Observation of 1st grade class at a charter school

I had the opportunity to observe at a charter school in Roosevelt. Having never been, it was a great chance for me to see a charter school in action.  I noticed right away that the school had a bright, friendly atmosphere. The students wear uniforms which I think uniforms are a good idea. I think they take a lot of stress of the parents and children. Children don't have to worry about having name brand clothing.   I observed the morning routine in the first grade class and thought it was nice how the teacher had the students stop and greet the student next to them in the circle by saying "Good morning [name]." It was a great way to start the day while teaching courtesy and manners. The teacher also stopped other students from talking while each student told what they did over the weekend. Again, showing children how to be polite and respectful. The classes in this school each had a teacher and co-teacher.  This classroom did have a student with severe behavioral issues. Even with two teachers it was a challenge! It was a good lesson for me to see how tough teaching can be. The teachers had to handle this one student while trying to continue the lesson for the rest of the class. It was clear that this one student's behavior at times set off misbehavior by other students. This teacher showed how important it is to remain calm and have lots of patience.

Teacher observation

Had a great experience during teacher observation this week. The teacher had me do the review of a worksheet for language arts and math with the class. It was sort of a last minute thing and I had to wing it. I was nervous but it was a good first experience for me!

fieldwork observation

While doing my classroom observation I was able to sit in on a teacher meeting.  These two fifth grade teachers were teamed together.  One teacher teaches both classes science and the other social studies. They coordinate the lesson plans and exams for the other subjects.  It was a great opportunity to see this in action. I was  amazed at how much preperation goes into scheduling. There is so much juggling with specials, assemblies, students being pulled out for speech and music lessons. These were veteran teachers who clearly had been working together for awhile. It was interesting to hear them discuss the different pace for the two classes and the levels at which each class was learning. One class was picking the material up quicker so that was addressed. It was a valuable experience for me and really got a lot out of it.