EDF 2085 Service Learning Journal

1. Palmetto Elementary *12401 SW 74th
Ave*Miami, FL 33156
Service Learning Journal
Service Learning Journal
EDF 2085 * Spring 2014
EDF 2085 * Spring 2014
By: Elena Fornes
By: Elena Fornes

2. Home of the Lions
School Profile
Grades: PK – 05
Total Enrollment: 590
Uniforms: Yes
Colors: Royal Blue & Gold
http://pes.dadeschools.net/

3. Palmetto Elementary is a Dade county public school in
Pinecrest, Fl serving approximately 594 students grades
PK - 05. Palmetto has extracurricular activities available
to its students which include band, cheerleading and
chess. The school also have a wellness initiative ‘Play, Eat,
Succeed’ which strives to motivate and educate the
students and staff to make healthier choices and be more
active. The student body consists of 43% hispanic, 40%
white, 10% black and 7% asian. They currently employ 42
teachers, 2 occupational therapist, 1 physical therapist, 1
speech therapist and 1 SPED teacher. The other 20
employees consist of office staff, custodial and cafeteria
employees , the assistant principal and principal.

4. Mrs. Ellis - 5th
Grade
Morning Class
Ms. Viquez - 4th
Grade
After noon Class
Schedule / Lesson Plan
9 am – Science
10 am Language Arts
11 am Reading
Student Demographic
24 total students
13 girls and 11 boys
1 African American,
2 Asian
21 white & Hispanic.
Schedule / Lesson Plan
12:30 –Reading
1 pm- Language Arts
2 pm -Social Studies
Student Demographic
23 Total Students
14 girls, 9 boys
3 African American,
1 Asian
20 white and Hispanic.

6. .
During this assignment I passed out construction paper and walked around
the class to make sure that the students understood how to create the flap
book. I also helped some of the students decide which living thing they were
going to illustrate and describe. I have to be honest this science class has had
me so exited from day 1, it is so much fun. You are exposed to so many
different learning styles which effectively deepens and enriches a students’
understanding through content area literacy strategies, verbalization of
thought, and application of the subject matter; (FEAPS 3;B). An assignment
like this differentiates instruction based on an assessment of student learning
needs and recognition of individual differences in students; (FEAPS 3;H) It
allows for the instructor to support, encourage, and provide immediate and
specific feedback to students to promote student achievement; and utilize
student feedback to monitor instructional needs and to adjust instruction.
(FEAPS 3;I,J)This experience changed my views on elementary education.
When the semester first started I was not sure if I wanted to go into secondary
or primary teaching but now I know. I know that elementary education is the
heart and soul, the building blocks of a person’s future.

7. 

8. Activity Description: Create a history time line.
The students had been discussing the chronological order of events for this assignment through out the
week. In the beginning of this class she started off reading from the text book. After she read the 1st
paragraph she then called out on a student to continue reading and had each student read 3 or 4
sentences from the section. In accordance with FEAPS 1 Ms. Viquez was effectively communicating
using listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills for this assignment. Once they finished reading
the text they had question and answer time; the students told me that this is their favorite subject. They
spent about 10 minutes discussing what they had just read. In doing this Ms. Viquez was adapting the
learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students FEAPS 2,H. I’m
sure that some of the students were probably drifting away while they were reading aloud however
became very engaged and eager during the Q& A segment. After this Ms. Viquez explained that they
would be creating a time line of all the events and people which they had been learning about through
out the week. She was not going to grade this, she explained, she wanted them to create it for
themselves as their ‘go to’ time line during future class discussion. She also let them know to get
creative and draw pictures , cut and or print out illustrations to describe the time. She applied varied
instructional strategies and resources, including appropriate technology, to provide comprehensible
instruction and to teach for student understanding(FEAPS 3,G). I assisted the class in helping some of
the kids draw the lines in the center of the page . I gave them ideas as to what they could draw. They
were exited to do this and this again gave the students another outlet to learn and retain information.
As previously stated, I really enjoyed participating in this servicing learning assignment. I am thrilled
that I decided to participate in a primary school. It gave me the opportunity to experience elementary
education through the eyes of an instructor.

9. Music Band
Cheerleading
squad

12.  This was a wonderful experience. I can’t say enough that I was not sure how I was going to feel
about any of this. For starters I was worried that I might not like the teaching profession and I was
convinced that I preferred High School over elementary. Boy was I wrong. I absolutely love the
teaching profession and only want to teach elementary. Elementary is the beginning of a life long
mold that we are creating for ourselves. It’s the platform that holds up our future education. As an
elementary school teacher you have an opportunity to be part of that and I am looking forward to
it. I was lucky enough to work with 2 separate teacher and in different subjects. Mrs. Ellis has been
teaching since 1970, so she had a very calm confidence to her teaching style. She wasn’t trying to
prove anything she is very comfortable in her role and it shined. Her teaching methods were
essentially pin pointed in just about every area of FEAPS. She was truly an inspiration and I
enjoyed my time with her very much. Ms. Viquez has been teaching for about 13 years, although
much younger she was also very sound with her teaching style. After every assignment and test she
always has the students switch assignments with one another to grade, which I thought was
interesting. She explained to me that the reason she does that is because that is the time to ask and
answer question. That is the moment when the information is fresh in their minds and so if they
get something wrong they will ask why and she can explain. She feels that this really helps in
reviewing with them and helping them understand why they answered incorrectly. I thought this
was a genius idea and hope to some day implement it. This method also complies with (FEAPS 3,
I&J)Support, encourage, and provide immediate and specific feedback to students to promote
student achievement; and utilize student feedback to monitor instructional needs and to adjust
instruction.