Visit Jane's Classroom...
"I don't know if we've had chaos yet . . .but there is a lot of activity, a high level of student involvement in a variety of activities. And to a person walking in the door, it can look fairly chaotic. But, it's purposeful chaos. " --Jane Krauss
The Students
In the Fall of 1998, Jane conducted the Travel USA project
for the first time with 22 students in her 4th/5th blend classroom.
Room 5
10 4th graders; and 12 5th graders
12 Girls; 10 Boys
6 Foreign-born students; five ESL
2 Special Education
4 Title Students (low reading or low math)
4 % Free and Reduced Lunch
Mobility - Five students in Jane's classroom were new to Harris School. Throughout the year, she gained three students and lost two.
A Blended Classroom
The current year's fourth graders return as fifth graders and are joined
by a new set of fourth graders. This means that Jane will not repeat the
Travel USA project each year but alternates with other extended
projects in other content areas.
Jane considers the blended classroom to be a mixed blessing. She describes it as having advantages and disadvantages. A benefit of a blend is having returning students who know the classroom routines and standards. They model both, and less time is spent establishing routines and more time is spent learning. Learning is more continuous and developmental when there is a blurring of "grade-level". Children are invited to approach a task at their unique level of ability.
"One of the things I've learned by teaching a blended class is that learning has no ceiling--there are many points of entry into any project, and the sky is the limit. I am better at pressing able learners to greater heights, and I'm more flexible in helping younger or less able learners find their way into and through a project." --Jane Krauss
Jane alternates major curriculum projects on a two-year cycle. For her Social Studies projects she alternates between US history/geography and World and Oregon history/geography. In the sciences she alternates between physical science projects (measuring time, magnets and motors, physics) and life science (ecosystems, land and water, salmon studies, oceanography). Some of these projects are technology-enhanced, others are not.
Getting Organized
The Classroom Schedule
Students worked on the 15-week Travel USA project about one
hour each day for four days a week. Depending on the day of the week,
Jane's schedule varied to accommodate music, PE, and specialists. A typical
schedule is below:
8:25-8:40 Warm Up (language arts or math)
8:40-9:00 Math Problem Solving
9:00-10:05 Writing/Projects (Fall: Travel USA project)
10:05-10:15 Morning Meeting/Snack
10:15-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:15 Math
11:15-12:00 Science/Social Studies/Projects
12:00-12:35 Lunch
12:40-1:30 Literature
1:30-1:50 Spelling
1:50-2:15 PE, Music, or Library
2:15-2:40 Wrap Up, Assign Homework, Read Aloud
2:40 Dismissal