Observation #2: February 23 (Planning for unit and conference with classroom teacher)

Today the students’ had a free period during our observation time because of good behavior. During this time my partner and I were able to just observe the students’ interactions with others at their grade level. There was a brief awards ceremony in which awards were given for honor roll achievement and improvement. Then everyone was allowed to watch a magic school bus video about the planets, which they seemed to be rather excited about. I must admit I am a fan of Ms. Frizzle. The students’ were congratulating their friends that received awards and you could see that academic achievement was something of value.

After school my partner and I met with our classroom teacher to discuss our plans for our unit. We are going to be doing a unit on the five regions of Virginia. We can teach the regions in any order we like. We planned a tentative schedule and began to brainstorm possible pre-assessment ideas. We will conduct our pre-assessment on Wed. prior to their Math lesson. Our teacher also provided us with links and possible ideas. Our official teaching will likely take place the week of March 19 after we have given our teacher a chance to review our unit. I like the fact that I am able to brainstorm with my partner as well as my classroom teacher. We are pretty much in good shape! We’re just going to do some research and we should be fine.

Observation #1: February 21

Today was my first official day back in my 4^th grade classroom placement; I hadn’t seen most of the students since before Winter Break. Throughout all of the snow day chaos and other unexpected events I have maintained lines of communication with my classroom teacher, and was ready to get back into the swing of things this week.

As soon as I entered the school building there was a since of comfort. I love being around students, no matter how chaotic my day, when I see children it just makes me happy. When I headed toward the fourth grade area and my classroom placement, one of the best things happened I saw the students recognize me and whisper too each other, “oh look its Ms. Janelle!” When I reached the doorway I was greeted with hugs and smiles and it felt great.

My partner and I observed a Math lesson. The students were reviewing parallel, perpendicular, and intersecting lines. Being that the classroom has 7 or so ESOL students my classroom teacher is always incorporating as many hands on and visual activities and references as possible. In this activity students used tooth picks to represent the different lines along with definition cards that they glued on construction paper (picture-text support). This will definitely be useful for future reference and later instruction.

The activity was easier for some than others. Some students finished within a few minutes after hearing the directions and others needed guidance from their peers and my partner and I as we walked around.

Today’s lesson observation reinforces my teaching metaphor. Students were collaborating with one another, the teacher was in tune with student differences and the students’ were able to work at their own pace. When students finished early there was a second activity for them to work on. I could tell that time had been taken to establish a routine that students follow.

This direct instruction lesson seemed to serve as a good refresher for students. I’d say that it was effective in that it allowed for students to create a tangible item that can then be used or referenced in the future that they created themselves. I think the fact that they did it themselves will help them in their memory of what each of the lines is called, what they mean, and what they look like. I know that in thinking about observations and classroom time last semester, this lesson, and other classroom experience we should plan interactive lessons that keep students interested and engaged.