Kelly Gentri
Observation: Instructional Lesson
Classroom: Language Arts
Grade: 5th grade
Curriculum Area: Figurative Language
What I notice
I noticed that the classroom setup is
unlike the others. The room has a
central point in the front where there
typically is a reading rug. This area is
used for Read Alouds, silent reading,
and for the beginning and end of class
meetings. The rest of the room has
tables in groups of 5 where the
students chairs have been substituted
for yoga balls, twisty chairs, standing
spike pads, chairs with attached
bungee cords all to help students
redirect energy to the object so they
can sit at their desks and focus more.
Another observation is that the
classroom does not use fluorescent
lighting. I havent seen them turned on
but notice that the classroom has
enough light from outside to light up
the classroom. This room also had
more colors and writing on the walls
than the other classrooms I had been
in.
The classroom had clear guidelines
and rules that the students were
supposed to follow. They also
understood the agenda that they
needed to follow on the board.
Students would walk in and fill out
their journals, then they would meet
on the rug to go over homework. After
this, the class would break up to do
the rest of the classwork at their desks
or around the room. The students
would ask the teacher what work
needed to be completed if they had
time. After the teacher said what she
needed to, essentially the students
had range to complete their work
independently and in their own
accountability. This classroom clearly
had rules of operation in place to make
sure it operated at such an
independent level.
Observer:
Date: March 17, 2017
Time: 8:00 am 2:00 pm
Thoughts, Questions, Connections
to Methods Classes
For classroom setup: How do I make a
classroom engaging and educational but
not overwhelming/distracting (like some
kindergarten classes can be) Essentially,
why are many 5th grade classrooms lacking
the wall art and educational resources that
most younger grades have on the walls.
I come from a Health & Fitness
background, so I was instantly able to
connect to the use of alternative seating
and lighting to help students focus.
I was really intrigued by the changes this
teacher made to make the classroom what
it was and had never thought about
lighting before. This classroom really had a
great calming atmosphere and lots of
student choice.
I also like that the teacher used the rug
time. While we typically see this as
something done in kindergarten or
younger grades, it was cool to see it done
in upper elementary and that they
responded well to it. It really made me
think of what other traditional lower
elementary strategies we use that can be
used in upper elementary as well.
I got a lot of feedback from my CT about
modeling and how she was glad I did that.
It was nice to be able to connect back to
my methods classes and the components
of them and see that it is demonstrated in
real classrooms even if it is not shown in
lesson plans. I was able to use some
information I had learned previously in
READ 3226 about figurative language and
use it in my lesson plan!
Classroom management was definitely a
must, especially since this class operated
with a lot of transitions. The students
would come sit on the rug, go back to their
desks, walk around as needed, then back
to the rug and back to their desks. While
the movement is great for them it is
important to have expectations and
guidelines set up for the students. This will
require respect of the classroom from the
students and of others around them. The
teacher did a great job at this.