Week 4 EDMU 520 Phonics Lesson Observation
For this assignment you need to observe a phonics lesson in a K-3 classroom. Be sure the focus of the lesson you are observing is phonics,
phonemic awareness and/or word study. You can observe a whole-group lesson, a small group lesson within the classroom or a small group
intervention lesson with a specialist.
Name of teacher observed: ​Ms. Yang
Grade level: ​1st grade
Standard(s) addressed during lesson:
Parts of the Lesson
How did the teacher introduce the lesson to
students?
What instructional strategies did the teacher
use to build student understanding?
What activities were students involved in?
For each part of the lesson what did you
observe?
She began with asking the students “Do you
remember_____”. She the assessed how
well the students remembered the
information and how much she needed to
review.
She had students start by reading a book
together and then reading independently
with minimal support. She also had them
read words that she wrote on a whiteboard
to practice fluency and letter recognition.
She used SIIPS books as well as white boards
to have students practice writing and
reading.
For each part of the lesson reflect on how
well the teacher’s approach worked.
The students seemed a little shy at first but
once she gave them visuals they began to
remember and respond better.
Students seemed heavily engaged and
interested in her lesson. They also seemed
motivated to work harder as they were trying
to earn stickers for their charts to gain access
to the reading treasure box filled with prizes
for students.
Students seemed heavily engaged and
interested in her lesson. They also seemed
motivated to work harder as they were trying
to earn stickers for their charts to gain access
to the reading treasure box filled with prizes
for students. I also liked that each student
had a specific chair bag that contained each

How did the teacher monitor student
progress throughout the lesson?
How were students grouped during the
lesson? How was the room arranged?
What did you notice about the sequencing
and timing of the lesson?
What materials, technology, and/or resources
did the teacher use to make the subject
matter comprehensible to students?
She listened to students as they were
reading and had them reread pages or
words if she heard them make a mistake.
She also used positive reinforcement by
saying things like “Wow, I really like how
“student name” is doing “insert task”.
The room was sectioned by three large
tables throughout the room where one
group had the teacher and the other two
groups had a teaching aid. There was
roughly 4-5 students in each group.
She seemed to work in 15 minute
increments and set a timer to keep her on
track.
She used:
-a timer
-whiteboards
-SIIP Books
students items so that each student was able
to work and transition quickly.
Students seem to respond well and try to
model desired behavior. They also seemed to
improve when given the one on one support
if the teacher heard a mistake.
I mainly observed the main teacher’s group
but it seemed like the teaching aids were
doing the same instructions as the teacher
just at different speed levels. By this
observation I infer that the groups have
already been assessed and students have
been arranged in groups based on their
reading levels.
The 15 minute timing of lessons seemed
appropriate by the speed and ability of her
group.
These materials proved to be very helpful and
wise as shown by the students successful
implementation of their work.
Respond to the following questions about the lesson you observed:

Overall, how well do you think the lesson went?

1. What aspects of the lesson went well and what aspects might you change and why?
a. The lesson seemed to work really well. I really liked how she started by addressing the group as a whole and then had them work
independently while she continued to listen, observe, and support them. I would probably try to use more visuals to help with
English Learners as well as special needs students.
2. How did the teacher keep students engaged and participating in the lesson?
a. She picked books that the students were interested in, used stickers and prizes to motivate students as well as positive
reinforcement.
3. What strategies did you observe the teacher use in the lesson that would support English Learner? A student with special needs? If no
strategies were used, what strategies could the teacher have incorporated into the lesson?
a. I didn’t see very much for these students other than perhaps her speed would slow from time to time. I think something that I
would do for this is provide students with more visuals to help support them.
4. What have you learned from this observation that will help you with your own teaching?
a. I feel like I learned how useful SIIP books can be as well as more techniques that I can use whiteboards with students.