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I observed Lori's 6th grade orchestra class.  They were using Pic Collage to show correct bow holds.  It was very fun to watch the students help each other and Lori did a great job making sure every student had the help they needed.

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I observed Stevie's 6th grade language arts lesson on introducing the Iditarod.  It was interesting to see how many students knew of this race.  Some knew an abundance of information, and others had never heard of the race.  Stevie had guaranteed that they all knew something about the race in one way or another.  The classroom atmosphere was very positive and engaging.  Students were having good conversations and I felt that Stevie did a great job of including those that weren't self-engaged.
Mid-way through, Stevie showed a short video showing last years race results.  At this point, many students contributed to the discussion by their experiences with watching videos such as Iron Will or Snow Dogs.
Stevie explained the overall goals of the unit, but was asking for student input as to what they would like to learn as well.
I can easily see why students feel comfortable in Stevie's classroom.

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I observed Stacey’s 7th grade English lesson on characterization practice with film.  The students watched a clip of a familiar film, then determined character traits based on 4 criteria as outlined on their handout.  Stacey created a positive academic climate, while simultaneously providing an interesting, fun opportunity for the students to learn about characterization.  The students knew exactly what the learning target was, and I was impressed with her stellar classroom management.  I particularly liked the way that Stacey scaffolded the activity by modeling  the first characterization, then doing the second one together as a class, and finally, asking the students to work in pairs for the third and fourth characterizations.  Student input was encouraged at all times, there was no such thing as a wrong answer – as long as the student could cite evidence to support their answer.  This was perhaps the most lasting impression; how the students were able to take their new knowledge and apply it in a convincing manner.

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The students in Ann Maine's classroom were so enthusiastic about completing their Level Up activity! I asked Ann if it was designed to be a race. Nope! The students were just so excited to complete their work and get to the next level. So cool!

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Janae's classroom environment is student centered. The students were intently engaged in a measurement task while listening to music. She allowed her students freedom of movement and was continually checking in and encouraging students.

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I observed Jason teaching a  6th Grade Choir lesson which opened with Read Around the Text! He was effective in checking for understanding and gave great wait time!

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Stacy used above pause whisper like a master! The discussion in her classroom was thought provoking!

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Cathy and Stacy's cotaught class on POV. Amazing idea to work in a group and create stories based on the Point of

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I observed Egle's classroom. The class was talking about creating suspense before writing their own stories. It was great to see how classroom expectations were part of the class culture. I found it interesting to see a class of gifted students compared to other classes I teach. Interesting to see the differences in vocabulary used during instruction. I loved the references to all the previous stories to highlight the examples of suspense.

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I observed Mrs. Nelson's class viewing Powtoons they'd created to present their learning on new technologies. Presenting in a Powtoon allowed the students to not only think deeply about their content, but also to consider how to organize that information in a way that makes sense. They had to analyze the information to consider the flow of their presentation and which ideas should be presented together. Graphics supported compare and contrast statements, and opposing viewpoints. Presenting in a Powtoon also encouraged students to develop 21st century communication skills.

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I observed Mr. Ol's class using a self-paced Nearpod lesson. I was impressed with the variety of modalities he was able to include in the lesson. Students were able to interact by reading, by processing and reflecting on an image, by using virtual reality to consider how a new location discovered would appeal differently to different people, and by writing essay responses to prompts.  The modalities allowed learners with different strengths to all think deeply about the material.

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I observed Stacy Ellefson's first hour English class.  The lesson was based on characterization and involved the students using the STEAL strategy.
Stacy smiled often and gave many non-verbal positive interactions such as eye contact and nodding.  She created a positive learning climate.  Stacy was effective in achieving her desired student behavior to reach her learning target.  Stacy provided an opportunity for students to critically analyze the author's character development in a short story text - a cognitive challenge!  I observed her students volunteering their ideas, responding to her questions, paying attention to her, and being focused and  engaged in today's lesson.  I enjoyed observing Stacy's interaction with her students that clearly promoted academic success!

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I observed Ellerbusch's room. Ellerbusch was introducing Hyper-docs and he's introducing Pre-Civil War. I think it's going to be great to get different activities for our students. I think I see myself using this in my fourth hour class because the activity requires students to own their own learning. A lot of choice and freedom.

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I observed Ellerbusch's room. Todd was introducing a hyper-doc that the students will be working on over the next few weeks. Never seeing a hyper-doc in a classroom setting, I was very intrigued by what it offers. The students have a lot of choice and are self-paced. I'm hoping to try to implement this type of activity into chapter 4. It would fit very nicely with the content of that chapter. Well Done Todd!!!

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I observed Greg Schoenbeck's math class. He taught a lesson on liner programming and provided students with the opportunity to apply it to a real world application. Students determined the magic number of clay vases and bowels that a person running a clay business could make and sell for maximum profit. Variables represented business constraints (time, supplies, budget) and students had graph a liner equation to find the magic number of bowls and vases to sell in order to achieve maximum profit. Who doesn't want maximum profit??? Students realized that is the way business maximize their profit. I participated with students and worked on my own liner equation with them. They were surprised to see me doing it. I could tell it inspired the students (especially the ones around me). I truly enjoy relating content to real world application and this is one more way to do it.

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I observed Egle's class. I love the idea that it was structured with student autonomy and student flexibility. Many of the students were working on various things from completing their Star Test to working on their vocabulary activity. As an observer, I actually participated in the students' discussion when working on their 10-15 vocab words. It was really fun to see the kids use the vocabulary words as Mrs. Frerks and I were help guiding the kids to the definition.

I enjoyed the flexibility that the students had. I love that many were on task and having meaningful conversations about middle school and using those vocab words to make connections. I am going to make a concerted effort to do more social studies vocabulary activities, but not have them write it down like Egle did. It may help students, but I need to find a different way like how she setup the class.

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I observed Sue Nelson's room. Her class was presenting their PowToon projects. The class was very respectful and engaged during the presentations. Sue gave positive feedback and allowed the students to ask questions. I enjoyed the projects, learned from them and would love to try a Pow Toon in Science. It would fit nicely with some of my curriculum.

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Reflect using the questions above. Include a picture of something you found effective.