Name Kathy (Ruoxi) Zhang

Date/s of Activity 10/23

Week 9
Hours 3 hours

Remote Pre-practicum Options

 Activity leading (with children)
 Tutoring
 Observation of Teaching (remote, video)
 Observation of Teacher Discourse (remote, video)
 Child Study (remote)
 Teacher Connection (interview/conversation)
 Pre-Practicum Gateway Tasks & Extension Activity
 Choice _Observation of Teaching (local school) _ (must be approved by the
professor prior to completing)

Description:

This week, I observed two in-person English classes for the third graders in the
elementary school. My focus is on how teachers apply different methods in teaching and
in lesson planning.

Assignments:
1. Observation of two in-person Third Grade English classes (Unit 7: Would you
like a pie?)
 Low-inference Observation Tool
(Based on the Third-Grade English class-first 20 min)

Teacher Says/Does Student Says/Does (focuses on the boy in

- Says “123” so that students can respond “321”
and sit up
- Puts on a rhyme and raps as an introduction of
herself
- Repetition of new expressions
Asks students what to respond
- Let students listen to a song
- Sings with the music and asks students to sing
along
- Repeat “picnic” by first saying “iii” and then
“picpicpic”
- Takes out food cards from a paper bag
- She highlights all the syllables on the slides
- Hands out food cards to individual students by
asking “Would you like some cheese/ice
crease...?” while all the students appear excited
- Asks students to do roleplays of the characters
on the TV
- Reminds students to say “nice to meet you”
with happiness
the back)
- Students flow with the song of “going on a
picnic”
- The boy in the back raises his hand up high all
the time
- He appears happy after being called
- He shouts out the word “chocolate” when the
other students are still thinking
- Students are really happy receiving the food
cards
- When the girl next to him can’t think of what to
say meeting new friends, he reminds her “good
morning”
- He says “nice to meet you” very powerfully
when the teacher calls him
- He is leading the boys to say “nice to meet
you” with very a loud voice, and when he
forgets to say “Helen”, everybody laughs
because it was so obvious, so does he
- He Holds up his book to attract the teacher’s
attention though other students are still reading
the dialogues in the book

Inferences/Other Notes

- The teacher used English for the entire class with no Chinese in order to create a better learning
environment
Reflection:

The classes I observed this week demonstrated how a lesson plan is perfectly
displayed. For a third grade English class, in which there was less discussion but more
learning and practicing, teachers would depend more on a detailed lesson plan since little
flexibility is required. However, we can’t exclude the possibility that the class does not
go as well as planned.

The teacher Miss Zhang designed various activities to let students practice a lot in
class. She used food cards in the paper bag and role playing to attract students and
encourage them to be willing to speak up themselves. Indeed, Students became extra
excited to get a food card by answering “Yes, please” or “No, thank you” when Miss.
Zhang asked “Would you like a …?” Although they are only required to reply the same
sentences, almost the entire class raised hands to participate. The sense of getting and
gaining something in class motivates students to interact and to speak in class.

In China, students won’t officially start to learn English until they become third
graders. But as children learn more and more kinds of skills as their parents wish,
elementary schools are also pressured to provide extra classes of arts, sports, computer
science, and foreign languages when students are still too young. The all-English
environment is very helpful in children’s early-age language learning, but I was still
worried. Firstly, I think the teacher was speaking English with accent, switching between
inaccurate American and British English, which may not be a perfect learning
environment for young children who mimic quickly. On the other, I am concerned that
children who did not have access to English training in kindergarten for lack of family
income or resources may feel overwhelmed in class. When they feel overwhelmed,
parents are then forced to pay for extra English training after-school.

In terms of student observation, I focused on observing one boy in the back, who
was super active in class despite of sitting far back. Being an extroverted thinker, he
always raised his hand high up and spoken in the loudest voice. When the teacher did not
call him, he would shout out his answers; when the girl next to him couldn’t think of
what to say meeting new friends, he reminds her to say “good morning”. He was very
concentrated and eager to show himself. I could tell how confident he is in class, leading
the class to read and group discussions. Although he was very active, the teacher often
looked at him and did not always call on him. Instead, she tended to call students who
hadn’t spoken yet so that all the students get the chance to practice in class. I used to like
to call on students who raise hands a lot because they were never wrong and followed me
all along. But as educators, you’d want to teach the entire class by letting all students
engage in the class. Being unbiased so that you won’t spoil the extroverted thinkers and
encourage the shy students express themselves.

Compelling Question: What are some other approaches to get students interested in the
materials? When students appear to be indifferent about the class activities teachers
planned, what should teachers do? Should they stick to the plan or come up with new
ones impromptu?