Focus of the Lesson :   Introduce students to Haiku poetry to expand their understanding and appreciation of poetry.

 

PLANNING (students'background, content knowledge & connections, goals & objectives, methods, activities, materials, resources, assessment)

The observer discussed the plan with the intern the evening prior to the lesson.   While this was only the second time this class met with the intern, she appeared comfortable with students and had a clear direction.    During the two weeks of teaching, she will be doing a unit on poetry for these ESOL B2 level students.   The intern was well provisioned for the lesson for several materials were made to custom fit the lesson.   Teaching strategies, as well as content, were planned out prior to the lesson (e.g. introduce haiku poems, read several examples, write one poem as a total group, and then each student wrote his/her own poem).   Assessment was conducted in an authentic manner as the teacher had a product from each student.     The teacher’s critical review of each child’s writing could drive future instructional practices.    The intern noted the SOL objective and voiced a rationale of getting the ESOL students closer to expectations they might experience in a regular English class.  

 

Suggestions / Questions:

The intern is encouraged to be very explicit about what she expects students to be able to do as a result of her teaching.  SOL objectives are often very broad so there may be a need to be more explicit.  Involving students in self-assessment according to a clear criteria may help them to monitor their own progress.   Since the cooperating teacher has not taught poetry this year, it might be helpful to determine more about their knowledge of poetry in order to plan in a strategic manner.

 

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (climate, rapport, learning expectations, behavior standards, physical environment)

The intern has already created an open climate that welcomes all students to participate (e.g. one student brought something to read to the class).   She established positive human relations by inquiring about their weekend at the start of the class, but also did so in a short time resulting in no significant loss of instructional time.  The intern circulated around the room checking on individual student’s  homework completion resulting in such behavior being reinforced.   Her enlisting manner invited students to share (e.g. “would you like to share”, “I hope you’ll read that to your classmates”).    The intern exhibited “realness” (e.g. “I didn’t know the word gripe so I looked it up”.  “I don’t know all the words so let’s…”).    The result was that students perceived their teacher as approachable and one student self-corrected his contribution rather than the teacher correcting the error.  Students were encouraged to have opinions (“Do you like rhyming poems better?”)     She laughed with students resulting in a positive atmosphere for learning.  The intern frequently squatted down to be eye level with a student while providing individual feedback.   This resulted in each child feeling comfortable to work collaboratively with the teacher.  

 

Suggestions / Questions:

The intern talked with students and consulted references with her back to the class.   It is helpful to face the class to always have a watchful eye to the class.      While the intern was positive and upbeat during the lesson, she occasionally communicated a negative expectancy to students (e.g. “For those that did homework…”, “Did you read that in English class?” [read for enjoyment], “Even if you don’t think you’re creative…”)      A positive expectancy for high achievement along with challenging lessons will help students to reach their potential.

 

 

IMPLEMENTING INSTRUCTION (instructional goals & procedures; comprehensible content; extending thinking; monitoring, feedback &, adjusting; instructional time)

The teacher shared the instructional objective with students midway through the lesson (e.g. “I am giving you a snapshot and the purpose here is for you to be as expressive as…”)      She responded to one student who shared a wrong answer by inviting him to utilize resources to determine if it were right or needed to be corrected.   This instructional practice will have a greater impact on the student’s learning than the teacher just correcting the work.   The teacher used clarity moves throughout the lesson.   She checked on student understanding (e.g. “How many syllables in the first line…”) and anticipated points of confusion (e.g. “Insisted, what does that mean?”).   As a result, the teacher learned if she could go on or if students needed further explanation.   The teacher called on students to volunteer to read all poems during the lesson.    This accommodated any ESOL student who had difficulty reading any phrases or words.   The intern used modeling, a Principle of Learning.    She shared a poem she had written prior to asking students to write a poem.    This provided an example and also demonstrated to students that simplicity could be very effective.   Wait time was used throughout the lesson (e.g. “I’ll give you a few minutes to study the picture”).    This strategy allowed students to make observations and think of words to describe the picture.   The teacher asked students to share a word that described the picture and then to place the word in one of three categories.    This broadened students’ contributions so that all the words were not “things”.   Questioning was used as a technique to activate students’ thinking during the lesson.    This was particularly effective when trying to support a struggling student who was having difficulty getting their thoughts down on paper.  

 

Suggestions / Questions:

Students were asked to write three new words and the definitions for homework.   A few students wrote their contributions on the blackboard.    The intern is encouraged to reflect on the goal of this exercise.   If it’s to extend vocabulary, applying the word in context may be considered.    ESOL students learn vocabulary in meaningful context best.   

 

TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM (reflecting, efficacy, professional relationships, communicating with parents)

The intern manner in the classroom was professional.    She exhibited openness to other people’s ideas in the post-conference.     

 

 

REFLECTION (On a separate sheet of paper please reflect on this lesson in terms of planning, learning environment, and implementation of instruction. Consider: To what extent were the learning goals met? How did your learning environment support student learning? In what ways were your teaching methods, activities, materials, and resources effective? What information did you gain from your assessment methods that will help you plan for the next lesson/unit?)