strategies you use in a classroom depend on the type of kids that are in your classroom. I completely agree with them. A couple of people said that they can see where it might give added practice in recognizing things like even/odd numbers, color recognition, skip counting, categorizing, etc. Some people thanked her for the idea. They thought it was a cute way to get the students motivated to become involved in the lesson. In addition, other teachers thought it would help the students develop a sense of order or learn how to organize. It sounded like a way to keep good structure. Another teacher commented by saying the personal aspect is not lost with reinforcement of the praise in using their names. Lastly, a teacher added her opinion by saying that she also calls kids to the carpet by saying whosever name begins with the letter “T” come to the carpet.

C: Explain any follow up activities that you have tried that you learned from the list serve.

I tried the strategy of calling the students to the carpet by the rug and it was successful. The students did think of it as a game and no child felt out of place

Responses to Others Questions




A. Why did you choose to answer this particular question or make a particular comment?

I chose to respond to this woman’s post because I felt it was a new idea for me to use when I sub. I commented by saying that it was a good idea. It was a different style and the kids would probably love it since it was something that was new to them. I then proceeded to tell her that the way I call kids to the carpet is by seeing which table is sitting the nicest and has the best posture. That usually motivates them to act the way I see is fit for them.