Kiera Burnett

Tch_Lrn 330
October 17, 2016
Classroom Observation: Mrs. Nelson, 2nd Grade
1. What is the general layout of the classroom and resources available for you to use for
your lesson and stations? Whiteboard, projector, laptop, document camera, smartboard,
Chromebooks, etc.? What supplies do the children generally have in their desks that they
can use?
The majority of the technology in this classroom is located at the front of the
room. I noticed a white board with a projector screen on it. To the left of the
screen is a teacher desk with a computer on it. I noticed, however, that Mrs.
Nelson can take the mouse and the keyboard from this computer and move
anywhere in the classroom. She used this for note taking. To the right of the
screen was a small desk with a document camera on it. Other technologies
included a microphone for teacher and student use. Students have available to
them in their desk books to read, colored pencils, scissors, markers, glue, a
doodle notebook, and a folder for unfinished work. There are also crayons,
erasers, and markers at the back of the classroom if a student does not have these.
2. What are some of the classroom dynamics to consider? Number of boys and girls in the
class? What grouping strategies might you consider for your stations?
There are numerous dynamics in the classroom that will play a role in the
planning and instruction of our social justice lesson plan. There are twenty-three
students in the classroom, thirteen boys and ten girls. Two of the boys in this
class are twins, but they are able to work well together. Mrs. Nelson has very
strong classroom management. There are many routines that she uses to maintain
this. When students have a question, they are to stand a book up on their desk and
wait for assistance. When students finish with their work, there is a chart that
shows them what tasks they should work on next. When Mrs. Nelson is ready for
a transition, she displays a power point slide that highlights what they need to be
doing and has a song embedded that acts as a timer. She also uses scouts to
recognize desired behaviors throughout the day. Finally, we noticed that students
are great at independent work and can do it silently for an extended period of
time.
3. What are some of the general mathematics concepts that all of the students in your grade
level can understand/use, regardless of their math grouping? Are there particular
mathematical concepts that the teacher thinks would be useful for your lesson to use?

Students use a math model where they walk to a different classroom for leveled
instruction. This means there is great variance in math levels within the
classroom. Mrs. Nelson informed us that all students can add within 20 and
subtract within 13 and that they are currently working on repeated addition, a
precursor to multiplication. She said that when we come back to teach our lesson,
they will likely be working on double digit addition and subtraction.
4. What are some of the main themes in the social studies curriculum for your grade level
that might be a good tie in for your lesson?
The major social studies theme in this classroom is Pullman and Palouse history.
Mrs. Nelson has created her own curriculum to talk about first peoples,
geography, soils, and water in the area. Her native peoples curriculum focuses on
the Nez Perce Indians and includes storytelling, information on food sources, and
oral histories about food collection.
5. What social studies resources do you observe in the classroom (maps, texts, books, etc)?
The social studies resources in this classroom were limited. I noticed flags from
different countries hung around the room. I saw no hanging maps and I know
they do not have textbooks. I did, however, see one map of Pullman when I was
flipping through the social studies curriculum. The final resource I noticed was a
variety of biographies on famous individuals.
6. Regarding ELL students, what is the first/home language? Are they receiving services in
the school? How many years? What strategies have teachers used that were helpful?
There are four ELLs in this classroom, one who speaks Arabic, two who speak
Chinese, and one who speaks Korean. All of these students have received ELL
supports for the past 3 years. These students are pulled out four days a week for
thirty minutes in the morning. In the classroom, Mrs. Nelson uses illustrated
vocabulary with photos and examples, hand signs for grammar concepts, and
partnering strategies.
7. Regarding students with special needs, what accommodations do you need to consider for
reading, math, language arts, social studies? Think about students with documented IEPs
and 504 plans as well as those that do not have official plans on file. What strategies have
been successful?
There are three special needs students in the classroom. One students has autism
and is currently on an IEP. Mrs. Nelson accommodates him by being aware of
triggers such as a constant desire to be called on. She also utilizes certain
comforts such as making books and reading. This student is entirely capable
academically and does not need accommodations in this area. There are two
other boys that receive occupational therapy services. One is reactive to high

stress and uses a pencil grip to help him write. The other student is also very
anxious and requires a larger than average writing surface as he lacks fine motor
skills.
Notes
Countries of Origin: Korea, Iraq, China
Religions: Muslim, Christian
Other: one student with two moms, one student highly affected by poverty