Teacher from Different Grade Band Observation Reflection Form

Teacher Candidate for Science Endorsement (and grade band): _Chaviano – 2nd grade___

Teacher from different grade band Initials: ___________ Grade band ______________

School: ____Mount Bethel Elem_______ Grade: ____4____________________

Lesson Topic: ______Moon Phases Launch_____________________________________

Write a brief summary of your experiences observing this lesson, addressing the
following questions:

 In your opinion, what went well? What could be tweaked/improved? (Cite specific
examples. You can note specific things such as differentiation if it occurred, use
of technology, inquiry-based, etc).

The lesson began with a quick review of previously learned concepts such as
causes of night and day based on rotation of earth on its axis. The teacher then
asked questions, whole group to engage students and access prior knowledge by
asking questions: “Why do you think we see the whole moon, half the moon, no
moon, and three fourths of the moon?” and “What do you think HIDES the part
of the moon we cannot see?” and “Why do you think we have moon phases?”
Some students raised hands to volunteer information, but not all students
participated in the discussion. I don’t feel that the teacher had done an effective
job of pre-assessing ALL students’ understanding, and while most students were
listening, I don’t think they were truly engaged. Most responses were correct;
however, showing that the students who did respond, already had a some
background knowledge.

I think that the teacher could have encouraged more participation from all
students by using Kagen Strategies, such as “Think-Pair-Share” or some other
activity in which EVERY student is providing a response and is engaged rather
than riding the coat tails of the few students who regularly participate. Also, I
think the teacher could have incorporated a more valuable pre-assessment tool,
such as Page Keely probes, to get a more measureable result of students
understanding and misconceptions.

After the brief questioning session, the teacher showed a video on the moon.
The video was pretty good and explained the phases and how the shadows were
created. It lasted about ten minutes. Students were paying attention and
appeared to be listening.
 Following the video, the teacher introduced a vocabulary and a moon journal for
the students to use throughout the unit.

The teacher then demonstrated vocabulary concepts (self-shadow and cast

shadow) using a flashlight to demonstrate with a student, and explained that the
moons self-shadow is what causes the phases of the moon. The part of the moon
you can see is the part that’s not in the self-shadow. The sun is the “Flash light”
that causes the self-shadow on the moon. Where the sun hits the moon as it’s
rotating around the earth causes the self-shadow. This determines the phase of
the moon we can see from earth. She then went on to explain waning and
waxing, using the globe and flashlight with a Styrofoam ball to represent the
moon. The students recorded the terms in their vocab notebooks.

I’m not sure all of this was “understood” by all of the students. After all of this,
students were grouped by threes to experiment with flashlights to explore “cast
shadow” and “self shadow,” which I think should have done immediately
following that portion of the lesson. The students were not given an opportunity
to work hands on with the light, globe, and ball to “experience” for themselves
the motion of the earth and moon.

 How well were the lesson’s student performance objectives attained?

Because this was only an introductory lesson and no “assessment” was used, it is
difficult to tell whether objectives of the day were met. I would be inclined to
say, by my observation, there was still some confusion among a few of the
students.

 Since this lesson was from a different grade band than you typically teach, were
you able to see vertical alignment of the science standards? Be specific in your
description of how either this teacher builds on your fundamentals (if you are in
a lower grade band and observed higher) OR how this teacher’s lesson gave the
fundamentals for which you (in a higher grade band) eventually build upon.

Yes, I could definitely see the vertical alignment. In second grade, I also the
phases of the moon. In second grade, we use personal observations to describe,
illustrate, and predict how the appearance of the moon will change. This with
our study of shadows, we do go into some depth to explain the shadows on the
moon. This particular lesson is a review of what they learned in second grade,
and is the primer for building additional knowledge and in depth concrete
explanations for relationships between the sun, earth, and moon.