Jacqueline De Jesus

1/26/16
Observation Reflection
While preparing for my first observation of the semester, I was extremely nervous
because everything felt new to me once more. Not only was there a long break since being in the
classroom, but I was reassigned to a different classroom. With this, I had to learn about my new
students, my classroom teacher, how things worked, and feel comfortable almost instantly. This
observation was done with my classroom teacher, and although I was nervous, I was pleased
with how well the lesson went. I was satisfied with my performance and feel that the objectives
to my lesson were met. For this lesson, I worked with four lower level reading students on
retelling a book. I had them read Snowmen at Night out loud in pairs. Then, with guidance, I had
them tell me information from the book including characters, setting, beginning, middle, and
end. I used a caterpillar anchor chart as a visual aid for the students. I also had them complete a
retelling mini-book. I really enjoyed teaching this small group because I could help them more
and better cater to their needs as learners. After watching the video of my lesson, there are many
things that I did well, and some areas that I can improve on in order to be more effective when
teaching.
Before the lesson started, I was already demonstrating the importance of being prepared.
I set up the groups table, as well as the materials that they would need. This was a good choice
because I would not have to waste any instructional time gathering materials. I also made sure to
hang up the anchor chart, so that it would be ready when needed. When the students were called
to the table, they seemed excited to start and questioned what they were going to do. I even saw

some other students in the class look at the caterpillar and explain to the teacher that they wanted
to work with me. This enthusiasm before the lesson is exactly what teachers want to see.
When the students were ready to begin, I started my lesson by explaining to them what
we were going to be doing and I set a purpose. This can be seen at 6 seconds into the video. I
told the students that we were going to work on retelling a story. As I learned previously,
setting a purpose is so important. It gives students a reason to listen, participate, and gets them
focused on what they will be learning. Because I did this, I had lots of participation from the
students. They listened to my questions, answered them, engaged in conversation, and were able
to correctly retell the story with guidance.
Another great thing that I did, was to encourage active participation from all students.
When the students began to read aloud, I noticed that one of the students was simply listening to
their partner read and looking at the images. At 30 seconds into the video you can see that I
acknowledged this by saying, Sammy, I need to hear you read. This monitoring continued. At
1 minute and 24 seconds, I began to read with the student to see if he would start to read. When
this still did not work, at 2 minutes and 45 seconds, I asked the student to read the page to me by
himself. This persistence, eventually worked. The student did read the rest of the book out loud
with his partner. Making sure all students are on task and doing what is required is so important.
Since I was teaching this lesson to a smaller group, it was easy for me to keep all students
actively engaged and working.
I also did a great job at giving positive feedback. I made sure to tell the students when
they were doing well by saying things like, Very Good. This can be heard at 3 minutes and 16
seconds of the video. Here I am complimenting the students for their reading and participation in
the discussion. It is necessary to praise children when they are doing well, so that they continue

to do so. I also made sure to address students who were not focused. For example, at 5 minutes
and 30 seconds into the video, I noticed that students were focused on writing in cursive instead
of getting the content done. This was wasting instructional time. Because of this, I decided to
pace the students and tell them that, we needed to move and that they did not have to make
things fancy. When I did so, the students refocused and I was able to continue my lesson more
smoothly.
Lastly, I feel that the best thing I did during this lesson, was how I guided my students in
retelling the book. I used modeling techniques, like having my own retelling mini book. This can
be seen at 4 minutes at 47 seconds. I would write in my book, just as the students were expected
to do. This provided them with a great visual. I also engaged the students in discussion by asking
them questions. This can be seen at 6 seconds into the video until the very end. The questions
that I asked allowed students to think about the book and be able to retell it without me simply
giving away the answers. When asking the questions, I also made sure to call on different
students. This can be seen at 12 minutes and 59 seconds when I say, how about someone else?
I also made the student go back and use their book for evidence. This can be seen at 15 minutes
and 51 seconds. I had them use their books to tell me what happened in the end. Also, I made use
of another visual aid. This was the BME caterpillar. At 8 minutes and 45 seconds, I began to use
this caterpillar when discussing the events that took place in the book.
When it comes to areas of improvement, the first thing I noticed was that I forgot to setup
the pencils when I was preparing the materials. This can be seen at 3:30 seconds. Something this
simple, took away instructional time because I had to get up to get the pencils. Not to mention, it
also distracts the students in that minute. I also need to work on bringing the lesson to an end. At
18 minutes and 42 seconds, I simply finished the lesson. Yet, I should have reviewed the lesson

to the students, or asked further thought proving questions to keep the students thinking. I also
could have encouraged the Turn and Talk strategy. When I posed a question, instead of me
getting answers from individuals, maybe allowing students to discuss their thoughts with one
another would be more of an effective learning process for them.
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would focus on ways to end the lesson more
effectively. I would also encourage more discussion between the students. After all, one can
really learn from one another. I would also probably change the anchor chart to fit the theme of
the book. Even though they always use that caterpillar for retelling the beginning, middle, and
end, I feel that making a large snowman anchor chart would have connected better to the story.
Overall, the students were able to effectively meet my objectives. They were able prove
this by correctly retelling the story with guidance and through discussion. I am excited for my
future observations, and hope to work with groups of all levels. This will allow me to learn how
to differentiate for my students.