Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Pre-Observation Form

Name: Katie Miller

Date:November 18 2017

1. What is the topic of your lesson?

Empathy

2. Why are you teaching this lesson? What is your rationale for teaching
it?
I am teaching this lesson to promote kindness among students in the classroom.
I chose this topic because I have witnessed disrespectful actions among peers.
While I do not believe the children are purposefully being malicious, my goal is
for them to realize that every interaction they have, has an effect on someone as
well as themselves.

3. What is your Teaching Behavior Focus? Why did you choose this?
Learners interests and experiences are acknowledged and integrated
into discussion is my teaching behavior focus because the point of my
lesson is for the students to think about their own personal
experiences with feeling and giving empathy or lack there of. This will
allow them to think about how they feel when someone shows or show
doesnt show empathy to them, and how their peers are capable of
feeling the same as them. This connection promotes the idea of how
emptying someone elses bucket, wont fill theirs; but, filling someone
elses bucket can make you feel good as well.

4. Why did you design your instruction in this lesson the way that you
did? Why did you choose this way of teaching the lesson (e.g., Was the
idea from a methods course? From your mentor teacher? Another
source?)
After finding the book, I came up with the idea for the lesson and how to
implement it by myself. In one of my classes we ended up doing something very
similar, but I had to make changes to be more organized for a second grade
classroom.

5. As you are thinking through this lesson, what do you believe will be the
most challenging part of this lesson for you when you teach it? Why?
The most difficult part will be ensuring that each child has the same amount of
bucket fillers written about them, because some students may be pulled out or
absent. However, my plan is to have students who finish early, to write an extra
slip, to make up for the ones missing.
6. How will you know if your learning outcomes for the students are met
successfully?
I will know if my learning outcomes for the students are met successfully, based on
the notes that they write for their peers. In addition, the conversations during and
after the book will allow me to see what the students are understanding about
being kind. They will also be asked to give examples of kind words we can write
for bucket fillers, which will show me whether or not they are getting the concept.

7. How will your classroom management support the learning outcomes?

In order to maintain classroom management, I will have the buckets and bucket
filler slips pre-made and with the students names on it. Each student will have 3
fillers with their name on it, for their students to use to write about them. This
ensures that there is no conflict with some students having more or less than
others.

8. List 1-3 areas which you would like for your observer to pay particular
attention. Why do you want your observer to focus on these areas?
The discussions during the book and after as well. Both of these areas hold most of
the content that I would like the students to grasp on to.

9. Is there anything else you would like your observer to know before the
observation?
I will be bringing extra bucket fillers, in case you or Kelsey would like to add to the
students buckets as well. You dont have to- just an option!