Observation

Instructional Lesson
Classroom: Brandi Elmore
Grade: 3rd
Curriculum Area: Reading Whole Group
Observer: Delaney Brigman
Date: February 8, 2017
Time: 8:10am

What I noticed:
During this whole group lesson, the teacher began the lesson by reading an article for
World News Wednesday called The Effects of Space Travel. The article was about two twin
brothers. One of the brothers stayed on Earth while the other brother went up into space. The
brothers health were tracked, like their weight. The teacher discussed some of the possible
things that could have caused the different changes that the brothers exhibited. The students
then had to log into their google classroom accounts on their chromebooks and answer the exit
ticket question, Do you think the change is related to spending a year in space? Why or why
not?.
After the students answered the question for World News Wednesday, the teacher let
the students know that they would be working on CCSS RI.3.3 which involved the students
having to work with a timeline graphic organizer. The teacher read an article about the history of
bicycles out loud while the students followed along on Razkids with the teacher. Before they
began reading the article, the teacher provided the students with a timeline graphic organizer
that had important dates discussed throughout the article with the information box blank and
information boxes filled in with the date blank. While the teacher read the article to the class the
students had to raise their hands when they heard a date that was missing on the timeline or
when they heard information that was missing on the timeline. The teacher had the students
help her fill out a few missing spots on the timeline and then had the students go back to their
seats and fill out the rest of the timeline on their own and listen to the story on Razkids if they
wanted to listen to the article again.
Thoughts, Questions, Connections to Methods Classes:
Some of the things that I noticed while observing this lesson is how the teacher
integrated science and social studies into the lesson. She integrated science by talking about
space during World News Wednesday and social studies by reading about the history of the
bicycle. I also noticed that she made sure to stop while she was reading the bicycle article and
check for individual comprehension. I really liked how she had the students follow along with her
on Razkids while she read the article. I also noticed that the teacher followed the direct lesson
plan by teaching and modeling what she wanted the students to do, had the students try the
task while she assisted them, and then had the students try the task on their own.