Laura Clark

Observation Lesson Term 4, 2017

Written language

General Comments
Laura is in her final term of her second year of teaching and has a Year 5 class
The room environment is thoughtfully organised. Laura enjoys arranging the spaces and
furniture creatively to optimise children's identity with the room and to facilitate learning

The walls are covered with student work and it is always of a high standard. It is a pleasure
to walk into the classroom to see engaged and happy children who feel a such a pride in
their space. Healthy relationships are facilitated by Laura through her strong, firm and fair
management style. A feature of Laura’s practice is in her ability to engage her students and
to form a warm and respectful interface with them

Laura has excellent communication skills and has the ability to laugh with children, and to
get to know each individual really well. She intuitively and naturally adapts her management
style to suit their needs. Laura is intensely invested in her children’s ability to succeed to
their best level and her students respond to this by striving to produce the quality she
expects from them.
She states that a growth area for her is in her realisation that she can push for a higher
standard, not just accepting an initial offering. Her ability to reflect and to design strategies
which work for each child has proven to be hugely beneficial to their learning.
She takes time to open children’s eyes to the fact that they can do even more with the right
support, intervention, and belief. Sh​e​ builds​ ​confidence to push boundaries even further.

Parent input is welcomed by Laura and she builds close connections, ensuring that a true
positive partnership is fostered which enhances children’s learning. She has an
approachable manner and has managed occasional difficult situations with maturity and
honesty which has been appreciated by senior leaders and also the parents concerned.

It took courage and confidence to use a picture book in this way for the first time whilst being
observed and critiqued. This is evidence of a PRT who is feeling capable and competent.
Laura is constantly reflecting on her teaching, and open to learning. This has been a positive
part of our relationship and I am delighted with her contribution to the senior team and wider
school.

She has had her first student teachers in her classroom in Terms 3 and 4, fostering
professional relationships and positively influencing their practice. She has commented that
she enjoys the chance to share the learning that she has undergone and her student
teachers are working very positively. They have both made considerable growth in skill and
management in the day to day programme due to her thoughtful mentoring

Systems and organisation of the classroom is exceptional. Children know the expectations
which are consistently monitored by Laura and as a consequence there is a high degree of
trust and buy in, creating a wonderful atmosphere and tone
26.10.17
Lesson Critique; Written language based on a Picture book
The observation lesson in written language was based on a sophisticated children's book
called “The Lost Thing” by Shaun Tan
It has a storyline that invites individual interpretation and encourages the reader to think
deeply about identity and what it would be like to have none, and no place to go to call
home. Also the sense of responsibility and the courage to act with integrity to connect with
something unknown and different
It is also about kindness, taking action,and personal responsibility when noone else seems
to care.

Laura effectively broke up the mat time since the story, well read, requires children to be
listening for quite a lengthy period of time. Laura took this into account involving kids in
discussion and drama
Laura touched mostly on the feelings evoked from the story. She clarified some of the
sophisticated vocabulary and asked children to peer share at intervals during the reading.
She used some drama techniques such as a freeze frame and a vocal response to imitate
the Lost Thing, which was very effective in personalising it for the children

(“Show me using facial expression and body language to evoke the feelings inside you”)

She commented that she had been teaching lots of drama techniques and this was evident
from the confident way they all took part in a genuine and authentic manner, demonstrating
that this has been highly successful and engaging for the class

The written response to the book was framed to tap into emotions and feelings about being
lost, possibly triggering a personal memory. This piece of writing is to be published into the
exciting writing book.
She left the writing task fairly open to interpretation for the children, offering a starter
sentence and storying with the children about her personal experience of finding a lost cat,
to encourage them to extend their thinking into their own personal lives if appropriate

She did make some reference to the visual language and will delve into this further after the
initial reading as there are a number of messages hidden in the illustrations which could
deepen the understanding especially for the more able readers.
The class management was excellent, she asked a range of children to contribute, moved
some closer to the mat area, checked that most had had an input and generally connected
with everyone to ensure they were fully involved.

A feature of the lesson was the buy in from every individual and the respect that Laura
demonstrated to acknowledge their contributions
She asked a range of questions mostly open ended and posed to extend thinking and
access new vocabulary
Laura gave clear directions which set the students up well for the writing task

Points for discussion​;

● High points from the lesson from Laura’s perspective

● What was she mostly trying to achieve?
● What is the writing like? Is she pleased with it?
● What would she do differently next time?
● Wider themes in the book perhaps could have, been explored possibly helping to
sharpen the focus
● Reading the story straight through to get the meaning and then re reading stopping
for teaching points… discuss this as another strategy

Notes about the writing

● We discussed the fact that Laura felt that the writing needed to be revisited and
possibly the way it was framed may have been too open ended for many of her
children. Also what she would do next time
● This was her first attempt at using a picture book as a starter for writing
● She reflected that she would need to re read the story and pull more of the
underlying themes out for the children, making them more overt and also linking them
to personal experience through discussion and sharing as a whole class
● We talked about creating a whole class piece which had the best ideas from each
individual, crafting and weaving them together
● Children had been given opportunity to independently read the book, commenting on
many of the subtle visual messages and her intention is to unpack this further and to
think about the author's purpose

The final stage in this process will be to view the finished piece of writing and comment

Gay Gilbert
Deputy principal
Hillcrest Normal School
Hillcrest
Hamilton