Mr. Cicardo arranged his second grade students in groups of fourto accommodate group work for math. Students keep their desks inthis arrangement at all times. During spelling tests, Mr. Cicardoreminds students to look only at their papers and demonstrate theirindividual ability to spell the words. Occasionally, he findsstudents looking at a neighbor's paper anyway. During language artslessons, Mr. Cicardo often sees students mouthing messages to oneanother in their groups, and he reminds them to pay attention tothe lesson. When Mr. Cicardo works with small reading groups, therest of the class works on independent seatwork. This is a timewhen students often collaborate and talk with others seated nearby.The noise is distracting to students who are working quietly, andit disturbs the reading group being conducted. So, Mr. Cicardofrequently needs to remind students that this is independent work,not group work.
Describe specific changes Mr. Cicardo might make in both classroomarrangement and classroom procedures to improve the learningenvironment and increase academic learning time.
