THORNTON HIGH SCHOOL
(CSU 1st Placement)
SETTING AND CONTEXT
Culture and Community Context:
Because of THS's large minority enrollment, many students were ESL learners. Some of them were fluent in Spanish while others were middle eastern immigrants. Instruction had to be heavily differentiated for these learners. For example, safety instructions had to be broken down into four words per sentence. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic cues reinforced learning expectations. For example, teachers were encouraged to point to their eyes if students could see what they were doing and their ears if they could hear the instructions correctly. Packets with a visual breakdown of a creative process were set on each table. Though the ESL learners had fluent conversational English, they needed a lot of supportive learning materials to practice their writing skills. Because of this need, art teachers are encouraged to provide as many writing opportunities for students as possible.
Most of the students (particularly those of Hispanic descent) worked a job outside of school. It was not stated whether work was a necessity for families or if students wanted extra money and professional experience. Because of this, students experienced challenges completing homework at night. Morning attendance was also a school-wide issue. Students would be 15-30 minutes late to first period because they stayed up late working at their job or had to take younger siblings to school. Teachers have to differentiate attendance policies for these reasons.
Parent involvement was very low during the school day. However, attendance during parent-teacher conferences was very high. If teachers needed to have a discussion with students, they needed to be fluent in Spanish. This was because many parents did not have any conversational English.
Because of THS's large minority enrollment, many students were ESL learners. Some of them were fluent in Spanish while others were middle eastern immigrants. Instruction had to be heavily differentiated for these learners. For example, safety instructions had to be broken down into four words per sentence. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic cues reinforced learning expectations. For example, teachers were encouraged to point to their eyes if students could see what they were doing and their ears if they could hear the instructions correctly. Packets with a visual breakdown of a creative process were set on each table. Though the ESL learners had fluent conversational English, they needed a lot of supportive learning materials to practice their writing skills. Because of this need, art teachers are encouraged to provide as many writing opportunities for students as possible.
Most of the students (particularly those of Hispanic descent) worked a job outside of school. It was not stated whether work was a necessity for families or if students wanted extra money and professional experience. Because of this, students experienced challenges completing homework at night. Morning attendance was also a school-wide issue. Students would be 15-30 minutes late to first period because they stayed up late working at their job or had to take younger siblings to school. Teachers have to differentiate attendance policies for these reasons.
Parent involvement was very low during the school day. However, attendance during parent-teacher conferences was very high. If teachers needed to have a discussion with students, they needed to be fluent in Spanish. This was because many parents did not have any conversational English.
School-Wide Policies:
- Management: Classroom attendance is the biggest issue that Thornton High School deals with student culture. Therefore, students have to sign in with a tardy sheet after the bell rangs. Three tardies or unexcused absences results in a phone call home. Routine issues with tardiness or unexcused absences equates to a meeting with the dean. Students also have to sign in/out on a whiteboard to go to the bathroom, as well as the time they left. They have five minutes to return back to class or they will be marked with an unexcused absence. Cell phones go into a phone jail or are taken away for the duration of class if they become a distraction. All students need to show their IDs when entering any part of the building. Faculty stands at each entrance to check IDs. The principal specifically stands at the front door in the morning to check everyone's IDs.
- Safe Schools: Thornton High School follows the Safe Schools Policy training when it comes to crisis intervention. Each month, students practice a lockout drill, lockdown drill, fire drills, tornado drills, or bus evacuation drills. All threats against school, staff, or students will be immediately reported to the dean, counselor, principal, social worker, police officer, or any relevant party. Local law enforcement is constantly on campus and involved with all drills and threats.
- Conflict Resolution: Counselors, social workers, and school psychologists are trained to assess and support students at risk for suicide, abuse at school or home, conflict resolution, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, and other at-risk behaviors. Social Emotional Learning Programs are also offered, such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Second Step, Journey to a Hate Free Millennium, Signs of Suicide (SOS), Random Acts of Kindness, Peace4Kids, Superflex and Zones of Regulation. In addition to programming, all Five Star schools reinforce protective factors for students and families such as promoting positive relationships with adults in school and at home; increasing the availability of after-school activities; creating a positive and inclusive culture and climate at the school; teaching adaptive coping and problem-solving skills, including conflict resolution; providing easy access to mental health and health providers; and emphasizing the importance of open communication with youth and families
- Students with Special Needs: The 1973 Rehabilitation Act requires that schools in Adams 12 (including Thornton High School) locate, evaluate, and determine if students are qualified for 504 plans or IEPs. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) give parents the right to review relevant educational records. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 guarantees that students between the ages of 3 and 21 with a disability is assured public education in the least restrictive environment at no cost to the parents.
Classroom Environment and Art Classes Taught:
For my student teaching placement, I taught introductory classes in Drawing and Painting, Pottery, and Metals. This meant that I got the opportunity to work with three different teachers. The Thornton High School Fine Arts Department valued teaching based on the Design Cycles (seen on the right). All of the art classes required students to answer daily "art start" questions that build on their pre-existing knowledge of the project's concepts and reinforced literacy (particularly for ESL students). The art starts also served as formative assessments for teachers. Ideation worksheets were given to students to help them brainstorm their ideas. Critique activities were mostly focused on gallery walks, whole group discussions, and written artist's statements. For summative assessments, students used the rubric to assess and grade themselves based on the eight studio habits. Their assessment would be combined with the teacher's assessment for their final grade. In terms of facilities, the classrooms were large enough to accommodate for heavy enrollment (maxing out at 40 students). Safety was highly emphasized as a form of management in pottery and metals because students were working with dangerous equipment. For example, torch safety rules in metals were broken down into four word rules so ESL students understood the seriousness of safety. Students were also banned from stepping foot in the kiln room (pottery). In all of the classes, democratic decision making played a very large role in classroom management. However, I noticed that the older students benefited more from democratic management and the younger students needed more structured rules. This was a challenging compromise in the introductory class. However, this meant that I needed to build one-on-one rapport with students and let them speak their mind about their views on management. During my student teaching experience, I did not work with students that were highly impacted by special needs. However, we had a handful of students that were on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. Instruction was slightly differentiated, but these students demonstrated a strong ability to complete projects. |
LESSON PLANS
Drawing and Painting 1
Lesson 1: Blind Contour Caricatures
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Powerpoint Slides: Humor in Art
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Lesson Plan, Rubric, and Ideation Worksheets
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Lesson 2: Surreal Obstacle Course
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Lesson Plans, Rubric, and Ideation Worksheets
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Metals 1
Lesson: Emotions Pendant
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Lesson Plans, Rubric, and Ideation Worksheets
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Pottery 1
Lesson: Canopic Jars
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Lesson Plans, Rubric, and Ideation Worksheets
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