Observation

Instructional Lesson Classroom: Grade: 3rd Curriculum Area: Writing/ Poetry Observer: Mariah Martin Date: Time:

What I noticed

Thoughts, Questions, Connections to Methods Classes I liked how she had them write the poem without telling them that was what they were doing. The way she introduced it made it intriguing for them as well because they had no clue what they were writing this for and so they were all engaged. I thought this was a great approach for poetry because for some students just when they hear the word poetry they get anxiety about writing it. That was me when I was in school but doing it this way makes poetry seem less scary and fun to write. It was also a good activity for them to do that helps build their self confidence by writing about themselves. My teacher said that they had not had a lot of time to go over poetry due to read to achieve but that she wanted to work with them a little bit and since this was a mini-lesson it was a good fit for the time restraint. We also went around the room and shared our poem with other people.

Did not start out like a normal lesson with introducing the topic first. She had us write our names on the first line of our notebook paper. Then we had to write 3-4 adjectives that describe you on the second line. On the third line we had to write daughter or son of whoever your parents names are. On the fourth line we wrote three things we loved. On the fifth line we wrote three feelings we had felt before. On the sixth line we wrote two fears we have. On the seventh line we wrote things that we were good at. On the eighth line we wrote what we wanted to be or what we wanted to do when we grow up. On the ninth line we wrote where we were from. And on the last line we wrote our last name. She did the activity along with the class and had the directions on a piece of paper for them to look at. At the end she told them that they had just written a poem. Poems can be about you or an event that has happened to you or they can describe an object, the weather, or a feeling. Poems can be long or they can be short. Some poems rhyme and some do not because the one they had just written did not rhyme. She then asked what they thought the poem they had just written was about. They answered that the poem was about them.

Reflection: I thought that this lesson was a great way to introduce poetry. She was not introducing it for the first time, but I think that this would be a great way to make poetry less scary for kids from the start. This poem that we wrote was simple and fun to write. We had no clue why she was making us write down all these things about ourselves. (Yes she had me make one too!) Once we were finally done she said that we had just written a poem. We then got to walk around the class and share our poem with other people. Of course everyone wanted to share their poems with me because I was new and they wanted to learn more things about me as well. I feel like this would also be a great way for students to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year. Students could share their poems with whomever they were comfortable sharing with and then they would turn them in and the teacher could read them to learn about all the students. I think that this step-by-step process that they had on a separate sheet of paper to help them write their poems is a great strategy that students could also use to help them break down the components of a poem. They can use the paper that she gave them to help them decompose a poem. They could pull out all the adjectives and emotions/feelings that they read or interpreted from the poem. They could also take a poem that is not very detailed and use their papers to help them improve the poem. I thought this lesson was very successful because the kids understood how to do and it reached all levels of students. The ones who were advanced she asked them to use higher level words. For example instead of using happy, use the word joyous. Also getting

to share their work gave them a sense of accountability. They needed to have it done so that they could share their poem with another classmate or as a treat me!

Document Collection and Reflection

Type of Document: Lesson Plans Date: What kind of document did you collect? I collected my teachers lesson plans. They plan as a team and within their teams they also plan in pairs so that they dont have to do it alone and have someone to run ideas off of. I liked how they planned because they were all on the same page. They were all on the same topics at the same time and did a lot of the same topics. When they planned their topics they would also have the worksheets that they were referencing so that when they passed them around the teachers individually could decide whether they wanted to use that worksheet or not. I thought this was a good strategy because a lot of the students were on different levels and so some of the worksheets wouldnt work for some teachers who need more of a variety. Time:

What does this document show? Their lesson plan sheets show in a table format the date, the essential standards/common core state standards, the lesson objective, important vocabulary, materials/technology, and assessment needed for each day of that week. Some vary and they provide student practice and mini lessons. They also color coordinate certain subjects so that they are easier to spot in their stack of lessons for that week. They also plan their lessons a week in advance and then present them in their planning meetings in the morning while the students are at specials.

Reflection: What are your thoughts/opinions about this document? I think that this is a great way to organize and plan lessons as a team. The table helps keep everything organized and displays it in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow from day to day. They are also short and to the point which I thought was good because us as teachers can just jot down the important pieces to the lesson and reference them quickly. When we are teaching we dont have time to look through long elaborate lesson plans but these are a much better size.

Reflection: I thought that their way of doing lesson planning was a great way to do lesson plans. It takes all the intimidation out of lesson planning because no matter what youre not alone in planning. They planned as a whole grade level and they also plan in pairs. I thought this was a great approach to lesson planning because the person is never all alone planning. They have their whole grade level team or their planning partner to bounce ideas off of. Their system of color coordinating the subjects is very smart too because then they are much easier to distinguish from one subject to another. The examples of lesson plans that I have vary and I think that this is because each teacher is different. One teacher might include more detail while another teacher might be straighter to the point. It can also vary because the subjects they are planning might require more sections to the lesson plans than the others to explain all of their plans efficiently. Overall I thought that their template for lesson planning was excellent. It is laid out in a very easy to follow table. The table is horizontal and the dates of each daily lesson are labeled at the top. The lesson objectives, common core state standards/essential standards, vocabulary, and assessments are labeled down the side of the table. I think that the layout of the lesson plans make them really easy to read from day to day. They are also laid out in a way that you can see from day to day how the lessons progress and become more in depth. They also allow for differentiation because each teacher can take those lesson plans and modify them to their individual classrooms. I know some teachers

within the third grade had to do this because they were the higher level TD classes. They really only had to change the worksheets and assessments that went along with the lessons.

Interview Protocol
Teacher Interviewer: Mariah Martin Interviewee: Date: 3/6/14 Time: 1 Hour (These are sample questions. Please add your own questions to learn more about your specific classroom. This interview should take place in your initial meeting, prior to the two week intensive). Planning Questions:

How do you write a typical lesson plan? What types of materials do you need available when you plan lessons? In what ways do you plan to accommodate individual differences in the classroom?
Instructional Questions:

What are some of your instructional challenges as a teacher? What have been some of your instructional successes as a teacher? What do you consider essential characteristics for successful teaching? How often do your students receive social studies/science instruction? Are you satisfied with the amount of time that you currently allot for social
studies/science instruction? Explain.

What social studies and science topics/units will be studied during the second week of my
clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives I could address for my lessons? Do you have any instructional resources that would support these goals/objectives?

What does reading instruction look like in your classroom (e.g. readers workshop, basals,
etc.)? What reading topics will be studied during the 2nd week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives I could address for my reading lesson? Do you have any instructional resources that would support these goals/objectives? Classroom Management Questions:

What motivation tactics do you use to ensure a desire to learn? Tell me about the classroom community. What are the class rules?

How is student behavior monitored? In what ways is positive behavior reinforced? In what ways are negative behaviors prevented? Tell me about the consequences for negative behavior. other aspects of timewait time, and time using teacher talk and student talk. What works well with your students?

Tell me about the pacing of lessons and interaction in the classroom- use of time- and
How are they handling the transfer of teachers? Are there any food allergies I should be aware of when planning some of my lessons?

Interview Responses
1. We plan as a team so we pair up and the two of us work together and find resources that we like from websites that we have previously used to go along with whatever standard we are covering that week. We always start with the standard and go from there. 2. I need the computer, so that I can type in our template as I go and because I use the internet for a lot of my resources. I get some of my lesson plan ideas from the internet. I also sometimes need their textbooks or any other texts we might be using for that week. 3. Most of my kids are below grade level in most of not all subjects and so I really have to slow things down for them. My ones that get things a little faster I usually have a little bit more challenging tasks for them to do. Like if its writing then I will have my class write with my expectations being for them write a paragraph that is 4-5 sentences long. With my higher students I would ask them to add more detail to their writing. 4. Coming in halfway through the year is definitely my biggest challenge this year. I am just starting to get to know them and all of their strengths and weaknesses ad coming in halfway through the curriculum with Read to Achieve just starting. 5. I think that when I first started I was very nervous to teach 5th grade and then once I started teaching it I fell in love with it. It is good to move around and get experience with other grade levels though. 6. Caring and knowledge. A teacher needs to care for her students and have a relationship with them because they need to know you care about them otherwise they do not care. They also need to be knowledgeable of the subjects they are teaching. They need to know what they are talking about when they are teaching it to students so that they can explain it in the correct way. 7. Science and social studies switch every quarter. A quarter is anywhere from 4-6 weeks and right now we are in science. 8. I wish that it wasnt separated. I like when all subjects are taught all at the same time. I feel like by separating them we are saying that they are not that important and so we can just rotate them. 9. We already have that week planned out and I think it is going to be force and motion. I have plenty of resources for you to use and we can go over the lesson plan that I have together and see what works best. 10. Reading is a little thrown off right now because due to Read to Achieve we are doing a lot of testing when I would normally be instructing. This mostly what we do during reading time now. I try to teach what their tests are covering like if its about main idea I will talk about main idea when we are going over the tests together afterwards. We usually some activities all that week since all the tests during that one week are the same standard. We can work together and you can do something with what the standard will be for their testing. 11. We as a school use the WOW charts. Im not really sure what it means but they have green which is where everyone starts out, then blue which is when they are

12.

13. 14.

15.

well prepared or do something good they can move up to blue. Then there is yellow which is the think about it stage. This is where they move if they dont do their homework or first behavioral move also if they dont do their homework then they have to do it during recess so they all want to get their homework done. Then there is red which is parent contact and in some cases office referral. We have a real problem with personal space so they are not allowed to touch each other at all. Stay seated unless you have permission to be up. Come prepared. No talking when the teacher is talking. If they are not listening or breaking any of the rules then they are told to change their color. Quick transitions are best because they get less distracted and chatty that way. Some have handled the transition better than others. I have eaten lunch with them every day since I started here to try and build that relationship with them. Their old teacher left everything up on the walls and everything which was great because I got to keep their environment the same so it wasnt too much change all at once. There is a peanut allergy so nothing with peanuts or peanut butter.

Reflection: I felt like I learned a lot about my teacher and my classroom through this interview. She was very open and honest with me and I felt like that bettered me because I knew what to expect going in to it and I felt more prepared. I thought that by asking questions about the classroom I was able to establish a relationship with her. I was also able to discuss my assignments with her and plan out what standards I would need to cover in my lessons. After asking her about the students levels I also feel like knowing their levels bettered my lessons because I was able to relate my lessons to them in a more effective way. I was also able to find out more information about the classroom rules. She told me that she wanted me to take charge when I was in the classroom. She said that they needed to respect me like I were her that way when I would start teaching they would be used to me being in charge. She wanted me to tell them to pull their cards if they were acting up and she didnt notice it. This made me feel more comfortable in her classroom and luckily I only had to do it once. I was also a little nervous when I found out that my teacher herself had only been with my class since January. It turned out to be very helpful for me because the original teacher left her a notebook where she had written a paragraph about each child so that my teacher would know a little about each student when she first came. My teacher gave this notebook to me so that I could learn more about the students that I would be

working with. She also had time to figure the students out by the time I got there so after this interview I felt less nervous about her being new to the class.

Student Interview 1. How long do you spend each night on homework? 2. What is one thing you would change about school if you could? 3. What is your favorite subject? 4. How do you get to and from school? 5. What is your favorite out of school activity? 6. Do you have any pets? If not what type of pet would you have? 7. What subject is most challenging for you? 8. What is your favorite book? 9. How many siblings do you have? 10.Did you go to preschool?

Student Interview Responses 1. One hour. 2. More recess! 3. Math. 4. Bus picks me up and drops me off at home. 5. Playing sports like soccer, basketball and bowling. 6. Yes. One dog named Roscoe and a cat named Boots and a fish named Mister. 7. Science and Writing. 8. Where The Wild Things Are. 9. One, I have a little sister named Abby. 10.No I didnt.

Student Interview Response #2 1. Two Hours. 2. More time for art class. 3. Reading. 4. My mom drops me off and picks me up. 5. Dancing. 6. Yes. I have two dogs named Max and Rosie and a turtle named Shellie. 7. Math. 8. Charlottes Web. 9. Two older brothers. Zach and Ryan. 10.Yes.

Reflection: I interviewed one boy and one girl for my student interviews because I wanted to be able to compare and contrast the difference between their answers. I noticed a great difference in most of their answers. The only same answer was that they both had dogs. They differed in everything else. The girl answered that her favorite subject was reading while the boy that I interviewed said that his was math. The girl also spent more time on homework than the little boy did. The little boy rode the bus while the little girl rode with her mom. I think that the subjects are kind of typical that boys tend to lean more towards math as their favorite while girls tend to lean more towards reading so I was not surprised that the girls favorite book was a higher level than the boys was. I was not expecting there to be a huge difference in time spent on homework but it could be because they have to read for twenty minutes and then do a math worksheet and if the girl has more trouble with math then it would take her longer to do her homework. They both have siblings but the boy was the oldest and the girl was the youngest in her family. They are both involved in extracurricular activities. The boy is more involved in sports when the girl only said dance. The boy did not go to preschool whereas the girl did go to preschool. I was shocked when the girl said more time for art instead of more time for recess because that was honestly the answer I was expecting from both of them. I thought that her answer showed some light into what she liked and what she gets out of school. She likes getting to express herself in her art whereas the boy gets to express

himself at recess. I enjoyed getting to hear their answers and I was glad that they surprised me with some of their answers.

Overall Reflection
My overall experience was very good. I learned a lot throughout my short two weeks there. My teacher really threw me into it head first which I loved. She was so nice in letting me take over her class to teach my lessons and she really worked with me in planning them and telling me what she thought would work best with the students. She was also my encourager when my math lesson did not go as good as my other three did. I got really discouraged when I didnt know what to do. Luckily she was there to explain it in a way they were more familiar with and then I took back over and finished my lesson. After the lesson was over she told me that it happens all the time and that sometimes you just have to change the way you are introducing it or slow it down to a rate that they will be able to understand it better. Being in this classroom I witnessed Read to Achieve and how it effects reading time for the students. I witnessed how exciting something can be for the kids if you find a way to make it hands on or interactive. Their whole opinion of a subject can change if you make learning fun and interesting for them. She was a little worried about them working in small groups or centers because she had tried it before and it didnt work too well. I used a small group set up for most of my lessons and it turned out great! That really surprised me and I was glad because I proved to their teacher that as long as they are actively engaged then they can work in small groups successfully. I got advice from my teacher of how to handle my first year as a teacher and she gave me some good advice about what resources are good and go along with the common

core. I developed relationships with my kids and it broke my heart to have to leave them and come back to my classes but I have learned from them and I will take away all my experiences and use them in my future classroom. I could not have imagined my experience going an better than it did and I would not change one thing because the things that went wrong I learned from.