Date: 1/24/18

Formative Observation

Teacher Candidate: Makayla Johnson

Site Teacher Educator/Cooperating Teacher: Liz Beebe
School: Nibley Park
Lesson Topic: Gravity
Grade and Subject: 2nd, Science
Program (EL, SC, SPED): General

Observer: Sandra Leu Bonanno

Scoring Scale:
n/o = no opportunity to observe or consult on this item at this time
Not Effective = 0
Beginning=1
Developing=2
Preservice Effective=3
In-service Effective = not available for scoring; for informational purposes only
Rubric:
When you are rating students on a particular standard, please provide a numerical rating using the rubric.
To access the rubric, copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://uite.utah.edu/_documents/housing/FINAL%20PAES%20Rubric-20170822.pdf

Not all standards will be observed during every observation. Complete appropriate standards only.

Please describe the details of the observed lesson, including information on the student teacher’s lesson plan and how the
P-12 students are affected by the instruction.

Student Teacher’s P-12 Students’ Understanding

Lesson

9/5/2017
 Makayla begins with an introduction of dropping a book to
grab the students’ attention. She asks students why the book
is dropping.
Objective - Talking about gravity, experimenting with different W -Is gravity a force?/ how is gravity made?/how is gravity
objects. What other things come into play that would affect
gravity - KWL Chart
Makayla provides an example of a possible experiment.
Closure: What did you learn today from your experiments?
9/5/2017
Two students talk about gravity and compare the Earth’s
gravity to space and the lack of gravity there.
K- without gravity we would float/ gravity is a force
formed?
Students are given various objects to test and drop. They
are using words and drawings to document their
observations.
Air effects the way that objects fall.
 Standards Comments and Suggestions
1: Learner Development Makayla truly bases the lesson on what students know and their
(1.1) Appropriate developmental understanding of gravity through the use of a KWL
Learning Experiences: 3 chart.

(1.2) Collaborates with others: 3

2: Learning Differences
(2.1) Diverse Experiences: 2.5
The activity in itself is differentiated as students are given the choice
and ability to be creative about how to experiment and document this
knowledge. For students that might not know where to begin,
providing some optional structure through questions or sentence
frames might be helpful.

Students are able to ask their own questions based on their interests in
gravity and science.

Makayla also provides wait time as she closes with a discussion for
them to think and observe.

3: Learning Environments 3.1 & 3.2 - Makayla reinforces that it’s okay that there isn’t a lot in the
(3.1) Engage and know column because that’s why we’re going to be doing an
Support Students: 3 experiment.

(3.2) Collaborates with Makayla asks students to demonstrate what sharing looks like in order
Students: 3 to preface how they are going to work together in groups.

(3.3) Classroom Management Makayla highlights students’ observed drawings and asks students to
Strategies: 3 share what they discovered.

3.3 - Makayla provides clear expectations and has students clean up

while she pulls up a video about gravity as a closure.

4: Content Makayla extends the lesson and talks about the way that surface area
affects the way that gravity impacts the falling of objects.
Knowledge
(4.1) Beyond gravity, she has students think about why the paths are
Accurate, different for each object.
Multiple
Representati
ons: 3

9/5/2017
 5: Assessment
(5.1)Assesses
Effectiveness of
Instruction: 2.5
(5.2) Documents Progress,
Provides Feedback:
n/a
(5.3)Assesses in a Variety of
Formats for Learning: 3
6: Instructional Planning
(6.1)Knowledge and Reference
of Utah Core Standards: 3
(6.2)Integrates Cross-disciplinary
Skills: n/a
7: Instructional Strategies
(7.1)Range of Appropriate
Instructional Strategies: score
(7.2)Opportunities for
Students to Develop Skills:
score
(7.3)Expands Learner’s
Communication Skills: score
(7.4)Variety of Effective
Technology and
Resources: score
(7.5)Finding and Using
Information to Solve Problems:
score
8: Reflection and Continuous
Growth
(8.1)Adapts and Improves
Practice: score
9/5/2017
5.1 - The interactive student notebooks are extremely effective to see
how students are experimenting and interpreting their experiments.
Making sure to provide directions so that students know they are
accountable for at least one photo or sentence would be helpful to
ensure that you have something to assess from all students.
5.3 - Makayla incorporates multiple ways of assessing student
knowledge both formally and informally. She has the students’
notebooks and drawings to see how they are processing the effect of
gravity with the materials they are provided. Collectively, she uses a
KWL chart, an iterative process that begins based on what the students
know, what they wonder, and have learned in the end.
Makayla structured the activity to directly influence the objective
students are working on. She gathered the materials and thought about
how students were to interact with them. Instead of the rotations she
planned on doing, she adjusted to have the materials at all of the
students’ desks so as to not waste time learning a new procedure.
Makayla begins with a fun attention getter by dropping the book! 100%
of students are looking at her and wondering what she was doing.
Makayla asked students to begin experiments -
Questions asked before the experiments:
Did the feather and the kiss have the same path?
Something that you’ll notice is that all objects around the world fall in a
different path.
Think about some guiding questions for students to be drawing and
writing in their notebooks to emphasize the importance of
observations.
To engage other students while one student is sharing, Makayla asks to
see if other students could raise their hands if they were thinking about
the same phenomena.
Makayla made adjustments when thinking about what she really wants
students to know after the experiments and after receiving comments
on her lesson plan via email. She is very reflective about how she
presents information to students and is going to integrate ways to take
step back and appreciate the learning happening.
 9:
Leadershi
p and
Collabora
tion
(9.1)Participates
and
Collaborates in
Decision
Making: n/a

(9.2)Student Teacher is
an
Advocate: n/a

10: Professional Learning and

Ethical Practices
(10.1)Complies with all Policies,
Rules & Laws: n/a

(10.2)Complies with State

Board of Education Rule
R277-515: n/a

Strengths - Instructional planning and structuring of an activity that allows

students choice and creative freedom to explore a scientific principle
- Provides space for students to be the “sage on the stage” and explain
their findings and new understandings from the experiment
- Planning for materials and thinking about how to effectively utilize
transitions/classroom management for optimal learning time
- Looking for additional materials that will add or supplement students’
learning
- Using an exciting attention grabber to get students excited about the
lesson
- Using multiple forms of informal and formal assessment to gauge
students’ knowledge

Goals - Providing some optional structure for students that need a bit more
support writing or getting their thoughts down

9/5/2017