Observation 1October 7, 2016
The student’s desk were the first thing that caught my attention when I entered my classroom for the first time. I quickly noticed how small the chairs were and how close to the ground the desk were.
The fact that everything was labeled and rules were posted on the wall made this an appropriate atmosphere for learning, because it gave the kids direction during class. The grade level of students Mrs. Nelson has is kindergarten. During my time there, the students usually take about 5 minutes to listen to the pledge and announcements. Then 5 minutes going over the letter chart. 15 minutes watching educational videos. 10 minutes for partner sharing. The kids read by themselves without talking or getting up for as long as they can (Stamina). The rest of the time is spent on assignments. During all of this I usually work with one or two students at a time with reading, letters and sounds. To address inappropriate behavior my teacher has a safe seat that she will send the student to. Then she will go over a couple of minutes later to talk with the student about what was wrong and help them understand what to do right. For example, she sent Truman to the safe seat for cutting another student’s paper in half, then went to talk with him about the situation and how to apologize. My supervising teacher gets the children’s attention by saying “Class, class” then the students will respond with “Yes, yes”. If the kids are moving around she will say “Macaroni and Cheese” then the students respond with “Everybody Freeze. They have an opportunity to interact with one another, the teacher or the group during partner sharing, class activities (assignments), working with me, and testing with Mrs. Nelson. When changing from one lesson to another my teacher would send students to the carpet and say “ Boys and Girls” to get everyone’s attention. Then she would go over the next step of their day. Students may have questions and she answers. One student that has caught my eye is Priscilla. Priscilla is quiet and listens well. She has some trouble with letters, but is always willing to learn. Since working with me she has come a very long way. From knowing just two letters to knowing 16 in just one to two weeks. She really applies herself when learning. I enjoy spending time with her while I am there. The five rules the teacher has for the class are, no talking if your hand is not raised, keep your hands to yourself, no running in the classroom, listen while Mrs. Nelson is talking, if someone enters the room finger wave, don’t be distracting to others. |
Observation 2March 10, 2017
The name of the teacher I observed is Mrs. Bernside. She teaches art.
What first caught my attention when I entered the classroom for the first time were the tables. They were the lunch tables used in elementary cafeterias. The fact that it was such a calm, quiet and well organized atmosphere made it appropriate for learning. The grade level of students she has is K-4. She has around 80 to 95 at each level. Activities the students were engaged in during the time I was there were shading shamrocks following a sequence of steps. -The students had to trace a shamrock multiple times on a white sheet of paper. (5 min) -The students had to outline the the traced shamrocks with a dark green crayon. (5 min) -The students had to shade in the shamrocks with a dark green crayon. (5 min) The teacher I observed addressed inappropriate behavior by using a safe seat. When a student’s behavior is inappropriate, she will quietly walk over and send them to the safe seat. Then she will go have a talk with that student, after giving them time to think about why they are in the safe seat. The teacher I observed got the children’s attention by saying, “Oh Class”, then the class would say, “Oh Yes.” The students have an opportunity to interact with one another throughout the whole class as they are sharing utensils and helping one another. The students have an opportunity to interact with the teacher throughout the whole class due to her actually participating in the activities. She walked around and sat next to groups of students who needed extra guidance. When changing from one lesson to another or from one activity to another, the teacher would make the transition by getting the classes attention, then explaining the next step. A student that caught my eye was this little girl at the end of the table. She shared her supplies with another student, and helped a student who didn’t understand much English. Her rules were: -No talking when the teacher is talking. -Be kind to others. -No running with scissors. -Always be respectful. - Always come in with a smile. Ways the children reacted to my presence in the classroom was like I was not there, besides one student. The one student who did pay attention waved at me two times then went back to her work. |