Observation

Instructional Lesson

Classroom: Aylett
Grade: 3rd
Curriculum Area: Science
What I notice
-

There are 20 students in the

class. Of the 20 students, 19
of them are African-American
while the remainder is biracial. There are 9 girls and 11
boys in the class.
Today, the objective is 3.E.2.2:
Compare Earths land features
by using pictures and
diagrams.
In the beginning of the lesson,
my cooperating teacher, Mrs.
Aylett, said to the class Weve
been talking a lot about
Earths different types of
bodies of water. What if I told
you that Earth has different
types of landforms, too? What
is a landform? Students
raised their hands to share
their thoughts.
We then watched
Landforms, a Brain Pop
video that explained what a
landform is and the different
types of landforms.
After the video, Mrs. Aylett told
everyone to turn next to
someone and tell them
something that youve learned
about landforms. I think that
this was a great
implementation of a ThinkPair-Share because everyone

Observer: Adrianna Jones

Date: 3/10/15
Time: 1:30 pm

Thoughts, Questions, Connections to

Methods Classes
-

Direct Instruction was

primarily used as the teacher
taught and students
responded.
The Brain Pop video provided
great information in a kidfriendly way. I think that
students really enjoyed it.
As I was observing, I was
asking myself What ways
could I teach this lesson in the
future that gave children the
chance to move around and
explore?
I wish that the lesson was
more hands-on for this
objective. Google Maps,
pictures, mini-replicas of
landforms would have been
nice to see.
During the observation, I was
also trying to make a note of
how my cooperating teacher
managed the class throughout
the lesson. I know that I am
very soft spoken, so that
might be an issue when I
teach my lesson.
What are some strategies
that I can use to manage the
class when I teach?
I really loved the
implementation of the ThinkPair-Share.

had the chance to share their

thoughts, which is better than
only a few being called on to
share with the class. After a
few minutes, Mrs. Aylett then
asked a few students to share
what they learned with the
class.
Afterwards, Mrs. Aylett, passed
out a worksheet for students
to complete. While students
were completing the
worksheet, she walked around
to monitor and observe them.
Once she collected everyones
worksheet, she reviewed the
worksheet and its answers
with the class to clear up any
misunderstandings.

In connection to ELED 3221, I

would have to say that this
lesson used Strands 1 and 4 of
Science Learning: Strand 1understanding concepts,
making connections and
Strand 4: summing up ideas.
There are 3 students who are
struggling readers, so to
accommodate them, Mrs.
Aylett provided them with
more time to complete the
worksheet. If they needed
more time, she allowed them
to go to a quiet, secluded
room to finish.
Overall, I liked how engaged
students were throughout the
lesson. What I think that they
got out of this lesson was the
idea that Earth is made up of
both bodies of water and
landforms and that there are
different types of each
depending on the location.