Manhattan College

School of Education
Student Teacher Observation
Student Teacher: Michael Mancuso School: 4( 5. Lesson Topic: -%irections on a map#
6se of the compass rose

Supervisor: +lton 3. Woodman Grade Level: 2 &Ms. 2ehir* Content Area(s): (ocial (tudies Observation: :. &4lacement :2*

Date of Observation: 7ctober 28rd, 29.8 General:

The change from a 5th grade accelerated class to a 2nd grade class can be quite daunting, but Mr. Mancuso has put forth a serious effort to make this transition successful. While there were some challenges he needed to face, Mr. Mancusos understanding and approach to this new environment allowed him to find his wa with these much ounger students and his new cooperating teacher. Mr. Mancuso has started to develop and demonstrate his instructional skills, classroom management abilit and confidence when working with ounger students in one!to!one, small group, and whole class situations. Mr. Mancusos understanding of the classroom organi"ation, the behavior#learning st le of the students and his awareness of the classroom chemistr has allowed him to assume a more active role in classroom activities. Mr. Mancuso also needed to ad$ust to having a teacher assistant in the classroom. Mr. Mancuso has a positive rapport with the students during instruction. The students are learning to respect his authorit , en$o his teaching st le and welcome his support. Mr. Mancuso continues to welcome and implement constructive suggestions from his supervisor and his cooperating teacher.

Lesson:
%irection signs &', (, ) and W* were posted on the walls around the room. +t about ,-.5, the students were directed to put their independent reading books awa . Mr. Mancuso began to call the tables that were read to the rug. The students gathered on the rug facing the easel. Mr. Mancuso greeted the students with, /0ood Morning.1 The students were informed that the (martboard would not be used toda as it was in the previous lesson. Mr. Mancuso told the class that toda the were going to learn about /directions.1 2e then asked if the class if the ever heard about /directions from parents.1 The students

responded from their level of understanding of what the thought the question had meant. ;or e<ample- /%o our homework1 and /0o to bed1, etc. Mr. Mancuso identified these responses as /orders.1 Mr. Mancuso clarified what he was asking. The students were then asked to stand in place. The were asked to take their right hand to their head and then their left hand to their left shoulder. +t about ,-2., Mr. Mancuso announced that there were signs around the room that indicated 'orth, (outh, )ast and West. The students were starting to e<hibit some chattiness, but Mr. Mancuso brought it under control. Mr. Mancuso drew a compass rose on the easel. =t was identified b one of the students.

The students and Mr. Mancuso worked together to label it appropriatel . +t times, it was necessar for Mr. Mancuso to direct certain students to refrain from calling out. +t about ,-25, the students did a choral reading of north, south, east and west. The class was told to stand up. The students were told that Mr. Mancuso would stand with his back to the class, sa a students name and give a signal indicating a direction &', (, ) or W*. The students would need to identif the direction. Mr. Mancuso went through a number of sets of this questioning 'ame the student 0ive the signal /What direction am = pointing to> +fter a number of rounds of this questioning, Mr. Mancuso wanted a member of the class to take over asking the questions. The first student Mr. Mancuso selected did not wish to lead the group. Mr. Mancuso gave him the option of selecting another member of the class. Mr. Mancuso directed a student to leave the rug area and return to his seat. +t about ,-89, a girl was selected to lead the group. (he needed some assistance at the beginning, but she eventuall handled the task. +fter the girl finished, the students were ver an<ious to continue. The class was informed that this would be the /competition round.1

+t about ,-85, the pace of the game increased. (tudents who were not listening, not responding quickl enough and those who needed to look at the signs on the wall were asked to return to their seats. +fter a number of directional activities, onl seven students were left. +t about ,-?9, Mr. Mancuso moved the lesson to a worksheet activit where the students would need to identif the directions on a compass rose. (pecific colors were needed to be used for specific directions. + students read the directions. Mr. Mancuso moved around the room to observe their progress, provide students with a new piece of paper because the didnt follow directions, offer suggestions, etc. +t ,-?5, the class was told that Mr. Mancuso would collect their papers when the were done. The students could then take out their independent reading book. The class was quite chatt , but the were working. Time advisories were given. There were a few students in the room who had some difficult following the directions of the activit . 3 ,-55, the lesson was essentiall over with ever bod was reading their independent reading book. Ms. 2ehir was reading with a student b the easel &doing an assessment*.

Instructional S ills:
Mr. Mancusos social studies lesson continues to provide him with more planning and instructional ideas to think about as he learned about this second grade class. 3 and large, the students &as a total group and as individuals* were active, enthusiastic participants. )ach part of the lesson &mini!lesson and independent work* was connected to the overall ob$ective. 2is transitions from whole group instruction, to leading the students in the /game1 and into individual work were efficient. %uring the post! observation conference, his understanding of the different parts of the lesson revealed a reflective educator who recogni"es the importance of assessing his performance in the classroom along with the learning e<periences of the students.

Classroo! "ana#e!ent:
Mr. Mancusos classroom management continues to be ver good. 2is /teacher voice1 and strong persona help to establish his role as instructional leader. 2e appears to be ver confident working one!to!one, with small groups, and the whole class. The children, while chatt during the lesson, were basicall respectful of his leadership role. +n behavioral issues were handled effectivel and efficientl .

Observations$%eco!!endations:
&' There was time at the end of the lesson to validate the main ideas that were set forth in the ob$ective. The CLOS(%) would onl take a moment or two, but ou would be able to see what the students were able to take awa from the instruction. Whether ou asked questions about what was taught or provided the class with a review of the man important things the accomplished toda , ou needed to bring some CLOS(%) to the lesson.

*' The concept of a @ompass Aose is ver important to map work and being able to know directions on a map. @onsider showing the students an actual compass rose on a map so the can see the instructional conte<t behind the lesson. +lso, consider doing something man call +LA,TI,G SO") S))DS for a future lesson. Take a moment to identif 'orth +merica &/Where we liveB1*, (outh +merica or where +ustralia is located. 7r, ou could point out that Me<ico is south of the 6nited (tates. Cet the students know that ou are interested to see /who will remember where these areas are for the ne<t lesson.1 =t doesnt take that much more time to plant some enrichment opportunities in a lesson.

-' +sking the students about /directions1 in the mini!lesson caused some confusion. The students appeared to believe that .directions/ would be .orders'/ Think about the ke questions ou are going to ask and how to phrase them because the could have a ma$or impact on the lesson to follow. ?. @onsider having the @ompass Aose alread drawn before ou show it to the class. 0' @onsider having more than one student reading the e<planation of the directions for the activit . )ncourage students to e<plain the task /in their own words.1 C1)C2 3O% (,D)%STA,DI,G D. (tudents, especiall in the lower grades, can be ver sensitive when the are in a game related activit . While games are fun and can be ver instructive, ounger students do not want to be a /loser1 and someone else is a /winner.1 When students are removed from an activit while the rest of the class is participating, ou could find ourself dealing with some additional behavioral issues that ou were not e<pecting. E. When ou plan to greet students with /0ood Morning,1 ou e<pect them to greet ou in a clear and appropriate vocal fashion in return. 0et the response ou want. 4' =t was a ver good idea to have ou leading &"OD)LI,G* the game first and then have the students taking over our role. 2owever, think about how long ou want a game to continue. %ont let their e<citement cause ou to e<tend the activit for too long a time. ,. Fou handled the student who did not wish to lead the class ver well. Fou gave him the option to select another student. .9. =t is alwa s a good idea to bring some paper and pen#pencil to a post observation conference.

0rade(tudent Teacher(upervisor-

,#.9 GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGG