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Name: Shannon Creedon Date: November 15, 2019

Observation #: _2__ Type: Announced

Observed By: Janet Buerklin, Boston University Program Supervisor

1.A.4: Well Structured Lessons 2.B.1 Safe Learning Environment

X X
1.B.2: Adjustments to Practice 2.D.2 High Expectations
Focus Elements: X
2.A.3: Meeting Diverse Needs
X 4.A.1 Reflective Practice

Date of Lesson: November 15, 2019 Time (start/end): 10:00 AM – 10:35 AM

Content Topic/Lesson Objective:

Students will be able to write sight words and phonetic sounds correctly 80% of the time.

Whole Group X Small Group One-on-One Other

Active Evidence Collection occurred during the observation and is synthesized and categorized below.

Element Evidence
 You were clear with learning expectations: students would be considering words, spelled with
“ow”, but said with a different sound than they had worked on previously.
 Well-paced lesson. You spent ample time with each activity, yet did not prolong any activity. As a
result, students kept focused and were “with you” all along the way.
1.A.4  The lesson design took students from the easier tasks to the more difficult ones. They were
easily able to complete the first activity but struggled with the final activity in which they were
asked to list multiple ways sounds are made. Going from easy/familiar to more difficult is solid
planning.
 Ending the lesson with the game they like but which solidifies their reading skills worked.
 When one student finished the first exercise considerably sooner than the other, you were
1.B.2 prepared with additional practice words for the student who had completed the original
assignment.
 As we noted, the entire lesson was essentially a modification since these students require this level
of instruction and practice in order to strengthen their reading skills.
 You provided appropriate clues to help students be successful. For instance, when a student could
2.A.3 not think of a letter combination that sounds like /a/, you provided a clue about the number 8 that
helped the student remember the letter combination “eigh”.
 Using highlighter colors to differentiate the different pronunciations of /ou/ and /ow/ is effective
for students who need that extra visual clue.
 As noted above, your lesson was well-paced and you provided lots of positive oral feedback that
students were focused and attending to each activity. That kind of specific and constant feedback
helps students know your expectations for their behavior/performance in a lesson.
 Telling students you disagree with an answer is a gentle way to indicate that an answer is
2.B.1 incorrect and in need of review. This is a non-critical way to help students understand the need
to correct their work.
 Gentle re-directing of attention to the task was effective and brought students back to focus
100% of the time.
 Well prepared with all the materials needed for the lesson.
 Required

2.D.2

4.A.1

CAP Observation Form

Focused Feedback
 Continue to provide gentle positive feedback that encourages effective participation
on the part of the students – and gentle constructive feedback when revisions are
needed.
 Continue to teach lessons with a pace that keeps students interested and engaged
Reinforcement Area/Action:
while making sure students are able to participate effectively. And, continue to plan
(strengths)
lessons with the variety of activities you used in this lesson.
 Continue to plan for students who will complete work early and for students who
need extra practice. Be prepared with those adjustments coming into the lesson – as
you did with this one.
 While the learning objective worked in a macro sense, it is useful to be as specific as
possible when writing lesson plans. In the case of the learning objective, specifically
listing the sounds you want students to master 80% of the time would be helpful.
Since you were working on a particular sound (/ou/), you probably should have
added that to the objective.
 Your lesson plan suggested you would be modeling the first exercise of saying the
letter, saying the sound the letters make, providing a word with the sound and
spelling, and writing the word. In reality, though, there was no modeling but, rather,
simply giving instruction. Perhaps, because students have completed this activity so
often they do not need the modeling. BUT, I would argue that modeling is always
helpful because (1) it provides one or more good examples of what you want
students to do and (2) it helps to focus students’ attention on the task. Had you
Refinement Area/Action: modeled several words with the /ou/ sound, they might have been somewhat more
(areas for improvement) successful with their independent work on that sound.
 Giving context to words seems to be important. The Orton Gillingham materials are
purely phonics practice but adding context might be helpful for students struggling
with words. In this lesson, students demonstrated difficulty reading “crow” and,
perhaps, a picture of a crow would have helped them make meaning of the word.
Consider predicting before the lesson which words might be new and need context
and find ways to introduce other avenues that will help them read and find meaning
to words.
 As noted in our conversation, the sentences that both students wrote were minimal
in detail and barely could be used as evidence that they are able to use the words
accurately in sentences. It would have been appropriate to ask students to enhance
their sentences with further detail. Setting realistically high expectations is
important.