Courtney Commander

General Instruction Observation #2

1. Planning:

a. Were you able to see the teachers lesson plan book- related to this lesson?
No, Ms. Elmore didnt have her planning book with her.
b. What evidence(s) of planning could you observe?
I was able to specifically see how she made her small groups based on performance
levels. She uses a data system that displays the students pre-assessment scores to create
targeted groups individualized for different standards.

2. Instruction:

a. Initial focus To prepare her students to learn they would always start with some
review questions to get their brain ready to soak in new information. These reviews
werent always related to the subject of that days lesson as they were just meant to
stimulate the brain to get it ready to learn.

b. Delivery strategies Ms. Elmore used a lecture/discussion method to teach this

lesson. She went through the flipchart she had pre-made. They also used little
manipulative clocks to explore the make up of a clock. The kids got to use the Smart
Board to display answers.

c. Building for transferThis was an introductory lesson so she was focused on

laying a good foundation. She wanted to go ahead and get all inquiry out of the way
today so they could move on to elapsed time the next day. She used the manipulatives
to give the students the opportunity to explore the face of the clock and to see how
the hour and minute hands effect each other.

d. Organization of content First she introduced the components of the clock and
what all of them mean. Then she got into what causes the time to move hours. Last,
she worked on telling the time. To explore, she gave a worksheet that had pictures of
clocks and the students were responsible for reading the clock and telling the time
represented.

e. QuestioningMs. Elmore always checked for questions during the lesson. She
made sure to call on every student at least once and kept asking if everyone
understood. Specific questions she asked after explaining the content were If the
hour hand is too close to a number to tell what hour it is, how can you decide?,
What does the long hand on the clock represent? What about the little tick marks on
the clock?. These questions are very knowledge based and tests if the knowledge
was retained.
3. Management:

a. What evidence of praise, feedback, and prompts did the teacher give? Give some
examples.
When a student was up at the board the rest of the class would snap it out for them
if they thought they were right. If someone answered a questions correctly on the
carpet they would get a blue ticket or a piece of candy. If someone got an answer
wrong Ms. Elmore would ask them to walk her through their thought process and
they would work through it together.

b. What motivation tactics are in place to ensure a desire to learn?

Ms. Elmore gives out blue tickets and candy during her lessons to keep up the
students desire to learn throughout the lesson.

c. Tell me about the classroom community.

Ms. Elmore works very hard to maintain her classroom community. She emphasizes
how they should treat each other and calls them all family. The kids usually help each
other out and they support each other during lessons.

d. Tell about the pacing of the lesson- use of time- and other aspects of timewait
time, and time using teacher talk and student talk.
The lesson was really dependent on the students to decide the pacing. She would
always check for understanding before she moved on. I think the lesson took slightly
longer than she expected but talking to her afterwards she was confident that the
students got a good, solid foundation of telling time.
 e. Sketch a rough diagram of the classroom environment- and room arrangement- desks,
teacher desk, tables, books, etc.
 f. What are the class rules? How was student behavior monitored?
Some class rules include be responsible, come ready to learn and respect the classroom.
Student behavior is monitored by a check system. If you are caught breaking a rule or
doing something out of line you get a check. One check is a warning, two checks warrant
laps at recess or silent lunch and three checks warrant a call home.