Holland Hall Classroom Observation

I observed a sixth grade classroom (eleven to twelve years of age) at a middle school in Ringgold, Georgia. The classroom seemed to be fairly even in regards to how many children of each sex were in the classroom. The majority of the students were white with a few african american and hispanic children among the mix. The sixth grade classes did not have enough employees to only teach one subject therefore, the teacher that I observed taught language arts and mathematics. The first thing you notice when you walk into the classroom is the mathematical shapes all along the upper wall like a wallpaper border. These shapes were projects from her students in the years before. The next thing that you’ll notice is the way the desks were set up. They were set up in three separate groups. One group of around twelve desks faced the

I teach at Marshall Elementary School in Dubuque, IA. Marshall is in a suburban area of our city. The families at Marshall are in a wide range of incomes, but mostly the families are low to middle income level. The school is located in an area around houses, there is train tracks that run behind the school, then behind that is an industrial area. The Mississippi River runs along the industrial area. The families at Marshall are employed in a wide range of places throughout Dubuque. There are quite a few stay at home moms, factory workers, food service employees, office staff, etc.

In this lab experience I was observing eighteen to nineteen first grade students at Jefferson Elementary. Most of the observations take place in the classroom. I observe at different times of the day, so that I can experience different areas of study. I have observed this class with their regular teacher, two substitutes and the reading coach, as well as a portion of the class with two special activity teachers.

Observations at Columbia High School were collected in the Student Services department for 9th and 10th graders in the Huntsville City Schools (HCS) district. Students enrolled in this self-contained, special needs unit are supported by a curriculum design with prevocational transition targets. These exceptional learners work toward benchmark academic, behavioral, and vocational skills development.

On Wednesday October, 25nd we went to Lakehill Elementary to observe and teach students. I observed a boy in a grade 4/5. He was wearing camouflage sweat pants, a gray long sleeve t-shirt and Velcro sneakers. He was always front and near the centre during explanations and instructions. This made for him to be a very engaged student. From my observation, I would say that he was very eager to please the teachers and his classmates. He followed instructions and rules and join in with discussions when needed. More so, he always volunteered himself to be used in examples and demonstrations. Overall I would say that this student was enthusiastic, and keen to be in gym class for the majority of the time.

At the end of the lesson Students are going to be able to describe where they live using the verb "vivir" and "tener" in Spanish. During unit two, they been using the these verbs and in the beginning of the lesson they answer the "Do NOw" activity where I asked then: ?Donde tu vives? They answer the question in Spanish and used the verb in the correct tense. After that, they answer a listening question where they had to identify the part of the house using the vocabulary proposed at the beginning of the lesson. Finally, they started a project where they had to create a Floor plan and describe their ideal house. For this activity, they have to use the verb "tener" in present tense. The completion of these activities ensures the acquisition of the new vocabulary and the verbs tense. It is important to mention, that this lesson will continue next week because students need more time to complete their DOL activity.

On October 26th I observed at Park Elementary in Munhall, Pa. The school is from kindergarten to 4th grade. Park Elementary was the same Elementary school I attended and the second-grade classroom I chose to observe was the same classroom that I sat in ten years ago taught by the same teacher. I chose to observe Park Elementary because the school and the teachers are who inspired me to become an elementary school teacher. The classroom was very colorful and organized. The walls were covered with decorations such as calendars, months, star student, alphabet, and number lines. The lesson I observed was a second-grade mathematics lesson and language arts. Classroom sizes are 25-30 students per classroom. The lesson was making numbers using ones, tens and

Classroom Two is also an Elementary special day class Ms. Lopez is the teacher, she has been teaching for 5 years. She has a Masters with her special education credential. She is Bilingual she speaks English and Spanish. The children she services have speech and language impairment and on the spectrum for Autism. The classroom ratio is one adult to two children. She had two instructional aide and 6 children in the classroom.

unyard is educated in a Special Class placement. Junyard was observed during a Math lesson that included whole class instruction and individual seatwork. He mainstreamed into the general education classroom.

• to increase the students understanding of music, including its elements, structures, and terminology through live performances, students and guest artists;

During my sit-in with the grade five class, students were working on their recorder skills. I noticed how all of the students were working on their individual musical skills to then practice a composition together, as a form of unity. I observed students who normally aren’t fully engaged in classroom work showing focus and enjoyment in their musical learning. Each student presented a different skill level with their recorder, however, when they all played together, the whole piece came together.

Even as a toddler, I would always look up to the students of the school, yearning to learn what had my home had been developing for so many years. Of all instruments, I singled out the piano, which my mother had been teaching and studying for her entire life. I wanted to begin lessons so badly that, as my family now recalls, I would interrupt students’ lessons just to plead to my mother. At first, she was reluctant to give in to my demands, but soon, I became the youngest student in the school at the age of

Music programs play several roles within a school. To maximize the benefits of any educational experience it is critical that students are able to transfer their content knowledge between subjects. The study of music is no exception. Peterson and Madsen (2010) explain that when students are able to apply knowledge they have learned in one subject to another subject they are much more likely to maintain that knowledge, and this is magnified when the content is applied in creative ways. It is also the educator’s responsibility to help their students see where and how content can be applied to other areas. Peterson and Madsen (2010) state that, “The teacher must practice making connections himself or herself before demonstrating this skill for the class” (Effective Transfer section, para. 23).

Music is memorable – many persons can easily recall the lyrics to a favorite song no matter when they last heard it. Teachers can harness the power of music in order to help students remember and comprehend course material. According to the John Hopkins School of Education’s website, music has countless uses in the classroom. They cite that simply playing music brings energy to the classroom – improving moods and inspiring students to learn. In addition, allowing students to create their own music inspires creativity in the classroom and teachers can aid students in the memorization process by creating catchy tunes (Johns Hopkins). Finally, music brings culture into the classroom by integrating local flavors of life and human expression. Different regions can integrate their own music into the classroom which generates originality and personal localized expression. For my future classroom, I plan to take advantage of all these opportunities to help students

The classroom that I observed was Mr. Slagle’s 1st grade class on YouTube, during a language arts lesson. The desks were setup in a fashion which was unusual, although not very clear in the diagram above, the desks were set up in a slanted fashion ( table 1 and 3), and table 2 which was in the center, was not slanted. The tables were very close together and the 1st was very close to the white board which might cause some students to bump into other students or objects. It is not a setup in a way that encourages the teacher to walk around desks since there are slanted tables and very short spaces between the desks. In the back of the class there is a table where students go to work in groups. The classroom looks cluttered and has lots of student work and art covering most of the walls.