My cooperating teacher and I are in a first grade classroom. Therefore, the student's attention span is limited to about 10 minutes (15 if you are lucky). Due to this, my cooperating teacher needs to be excellent at classroom management and keeping students engaged.
One of the strategies that my cooperating teacher uses the most is movement. Students are frequently moving from their tables to the carpet and back. Additionally, the students get a brief morning recess since her classroom is close to the playground and a brief afternoon recess (not counting the one at lunch) to get their energy out and keep it at a manageable level. Along with the movement, my cooperating has her schedule broken up into small chunks. The morning is mainly Daily Five and Language Arts/Reading oriented on Fridays but there is a new activity roughly every 15 minutes. The afternoon on Fridays, they work on math and Writers Workshop. These subjects usually require more thought so she waits until after they have had lunch and lunch recess so their bodies are calm and their minds are ready.
My cooperating teacher is very energetic/animated and utilizes questions frequently in her teaching. Her questions use higher levels of Bloom's to help students think independently and be able to use strategies independently. Her high levels of energy keep students excited and focused.
Overall, this skill is a particular strong suit of my cooperating teacher and I hope to learn as much as I can from her during my time in her classroom.
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