Observation from February 11, 2022 

9am – 12pm

 

 

            During my student teaching experience on February 11, I had the opportunity to witness many scenarios of the students learning both individually and in groups. These situations have occurred during times of instruction and teacher guided activities as well as during times that the classroom calls “free play”. 

 

            One instance I made sure to take note of today happened when the children split off into their own stations for “free play” with small groups. The students have the option to play respectfully and responsibility with others in their group, or they can also choose to play by themselves at the station of their choice. Groups of 1-2 students is the preferred amount for the stations, unless there is a full class. When the class is near or at the capacity, the stations get up to three students at a time. For instance, today at the “construction station” there were three students to start. When breaking apart into groups, the students all need to abide by the classroom rules for the stations. Every student is fully aware of the rules that they need to follow when taking part in the “free play”. One of the main classroom rules is the station needs to be cleaned up and put back in order before they can choose to move on to a different area. Additionally, there is absolutely no more than three students allowed at a station, and the art center specifically only allows for two students at a time.

 

            Today the observation I had especially taken note of was when a four-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl went to the “table games and puzzles” station and they chose to play the game “Memory” together. I then witnessed the two children work together to lay out all the piece’s upside down, as the game instructs to do so. The girl then proceeded to take some control and line up the square memory pieces into rows and columns to help the game operate better. They engaged in content learning with both math and literacy during this activity while also having fun. One example is when they identified the objects that they saw when they turned the cards over. In addition to their literacy practice, the further developed their math skills in counting by continuously counting their matches throughout the game as they got them as well as adding up the total at amount at the end of the game in order to determine the winner. Throughout the game, other than the occasional moments of being discouraged that are to be expected, the two students frequently and consistently cheered and encouraged one another.  

 

 

Plan:

 

There are a few different things that I could have done to enhance and extend the play and learning at the station. A few of these things include:

 

-       I could have begun playing with the memory/ matching game with the students and added in different points of knowledge about the images on the cards.

-       I could have invited one or two more children to join in on the game so more students would benefit from participating and the students all would have possibly remained more engaged. 

-       I could have sat at the table with them and instead of just listening, I could have kept them more actively engaged with what they were doing, practicing, and learning.

o   I could have done this by asking questions such as:

§  What picture do you see on the card?

§  Have you already seen this piece before it was just flipped over?

§  How many individual squares do you have?

§  How many pairs/ matches do you have (both throughout and after the game)?

 

 

 

 

·      I did not have a chance to take a picture to include because I did not know one was needed at the time of this observation and I had missed the following placement days. The room of my placement is now closed for the week of March 7^th through March 11^th (unless further extended due to COVID protocols). 

Morgan Montgomery

Mentor: Tracy

On April 1st, three parents received “courtesy calls” from Miss. Tracy because

their children started looking very pale and began developing a cough and stuffy nose

so they had their temperatures taken. There was a bug going around the classroom and even though their temperatures were not at the number where they are required to be sent home, the students’ temperatures ranged from 99.8 degrees fahrenheit to 100.9 degrees fahrenheit; which is still a fever. Only one student was picked up by their parents as a result of the courtesy calls. The classroom has a fairly strict rule against parents entering into the room at dropoff/ pickup so

when one student got brought during lunch, he said goodbye to his mom at the door in the hallway. One student gets picked up during nap time and he is

especially tough to wake up therefore Miss. Tracy allows his parents to break that rule and come in to wake him up and carry him out. His nap mat is located near the door to help reduce the chance of disruption

and distraction to the other students in the classroom. The teachers in the classroom

also send him home with his snack, as well as an extra snack packed for his sister who

is waiting in the car. During stations, when a student draws, stamps, or makes a

craft, they either hand it to me or place it on the center table and I bring it to the corresponding student folder in the hall for the parents to look at and take during pickup. I also put any newsletters or paperwork that would need to be handed out to parents in their folders as well. This area is the parents main line of communication for information with the teachers and staff.