The same type of lesson was done for our third lesson and taught by Gloria. We had one large group instruction and broke down into two groups for small group. I generally felt that the students did not work well in small group because it was almost giving them permission to talk and goof off. The students learned about holidays, government, and images. They were able to compare ancient egypt, ancient china, and our world.
During my small group time, the students were still goofing off. However, I tried to make it clear from the beginning that no one should be talking in the group when I was talking. I also sat in a chair so that they would see me more as an authority figure rather than a friend. Even though the lesson was suppose to be independent work, the students did not understand the directions. Therefore, I walked them through the worksheet question by question. Again they did not have time to finish.
The lesson ended well, but I felt that we did not get feedback of what the students had learned during the lesson.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Second Lesson
For the second lesson, Gloria taught about clothes, language, and images. We had one large group instruction and 2 centers. The lesson was taught in an hour so we had barely time to finish. Most of the students did not finish my center where we were sorting the differences in language. I realized I had no disciplinary authority over the students when they were doing small group. Even when I asked them nicely, sternly and forcefully to be quiet, they all refused to listen to my directions. Once my teacher walked over and they fell quickly into silence. However, as soon as she walked away, the chattering started again. I felt almost hopeless in getting the students to quiet down and concentrate on the task.
Since our students are high-achieving, I forget that they are still second graders. They get excited with hands on activities and cannot sit for a long time. The whole lesson ended successfully as the students were able to learn about how ancient egypt and china have contributed to our world.
Since our students are high-achieving, I forget that they are still second graders. They get excited with hands on activities and cannot sit for a long time. The whole lesson ended successfully as the students were able to learn about how ancient egypt and china have contributed to our world.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
First Lesson
I walked in the class, with all my supplies, ready to teach my lesson about Ancient China/Egypt inventions. However, the teacher was not expecting me so I had to interrupt the lesson they were already doing. The students seem to be so tired and lacking energy. Irregardless, I tried to have as much energy as I can to get the students excited about learning how ancient inventions are used in our lives today.
As I passed out the worksheets, I asked the students what some inventions they had already learned about. The students all looked lazily at their feet or elsewhere. Even the students who usually was excited to volunteer, sat quietly with their heads down. Teaching at the end of the day had harsh conditions!
I had the students read the passages about each invention aloud. However, I realized through the reading that it was too hard for them to read and to understand. Therefore, I tried to summarize the passage in more simple terms. As only one student was volunteering to answer questions, I continually called on her, but I should have tried to include the other students whether they had their hands up or not. I move quickly through the facts about the inventions and moved on to how the inventions are used in the world today. Many of the students seemed uninterested. First, I was moving too fast for them to write down everything I said. Many of the students were not focusing on what I was talking about. I felt as though the lesson had gone down in ruins.
The lesson ended with the students writing about how they use one of the inventions in their lives. During the writing time, students were able to write about how they use paper, compass, and the calendar in their own lives. After they had finished writing, they were able to share their story with one another and the whole class. The lesson did not go as well as I wished it would have. However, through this learning experience, I will continually learn how to be a good teacher.
As I passed out the worksheets, I asked the students what some inventions they had already learned about. The students all looked lazily at their feet or elsewhere. Even the students who usually was excited to volunteer, sat quietly with their heads down. Teaching at the end of the day had harsh conditions!
I had the students read the passages about each invention aloud. However, I realized through the reading that it was too hard for them to read and to understand. Therefore, I tried to summarize the passage in more simple terms. As only one student was volunteering to answer questions, I continually called on her, but I should have tried to include the other students whether they had their hands up or not. I move quickly through the facts about the inventions and moved on to how the inventions are used in the world today. Many of the students seemed uninterested. First, I was moving too fast for them to write down everything I said. Many of the students were not focusing on what I was talking about. I felt as though the lesson had gone down in ruins.
The lesson ended with the students writing about how they use one of the inventions in their lives. During the writing time, students were able to write about how they use paper, compass, and the calendar in their own lives. After they had finished writing, they were able to share their story with one another and the whole class. The lesson did not go as well as I wished it would have. However, through this learning experience, I will continually learn how to be a good teacher.
First Attempted Lesson
I was ready to teach my first lesson, only to find that our class was gone on a field trip.
Observation 3
As I walked into the classroom, the students were busy with their creative writing. The students were writing a story about anything. One thing I noticed about my class is that they are unable to use their imaginations with writing. Usually, the writing will end up being short and straightforward. During the writing time, the students were focusing on writing techniques such as indenting and writing in complete sentences.
I noticed that our teacher does not allow the students to be off task at any moment. As soon as she notices that a student is off task, she will quickly call on them and asks them to focus on the task at hand.
More and more, I notice the gap among the students. Some students were finding compound words in a story while other students were writing creative stories.
We were able to observe part of math time, where the students were doing math centers. Most students were working on adding and subtracting, but a few advanced students would do multiplication flash cards. The four math centers were: Ice Age (adding/subtracting), Challenge 24, Close to 20, and Multiplication flash cards. The students would have 15 minutes at each station, where some stations were independent and two were monitored by the teacher and a volunteer. The students were getting excited about the games and became noisy. I noticed that the teacher did not like the noise and would quickly call the class to quiet down once it became too loud. I once heard that a loud classroom is good because the students are excited about learning.
I noticed that our teacher does not allow the students to be off task at any moment. As soon as she notices that a student is off task, she will quickly call on them and asks them to focus on the task at hand.
More and more, I notice the gap among the students. Some students were finding compound words in a story while other students were writing creative stories.
We were able to observe part of math time, where the students were doing math centers. Most students were working on adding and subtracting, but a few advanced students would do multiplication flash cards. The four math centers were: Ice Age (adding/subtracting), Challenge 24, Close to 20, and Multiplication flash cards. The students would have 15 minutes at each station, where some stations were independent and two were monitored by the teacher and a volunteer. The students were getting excited about the games and became noisy. I noticed that the teacher did not like the noise and would quickly call the class to quiet down once it became too loud. I once heard that a loud classroom is good because the students are excited about learning.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Second Observation
The morning is started off with a review worksheet of place values from the previous lesson. The students sit so quietly as they are focused on finishing that problem. The classroom has a huge gap in performance. Some students are still counters as I could see them drawing circles and counting numbers. Other students are computators so they move through the worksheet much quicker.
The students are separated into two groups, the Stars and the All stars. The Stars are still reading with their finger and must be in a guided reading group. The All stars are working on a research project about their famous Americans. The gap between the two groups is noticed with their reading books. The Stars are reading books such as "Frog and Toad are Friends." The All stars are reading books at a much higher level, such as "Shiloh." It makes me wonder if the students know the difference between being an All star and a Star.
After guided reading, students work in a large group setting with vocabulary. Generally, the same students answer the question. However, Mrs. Moore does call on different students giving them a chance to answer. Throughout the vocabulary lesson, the students are focusing on important words that will show up in their next reading.
The students are separated into two groups, the Stars and the All stars. The Stars are still reading with their finger and must be in a guided reading group. The All stars are working on a research project about their famous Americans. The gap between the two groups is noticed with their reading books. The Stars are reading books such as "Frog and Toad are Friends." The All stars are reading books at a much higher level, such as "Shiloh." It makes me wonder if the students know the difference between being an All star and a Star.
After guided reading, students work in a large group setting with vocabulary. Generally, the same students answer the question. However, Mrs. Moore does call on different students giving them a chance to answer. Throughout the vocabulary lesson, the students are focusing on important words that will show up in their next reading.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
First Observation
The classroom always has so much going on at the same time. Even though I have visited Mrs. Moore's 2nd grade classroom several times before, it still amazes me how she has the students in a routine where they know exactly what to do as soon as they walk into the door.
Students are learning about China during their social studies period, but they are also doing famous Americans during their language arts period. Even though both of these topics are social studies topics, Mrs. Moore has incorporated the famous Americans into her language arts instruction. The students are using library books, teacher-approved websites and teacher-provided books to research about their famous American.
While some students are working on their famous American research project, Mrs. Moore has her guided reading group reading a book on snakes. She scaffolds the students on looking back into the book for facts and focuses on key words, such as "all," not "some."
For large group instruction, the students are reading from Open Court Reading books. The students are learning about summarizing the beginning, middle, and end. During this discussion, Mrs. Moore continually encourages students to look back into the story to find the facts. In jsut one hour, I was able to observe that the class had a continual flow where the students always were immersed in learning.
Students are learning about China during their social studies period, but they are also doing famous Americans during their language arts period. Even though both of these topics are social studies topics, Mrs. Moore has incorporated the famous Americans into her language arts instruction. The students are using library books, teacher-approved websites and teacher-provided books to research about their famous American.
While some students are working on their famous American research project, Mrs. Moore has her guided reading group reading a book on snakes. She scaffolds the students on looking back into the book for facts and focuses on key words, such as "all," not "some."
For large group instruction, the students are reading from Open Court Reading books. The students are learning about summarizing the beginning, middle, and end. During this discussion, Mrs. Moore continually encourages students to look back into the story to find the facts. In jsut one hour, I was able to observe that the class had a continual flow where the students always were immersed in learning.
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