EDUC 101 - Introduction to Teaching Observation Student’s Name: Heidi Orman School of Observation: Terre Tewn Elementary Schoal Grade Level/ Subject Area: Fourth Grade Date of observation: March 1, 2013, Time of observation: All Day 7:20-3:20 ‘As I pulled upto Terre Town Elementary School, on Monday, I noticed th the bulldog ‘was very colorful, t brought back memories of when I when there. They now havea buzzer system, was surprised when a teacher lt me into the building. As I walked into the building was excited and seared that I would forget todo something important. The atmosphere ofthe bull 1 was awesome! It was on of the schools with «homey fel ot, The students had painted some ofthe ceiling tiles, and they had the tudes art everywhere. There was a loveseat in the lobby are, The building was nicely decorated. They had tigers everywhere did't need 10 go into the office, because they had e window. When I got tothe window, the seeretaryasked who Twas and what I was doing. Then she told me to sign in. The sign in and out paper had four sections. The frst two were time in and ‘out, The next one was where youhad to sign your name. The last one was the teacher you were I signed my name and put Mr. Moore's on Fist. Then [asked forthe time. The secretary said it was seven-wenty a.m, S01 put the die onthe paper and my timesheet, She then told me that Mr. Moore wasn't in yet, so Isat down on the loveseat and waited for him to show up {only had to wait fora minute oF two, The secretary then introduced me thir. Mr. “Moore and I walked to his classrcom. On the way he showed me where the adlt restrooms were, they were righ across from the lunchroom, When we got the fourth and Fith grade hallway, 1 noticed they had enclosed all the -ooms The one thing I noticed about the wiole building was ll the students ert work. All the hallways hed the students art as the decorations.‘When I walked int ihe lasroom, I ooked around and saw tal the classroom was ‘warm, welcoming and very colorful. also noticed that Mr. Moore was a die-hard Colts fan, because his room was filed with Cots stuf. He had Cots ug inthe front ofthe rom, he had eight different posters around the room, a Cols calendar, and two diferent kinds of Cols eups on his desk, There was student’ artwork hanging up fom the ceiling. The desks were in three rows. The fis two rows were made into four groups of four desks. The Ist one was made ofthe las nine desks. then noticed that each cubby hada number. Mr. Moor old me that the student's eubbies were in ABC order. | then finished lookieg around, and noticed that there were popsicle sticks on his desk, so logically asked if they were for lunch count, My elementary teachers used that approach wien I ‘went to Terre Town. He thes told me that they didn’t take lunch count anymore, and they were for when the class did group work. When they had group work he pulled out four for each group. That way it was random who was in what group. I then started asking questions, I started with what kind of classroom management ‘techniques he used, He told me he used hand raising for asking questions, and negative and positive chats for behavior. | then asked him how the charts worked, Fist he told me how the ‘bad behavior chart worked. When of the students did something bad they moved down the char. ‘There were four levels; gree, yellow, orange, and red. Then he told me that when the students {id something good they gota sticker, and when they got enough they got to eat lunch in his classroom, {then asked him how the students sign out to use the restroom, and he told me thatthe students had to sign out to use the restroom by themselves, and thatthe class asa whole went to the restrooms too. I then asked him how he transitioned between subjects. He told me he usedbells and timer and that he ae sure thatthe students knew how much time they had te do something, Then 1 asked how te took rol, He told me tat he knew the students names, and if chair was left up that means a student was not there. Heals told me that at the start of the school year he called names. 1 then asked wha his learning style was and he told me that he was more ofan auditory learner than anything else. then asked what his teaching style was and he told me he tried to teach all tre learning styles. 1am more ofa hands-on learer ora kinesthetic leamer. Mr. Moore then told me that kinestietic works best, and was the one that affected the students mare, but he teaches auditory more. [don't think that this observation will not affect my teaching style {then asked him abou all he duties he had He told me that there were people who took cre of lunch and recess duty, and thatevery day he only had bus uty | then asked what ype of assessments he used he sid he mostly used paper/pencil assessments, He old me that they had math tet every couple of werk anda reading tet every week. I then asked whore the special seed students went for help and he told me that they went 1a resource room. ‘The students walked ina eight am. 301 had to stop asking questions. The students were taller then I remember beng athe age. I noticed that they were all white, and there were more boys than girls. The stadents were very talkative. They sat down ate breakfast and did their math assignment, which was some packet called Math Minute. After the students were done with their rath at cightthiny am. they then wrote thee spelling words in their agendss. Then MF. Moore talked about the week, which was the last week ofthe grading perio, and he sid since they had atest the nextday they were gong 1 do a review that day, He introduced me, and then he took Pictore day order forms, Picture day was on Wednesday. Then he talked about the fist hal of the L-step the week before. He also talked about the bonus board problems.Ate am. late student walked in, The boy gave Mr- Moore alate not, wen o put his stufTup and then joined the class noticed that when Mr. Moore and the students interacted that i was very Iai back, but i was sil professional, They rearranged the desk for their reading groups, an waited from eight fifty-five to nine a.m, for Mr. Taylor, who was one ofthe reading Leechers who helped inthe lasrooms. While we were waiting student went up o Mr. Moore and asked him if he coud goto the restroom, anda gil rased her hand and asked 1 goto the estroom, a well Mr. Moore gave up on wating for Mr. Taylor and started reading groups by aking questions about the new book, which was How Sound Works. They then went over the ‘vocabulary forthe book. Then ead from pags four to sx Mr. Moore assigned the students jobs, which were teaching assistant, messenger, door holders restroom atendants, Haran, and a substi, Two ofthe jobs, which two students got to do, were restroom atendants, and the door holders, the each have one boy and one gd. The teaching asistant helped the teacher with anything he needed, like passing out homework. The messenger took messages to people when he needed it and they copied stuff when Mr. Moore seeded it The door holder’ job explained itself. The restroom attendants made sure the sents behaved in he restroom, The braran helped the ibraian with anything they need. The last job waste substitute, which tok he place of anyone ofthe jobs ifthe person assigned to that position was absent, From nine twenty-five o five minutes after ten they went othe library. The students lined up atthe door, the door holder frst all the odd numbers eubbies, and then the evens line up after them, We dropped them cffat the library, which was inthe kindergarten hallway. I coulda’ stay with them, because it was Mr. Moore's planning period, I took the time to ask him a few ‘more questions. | asked him about the diversity of his classroom, because to me, his clas lookedlike there was no diversity. lsoasked him about the silts ofthe students. He answered that they were mostly average and no students were really low. then asked him about the socio economic standards oF his lass. He told me thats lt ofthe students were on fee or reduced lunches, and that the whole sehoc! was alow economic school “That got me asking aboutthe school's diversity, because I only saw Mr. Moore's students, He tld me that there were more female teachers then male and there were alot of teachers at different levels of thei carers. | then asked him if he thought that affected his classroom and if affected the students learning. He sid he didn't fel ike it affected them ‘much, and that they were all around the same area in leaming ‘The substitute inthe library messed up and didn't give the students time to get a book so \we got behind schedule, We then went to the restroom again. When we got back to the classroom red math, They started with mental math problems. Then they reviewed what did last ‘week. They tumed fractions into decimals on calculators. Then they did their math journals. Mr. ‘Moore walked them though each problem making sure thatthe students understood them. Atcleven aim, we went to lunch, The students were very talkative on the way to lunch, I ane inthe eache's lounge. All the ret ofthe teachers were very nice. While we were eating there was an announcement that sated that it was indoor recess, Recess lated fiteen minutes of the fory minute lunch period, When we eame back, we sated doing math again. They id problems one, two, and tree together. Then they tated working in groups. Mr. Moore then stated that Monday's math (the stadent’s math boxes), were gong 1o be fora grade. There were four problems For each od prem there was a math problem, and forthe even problems there ‘was word problem where they had to write out what they did on the odd problems. At twelvetwenty Pam, we went othe restroom again a clas, When we got back, the students had more time to work on their math boxes. flr they were done they had individual reading time From twelve fifty-five to one-twenty, Me. Moor started o readout loud from the book the class was resing, The whole class moved tothe fron ofthe room carpet. Mt. Moor started it by reviewing where they were inthe book, which was Hatcher. At one twenty-five he switched to reading vocabulary. Then he gave the student fifteen minutes to make vocabulary cards. At the half way point he reminded them of wha they were supposed tobe doing, because they were talking instead of working, Aer that they got their reading books ou and listened to their weekly story, Me and Uncle Romie, off of CD. While they were listening tothe story, Ihad a thought tha ould handle teaching fourth sade, At two-seventcen, they started their science review fr chapter five. They had twelve minutes todo eleven problems. At1wo twenty-nine, they wrote ther homework i their agendas. Acwo-frty, xpd pass out homework, and then the students packed up fo gohome. Ati forty-five, we went ta the busses for bus duty, Mr. Moore aI then went back the clasroom ard asked hrm two last questions. I started with one of my own. Iasked him iit was okay for stents o use ealeulators the entre time they were doing math, Hetold me tht. they start by using them, and then the students wil slowly have fo lam to do the problems ‘without the ealesltors. Then I asked when he checked te student's homework? He answered that he checked nth and grammar daily and spelling was checked on Fridays hen spent some time writing sone notes about that flemoon so I would not forget evrything; I eft at three- twenty.EDUC 101 - Introduction to Teaching ‘Observation Student's Name: Heidi Orman ‘School of Observation: Terre Town Elementary Schoo! ‘Grade Level/ Subject Area: Fourth Grade Date of observation: March 13, 2013, “Time of observation: All Day ~7:40 = 2:45 1 goto Ter Town Elementary at seven-forty am. I got buzzed in and then | walked to the office window and signed in and then walked back to Mr. Moore's cess. sat a te same lable as Monday and we talked about what he ad to do every time he had a substitute in his class, He bad a meeting that I coulda’t attend I id not count the time he was gone. Hook notes ‘on what the substitute andthe students did though, Mr. Moore then spent the rest of the ime typing the lesson plans out to make them clear forthe substitute to understand Ateightam, he wrote the ist assignment on the board which was the studeds? Math Minute, The students started coming in at five minutes past eight. They went to their cubbies, put their stuff up, sat down a ther desk, and ate breakfast and then did thee assignment, One ofthe boys inthe clas showed mea picture of a ship at sea he drew. Then moming announcements stared; they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and then had a moment of silence. The announcer then told everyone whose birthday it was; he moming announcements were done by eight- centy am. [Atthis pont, most of the class was done and reading their library books, so Mr. Moore had a convertion with them. He started the conversation by yelling a group of four students that lft the room, to help a teacher do something, without asking on Tuesday. Then bey went ‘over their Math Minute packets for the past three days. They were learning math terms like area, diameter, radius, and perimeter, fractions into decimals, division, and geometry. At the beginning,of the year they Jearred the definition of a line, line segment, and a ray. I didn’t learn most of that uni high school I sil ant believe that fourth graders were learning algebra and geometry Mr. Taylor waked infor reading groups at nine Fifty-five, and Mr. Moore then sent the students o their reading groups. They started groups by going over vocabulary, and then started reading the reading yackel, The students went back to thee desk, got their math books out and tured to the pages hey were supposed todo, Mr. Moore then explained what they ad 10 do before he left From twontyfive to five minutes alr ten the class went to art, which i located ‘igh next to the entrance tothe building. While the students were in art clas, I sorted homework, and Mr. Moore finished typing up his lesion plans for the subsite. We wea to pick up the students from art. On the way back fom art, we stopped by the restrooms. The boy's restroom was out ofo9p, and the gels were ou of paper towels. went othe other restrooms witha group, and stood inthe haley, while the students went tothe restrooms ‘We got back o the classroom at ten-wenty, and the substitute took over. This is where 1 stopped counting the observation time. I'm now glad I did. The students started on their math work, I walked arourd helping them with it I got questions like; what color should we use? Do we fil inthe whole ine of boxes or just color a line for the bar graph? After they were done with page 258 in their math books, they tuned to page 260. I then got questions like; I don't understand how to arswer Ie. 25% of __=7? Even though they already knew how to d because they had been working on that type of question for two weeks. So I tld them to turn twenty-five percent into a fraction then the answer. ‘At leven, we all went to lunch, [ate in the teacher's lounge again, but the substitutes were boring me to sleep. So! went back tothe classroom earl. [got to see the students playingat recess, because it was indoots again. I noticed that all the students were friends. One of the boys followed me everywhere went inthe classroom, [At lever-forty lunch/ecess was ove, and the students leaned up and sat down at their desks, The substitute vs late geting back from lunch, 0 Fined up the students and took them tothe restroom. While we were there, afith grader and the restroom attendant came out of the restroom, and told me one a the boys was throwing water at people oI tld him when we get back tothe classroom to move down his clothes pin to yellow. The substitute finaly stowed up when we were about to go back to the classroom at eleven-fity. We went back tote classroom and stated reading time, Tey listened to Me and Uncle Romie on CD again. While they were doing thet, Thad tll two students to behaves one had his glasses onthe back of kis head, andthe other one was playing with scissors! The substitute while both of them dd this was oblivious Five minutes ltr, the same student's book closed and Thad to hep him id the page Five minutes afer wel, the substitute went of topic and started talking about the book instead of moving on like she was supposed 1 do, We were supposed to doa fou station rotation, where the students goto work in groups for ten minutes at each station, Finally at twelveiteen we got to prepanng forthe four stations and te etildren nally goto what sey ‘were supposed tobe doing “The substitute took the fim ou oft She made group work ino individual work. She ide fn ie into quiet, no oe talking, time thnk Teould have done a beter ob. In fac pretty much taught the class the entire time. Six minutes afer twelve, she looked at me lke was doing something wrong, and asked if Thad a question, when Isat down atthe teacher's desk to get what we were supposed to be doing down on paper. Ths substitute obviously didn't knowhow to read, The students are sivgaing todo what they ar supposed todo, because she dia" explain enough, and she didn’t take the explanation she di give them downto ther level of understanding. Attwelve thiny-five, one ofthe students was out of his seat, and was one ofthe computers. When I went ask him what he was doing, the substitute yelled at me fort! Saying that he was fine and to leave him alone. She dd it fom across the room, and I wouldn't have cared i she took me aside and asked why I was over there. I don't know why she is still working in the school system, because she obviously doesn’t have any people skills. Every time she talked she sounded annoyed. She had this voice were when she talked to you, you automatically felt degraded, or you felt ike you did something wrong, even if you haven't a thing, Fr almost the entre time she was teaching, I fel like I was supposed tobe glued to my sat, and not tk. know thatthe students felt ike tha oo. ‘When one ofthe studens ried to explain that they were suppose tobe in groups, the substitute folder she didn’t understand. She didnt get the fact thatthe students were supposed to be working in groups. At twelve-forty, twenty-five percent of the class was already done, and the activity was supposed last until one. By the third grouping time, ninety-five percent ofthe class was done, For the first time since I started observations | found myself watching the clock 1 kow the stdnts were too, because they al looked bored ou oftheir mings, Within ten sminutes she sent three students othe restroom and thre ogo fil ther water bots, and another student to the restoom four minutes late. [Atone pam, Mr. Moore finally came back and the students to get ready for their practice spelling test. The sound volume went sky high, and I didn’t blame the students. While they were ‘getting ready forthe tes, I started fo sort their voeabulary. Once they were ready, Mr. Mooreread chapter seven in Hatcher, At one-ory, they started the spelling test Some ofthe words were zipper, singer, grader, and pode. I lasted fifteen minutes. “Then he pessed back their graded science texts, and leetured them on not taking their sraded work home, while graded the spelling tests. At twelve-fifteen, he ad the students get their agendas and went over three homework problems with them, At two-tinty, the students packed up to go home, and then we went to put the students on the buses. Then went back to the classroom and he singed my observation hours sheet, and then we left at two forty-five.EDUC 101 Observation Studeat’s Name: Heidi Orman ‘School of Observation: Terre Town Elementary School Grade Level Subject Area: Fourth Grade | got buzzed in, went to the office window, signed in, like the last two days. I signed in at seven twenty-five, Then I walked with Mr. Moore tothe classroom. He got thee at the same time I did. Late breakfast before the students got there. Mr. Moore left the room while I looked ‘ver the things he had planned for today. There were things lke their reading groups, a game they might play, then they were going to do math, He had forty minutes planned for everything, ‘before math. He had math planed for an hour. Then we would goto lunch at eleven. We then ‘would come back at eleven-forty, and read outloud from Hache and then the students would lake a reading test for Me and Uncle Romie, When they were done they needed to finish ‘grammar review. Then they had a spelling est, and a state mandated science test. Then the students went home. ‘Mr. Moore used his own lesson plans, because the book didn't have enough room to \wrte what he needed, and making his own he ean put more information in them lke objectives. He told me that he wrote them while the students were a their specials and before and after school, He also sad that the most important thing he put inthe lesson plans were the objectives and making sure they ae clearly written. Even though he didn’t have to turn in his lesson plans {ne stil had to state in his plans, and what standards he was teaching. 1 couldn't believe that Friday was my last day. I was going to miss the students. Some of them reminded me of when I was litle, Me, Moore informed me that some time on Friday we ‘needed to finish a project the students were doing called “Message in a Botle.” At eight, thestudents started coming into class. The frst assignment they were 1 complete was their Math Minute, ‘Then they were supposed to get their paper ready for the spelling test, The spelling test was tobe taken that moming, One ofthe students reminded me of my cousin Gerald. At eight ‘twenty-five, they started the spelling tet. | graded that set of spelling tests too. This week was spirit week. Monday was hat day, Wednesday was neon day, and Friday was green day. At eight thirty-five, the spelling test was done and Me. Moore stared going over the Acuity test (math, state mandated). Ateight forty-five, they started @ vocabulary game, which was girls vs. boys, and frst fo score five points won, The game was name the definition, The girls won. They then stated on their reading groups. On this day they were doing a graph about “how sound travels” While they ‘were doing that | graded their spelling tests. After they got done with the graph, they went to the ‘They then started math. They were going over algebra problems. The students started the ‘game with their Flash Masters. They started witha timed test with times tables. They had « ‘minute fo do-as many as they could. The next was thirty flash cards, and they had four seconds {or each problem The third game was flash cards also, and the students got to pick the level and how long they g>t to answer ther thirty problems. When that ended they did an exereise where instead of $*5~%, they had 245-25, AAteleven, we went to lunch, I ate inthe teacher's lounge andthe teachers went out to eat. Atleven-thiry, I went back tothe empty classroom. The students were outside for recess. After recess we went back to the restroom. When we got back and Mr. Moore yelled at some of the students for runaing back to the classroom, then they went to sit down fora few chapters ofHatcher after about a minute Mr. Moore had to yel at student for playing with the stadent’s shoe, Ais point wont lie needed @ nap. At welvetwenty, he set the students back to ther desks. They then had free time, while the three late students took ther spelling test. Mr, Moore and I worked onthe projets that the elass was working on that week Attwelvesthrty, Mr Moore and the class went othe computer lab, while I finished tearing the paper forthe projets. They went there wo take the state mandated math Acuity test It ‘vasa testo get the students ready forthe step. It was a thirty question, muliple choice, math test. I followed about tree mutes after they lef. Some ofthe questions had todo with subtracting, adding, muliplicaton, division, perimeter, area, some algebra, and geometry. At one twenty-five, we lef the compatr lab and came back tothe elasroom and they sated their reading test and I graded the ast three speling tests. ‘Afler thatthe students had free time forthe est ofthe day, and Mr. Moore and I worked ‘on rolling up the leters and tying them and then puting them in ther bottles. When we were done with that and he went opin the las seven lees, He then gave me two mare eters roll, ie, and then bottle. By two-they, we only had thee let. We stopped there because he had to have the class grade the reading tests, At two-forty, the students packed up to go home, and lined upto leave, and this s whee the stadents suprised me by telling me goodbye and good tuck, and! gota hug from one ofthe boys. We then went outside to the buses, and made sue all the students were on. ‘We went back tothe classroom, which was the lst ime for me. Mr. Moore signed my time sheet, told me Lam weleome to come back for any class observations I need, and my student teaching [tld him Iwill [then walked out ofthe building at three-fiten, thinking that | defintely could teach fourth grade, and that I'm glad that he invited me back.‘What Ihave taken away from this experience is that lam in the right major for me. To say tha want to teach even more now than ever an understatement found by witnessing the ‘various subjects that I found teaching older student is very stimulating and I found that when you have a substitute to expect that nothing you wanted to get done tobe done right. | definitely still want fo be a teacher. Ihave changed my mind about what grade level I want to teach, bat on’: think I would want to teach fourth grade, I'm now thinking { want to teach third grade