Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Pre-Observation Form

Directions: This form is to be completed prior to every lesson that will be observed by the mentor
teacher or university supervisor. It is to be submitted no later than 3 business days prior to the actual
observation along with your lesson plans.

Name: Erika Stancil Date: March 30th

1. What is the topic of your lesson?

How living things are dependent on water.

2. Why are you teaching this lesson? What is your rationale for teaching it?
Students are required to learn about the water cycle, but often how water
is affected people in other places is forgotten. Some people pray water will
come, and some people hope the rain will finally stop. Students are
required to pick the main idea out of the text, which fits in well with trying
to figure out how water is important in different texts.

3. What is your Teaching Behavior Focus? Why did you choose this?
Wait time, as it allows the quiet students a time to piece together their
words and gain the courage to raise their hands. It promotes a better
classroom environment as more students are collaborating.

4. Why did you design your instruction in this lesson the way that you did? Why did
you choose this way of teaching the lesson (e.g., Was the idea from a methods
course? From your mentor teacher? Another source?)
This general outline came from my mentor teacher.

5. As you are thinking through this lesson, what do you believe will be the most
challenging part of this lesson for you when you teach it? Why?
The most challenging part of the less will be for students to grasp the idea
that water, while extremely useful, can also be deadly. The lack of water
can be harmful, and an excessive amount can be harmful as well.

6. How will you know if your learning outcomes for the students are met
successfully?
The students will be engaging in a whole class discussion, with answers
being placed on the board, which allows students to show their way of
thinking. Students will be filling in a Venn diagram to demonstrate what
knowledge they have learned, and how they were able to connect what
 they have read with what they have learned in the past lessons.

7. How will your classroom management support the learning outcomes?

My classroom management will support the learning outcomes, as all
students will be able to get involved, ask questions, and steer the
discussion towards any misunderstandings. Students will be able to
bounce ideas off each other, which allow them to hear facts repeated in
other ways, or new facts.

8. List 1-3 areas which you would like for your observer to pay particular attention.
Why do you want your observer to focus on these areas?
How on task the students are will be a large area to observe, as most of
the class will be discussion based so staying on task will be required.
Another area to watch would be whether or not students were attentive
during the read aloud, were any students actually showing the appropriate
sign when they were lost. And lastly, was I attentive during the read aloud,
if someone showed they did not know a word, was I able to stop and use
context clues to fix their confusion.

9. Is there anything else you would like your observer to know before the
observation?
No.