Classroom Observation Report

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Classroom Observation

I officially began my career as a student teacher in Spanish on August 25, 2014 at Memorial High School in Smallville, Ohio. I work under the guidance of Mrs. Santer, my mentor teacher, who has been introducing WMHS students to the wonderful world of languages for over 30 years. This year Mrs. Santer is teaching various levels of Spanish (Advanced Placement, IV, III, and I) as well as French I.

Mrs. Santer’s classroom is just what you would expect a world language classroom to look like: colorful! The walls are covered with the flags of various Spanish-speaking countries, some that she has bought and others that students have made. She has colorful decorations draped along the back wall that might make one think they are walking into a Mexican fiesta. Maps of all of Latin America—South America, Central America, Spain, North America—are displayed as is a world map with the Spanish-speaking regions highlighted in red. She also has memorabilia from various Latin American regions showcased throughout the room—handicrafts, blankets, and wooden instruments.

The students’ desks are arranged in six straight, parallel columns with six desks in each column. This layout is not the most ideal for a world language classroom, but due to the odd, narrow shape of the room and the large amount of desks needed, Mrs. Santer finds it difficult to arrange them any other way. Her desk is situated so that she faces the students when she is seated at it and her back is to the chalkboard. It is in the right hand corner of the room if you were looking from one of th...

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... The students seemed respectful and polite, for the most part, and I am anxious to get to know them and to assume an active role in class. If these had been my classes, I probably would have changed the Spanish I class completely. I would have greeted each student at the door saying, ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?) and when he/she looked at me with a look of confusion explained to them what that meant and what the appropriate response would be, Me llamo (name). (I call myself _____.) I would have had the class practice this by asking each other and then giving the appropriate response. I would then have gone over the class rules and, if there was time, started to teach them the Spanish alphabet. I also would not have spent the whole class going over rules with the Spanish III students but rather would have tried to get them started on an activity.

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