Sarah CO #2

Date/Time: 8 May / 11:00 - 11:50AM

Topic/Skill: (1A Reading class) Agenda: “American Bullfrog” in-class handout which included new vocabulary as well / reading comprehension

Teacher Presentation: As the class read the handout together, the instructor went over, defined, and showed multiple examples for the new vocabulary words. I thought it was especially helpful how she would take the time to google some pictures of difficult things to explain, such as what a "marsh" is. She also let them listen to what sound a bullfrog makes (via YouTube) and I felt that it was a great way to get the class interested in the reading assignment.

Classroom Management: The instructor began class by letting her students know what the agenda was going to be for that day (telling them that comprehension was the goal and that they would be reading the passage on the handout at least three times). She used the internet to provide visual support for the vocabulary terms and was incredibly energetic and conversational.

Materials: Whiteboard, computer/internet access, overhead projector, timer, handout 

Student Participation: The students took turns reading sentences of the passage aloud and were allowed to work in pairs when it came time to answer the short answer questions.

Feedback Provided: Before the class even began reading the assignment, the instructor told them not to get frustrated with the reading, and reminded them that they were going over it several times. As the students read aloud they were gently corrected, but I noticed she let some minor errors in pronunciation slide, as she was were more focused on what they were comprehending. She would ask the students to give their thoughts on what they had read after every few sentences to see if anything unclear to anyone. Most of the feedback was given as the class discussed the short answer questions together after she gave them time to write their own responses. A few grammatical corrections were explained using examples on the whiteboard.

Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: Ms Victoria Davis told me that the handout was originally in their textbook. She felt that it was a little too difficult for her students so she decided to tailor it to her class by creating an edited version so that it would be more level appropriate. Although textbooks will more than likely be provided in most classroom settings, there are many options when it comes to resources/materials - it is worth it to take the extra time to thoroughly review them before deciding to implement the resource/material into a lesson plan.