Elementary Classroom Observation

a) What did you learn from teaching or observing this lesson? From observing this lesson, I was able to learn many strategies that are beneficial for students of this grade level. The students were a bit unfocused in this lesson, and needed a lot of redirection towards the end of this lesson. Based on their behavior and lack of engagement towards the end of the lesson, I was able to witness what happens where there are limited movement breaks for this developmental range. The students were sitting on the rug for the entire lesson, and their main form of movement was lifting this arms with either a yes or no paddle to answer questions. There were not many opportunities for them to move or transition between activities, so I have realized

Many of the objects on the living and non-living objects poster were from previous lessons. This required students to think back, and recall information from previous lessons to help them during this lesson. Some of the objects on the poster were not from previous lessons, but are objects that the students see regularly. By using just pictures of objects and prior knowledge, the students were able to categorize the ten objects into living and non-living. I also learned the impact of returning from a vacation to a substitute can have on a class. This was the first time that we have taught this group of students when there was a substitute in the classroom, and there was a clear difference in their behaviors. Normally when the classroom teacher is in the classroom, the students are better behaved and less talkative. It is clear that there classroom teacher, Ms. Carney, has created a very structured environment where the student can learn in an effective way with limited distractions. The students are usually a bit chatty and distractible on the rug, but this lesson was more than usual, due to the absence of the classroom teacher and the lack of movement. I have learned the

In future lessons, as mentioned earlier, I would definitely incorporate more movement breaks into the next lesson. Making it related to the content would be especially helpful to improve science learning. If the movement is not content related, than science teaching and learning would still be improved because it would help students to focus for the remainder of the lesson. Movement breaks can help students get out physical energy and mental energy. It gives them a chance to get up and move, and not worry about the content of the lesson. They can also chat with their peers briefly, to help reduces side conversations during the lesson. Providing these movement breaks can greatly improve both science teaching and learning. It gives students a chance to get out some energy, and it allows the teacher to regroup as well. Another way to improve science teaching and learning based on my observations, would be to include some type of tactile or visual aspect to the lesson. While this lesson did have a chart with great visuals, I think that having physical living and non-living items for the students to see and touch, would help to increase their learning. It allows them to make observations and develop a direct connections. It might also help the students remain more engaged in the lesson. The objects from this lesson were rather simple to acquire. The