Student Teacher__Emily MacLaren

School_JHS 104_______________________
Observation #___3_______ Date __3/2/16 Class ___881___________ Period_7__
Main Lesson Objective (short range concept):__Students will be able to determine the main
points of Atticuss closing statement. Students will review the structure of an effective analytical
paragraph. __________________________________________________________________
_______
I. GETTING STARTED/INTRODUCING THE LESSON
Yes Establishes opening balance of firmness and friendliness
yes Introduces focused, short-range performance objective(s)
yes Establishes organized agendathe main steps for learning new knowledge
yes_Motivates students to become interested in the learning objective
yes Engages students in generating relevant prior knowledge upon which to build
yes_Helps students contextualize the lesson within the broader unit of study
yes Establishes behavior guidelines necessary for a productive lesson
General Observations:
Emily introduced the activities for the day, letting the students know that they were going to do
work to help them in writing a character analysis.
The Do Now was to have the students share the homework character profiles and to explain the
answers to the last two homework questions. Students promptly got to work and Emily circulated
around the room talking with each group.
At the end of the Do Now she addressed class business, asking for volunteers for the Friday
Book Talk. Many students raised their hands for a chance.
Strengths for this phase:
Students arrived noisily but Emily brought them to attention by firmly insisting on quiet in the
room. She read the teaching point to the class when there was quiet in the room, not before.
Students began to work as soon as they settled down.
She circulated around the room, visiting each table and talking with each group during the Do
Now.
She was firmly controlling and guiding the class.
Goals for this phase:
Have a full class review of the Do Now and make an explicit connection between the Do Now
and the aim of the lesson.
II. TEACHING/IMPLEMENTING THE LESSON
Needs more clarity during the lesson_Establishes key learning objective (concept) and how
students will understand it
somewhat_Gives in-depth presentation of the learning objective and builds lesson around it
yes Offers students deductive (direct teaching) and inductive (discovery) approaches
yes Uses instructional formats to appeal to verbal, visual and kinesthetic modes
yes__Presents new knowledge, not previously taught knowledge (review, etc.)
not in this part Designs varied activities for applying new knowledge (individual, pairs, groups)
somewhat_Provides clear directions and expectations for each learning activity

yes Structures and paces lesson for unity and completeness, including debriefing
yes_Uses effective questioning to generate critical thinking and multiple views
yes_ Manage students effectively throughout the lesson
present in the lesson Provides traditional and performance-based assessment of new knowledge
General Observations:
There were two segments to this portion of the lesson.
First, chapters 18 and 19 in To Kill A Mockingbird were reviewed. Emily directed the students to
have their books out and open. Students reviewed the key points from Atticuss closing
statement. Maybelles testimony was reviewed and Tom Robinsons testimony was reviewed.
During this discussion, Emily asked both fact and inference questions. Students were instructed
to look for evidence in the text to support their answers. She asked students to think about
Atticuss closing argument and what he was implying about Maybelles life as a citizen of
Macomb and about the larger meaning of the court case.
The second part of the lesson was instructions on how to write an analytical paragraph using the
hamburger strategy. Emily used the illustration of a hamburger, lettuce and tomatoes on a bun
to symbolize the topic sentence ( top bun), tomatoes (context, introduction, evidence), lettuce
(paraphrase), hamburger (how does my specific example show character development? Why is
this important? How has my character changed? What does this imply about my other
characters?), bottom bun (Wrap up and connection to the thesis). This is a clever way to
remember how to organize a body paragraph. Emily wrote the important information on the
burger diagram and the students copied it.
Students received a copy of the assignment for their character development essay.
Strengths for this Phase:
The series of questions were thought provoking, analytical and evaluative.
Time was given for students to think about their answers and look for corroborating evidence in
the text.
No student was allowed to dominate the discussion.
Many students participated.
Goals for this Phase:
Make explicit connections between the Do Now, the discussion and the writing assignment.
Give a model paragraph to demonstrate how the hamburger strategy works.
III. CLOSING/DEBRIEFING THE LESSON
yes__Paces lesson to provide for an effective culminating display of new knowledge
yes__Provides clear directions for homework application of learning objective
no__Invites students to debrief by articulating the lessons personal and cognitive benefits
Observations/Goals:
The writing assignment was distributed and students asked clarifying questions.
IV. OVERALL PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
__yes__Reflects on/evaluates how instructional choices and actions affect students

__yes__Builds relationships and seeks resources that support students active learning
__yes__Is flexible in accommodating varied learning aptitudes and formats
___yes_Is objective and calm in dealing with the unexpected
Observations/Goals:
I saw that Emily had responded to my comments from the last observations. She was more
assertive, she wrote notes on the board, she asked probing questions and waited for answers, she
managed the time better, taking care of future business (preparation for the book talk and the
writing assignment) as well as the daily classroom instruction. Good work!