Observation 4

Name (your name): Nicholas Rosa

Required Setting (Identify Elementary, Middle, High, or Special): Elementary

Context (one sentence or a bulleted list):

 Day of the Week/Date/Time:
 School Name/District: Paloma Elementary School/San Marcos Unified School District
 Type of classroom (grade/subject/special program): 3rd grade/humanities
 Number of teachers and assistants/Number of students: one teacher, 20-30 students
 Describe the demographic characteristics of this school or classroom (gender, race/ethnicity,
languages, abilities, etc.): Very diverse, gender about 50/50,

The class I was observing was elementary school humanities class, where the students were
most of their day aside from P.E. and math. As my observation began the students were sitting
on the floor near the front of the classroom, listening to directions from their teacher. Their
teacher was explaining a group writing assignment that students were continuing from the day
before. The teacher finished giving directions and the students got up and began moving their
desks around and forming them into little groups of three. Some students were using
chromebooks others were using paper, there was students on the ground, at desks, and standing.
They seemed to have the freedom choose where and how they would work most effectively. The
students periodically got rowdy/loud the teacher would then ring a bell, the majority of the class
would get very quiet, and in a very calm voice the teacher would tell the students that they were
being too loud. The students worked for about an hour before leaving class for recess. The
students returned and were instructed to “put the finishing touches on their project.” The students
worked for another 15 minutes, and were then instructed to begin cleaning up and putting their
projects away. The students who used chromebooks put them back in the computer cart in the
back of the classroom, and the others put their writing in personal folders that all the students in
the class had. The teacher instructed everyone to be quiet by gesturing with a single finger
towards her mouth. For a brief moment the students were completely quiet and the teacher began
to instruct the students on their next task. The teacher projected a sentence on the white board via
a projector mounted on the ceiling. The teacher then asked the students what was wrong with the
sentence, the students hands shot up, and the class volume rose. The teacher then gestured to her
mouth again with a single finger saying quietly “shhh.” The class went very silent and the
teacher began calling on students. Most of the students got the corrections correct, but a couple
were incorrect. When the students answered wrong the teacher asked if the student wanted any
help, sometimes they would simply try again, other times they would be allowed to choose a
friend to help them with the sentence corrections. The class did this for about 30 minutes.