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Claire Thompson 
 
11/18/2020 
 

Morris Elementary 1st Semester  

DISTRICT PEER OBSERVATION  
2020-2021 
 
 
Questions List​: 
 
Your name: C ​ laire Thompson 
 
Your Building(s)::​ Morris Elementary 
 
Teacher you observed:​ Alison Stewart  
 
Observation Date:​ 11/18/2020 
 
Scheduled Follow-Up Meeting Date:​ 11/19/2020 
 
What do you observe about your colleague's classroom environment and atmosphere?:​ The 
classroom environment was very welcoming and calm. The classroom was very nicely spaced out. 
Some students seemed to have yoga balls to sit on, but those students were not there on the day I 
observed. The room seems very organized and not overwhelming. The amount of posters on the 
walls were just right and were not distracting.  
 
What instructional strategies do you observe?:​ The teacher was teaching whole group phonics 
instruction when I observed. The teacher was having students clap out the sounds they heard in 
the word that she gave to them, then students would say the sounds, the teacher would then 
write the letters as the students spelled the word. Students then did a roll and read activity, but it 
was a whole group. The whole group roll and read seemed to have every student engaged 
because they knew they would get a turn to roll the dice. After each student got a chance to roll 
the dice and they read, then the class moved onto dictation. The teacher gave the word, then the 
students wrote on their whiteboards and showed the teacher. If the student made a mistake the 
teacher would walk around and give reminders and questioning to the students that spelled it 
incorrectly.  
 
How does your colleague communicate the learning objectives/essential standards to 
students?:​ The learning target was written on the board, but I did not hear it stated. I wasn't in 
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when they first started so it could have been stated during the lesson when I was not in there.  
 
What assessments did your colleague utilize during this observation?:​ The teacher utilized 
formative assessment when having students doing dictation on their whiteboard. I could tell that 
the teacher was looking at each student to make sure they spelled the word correctly.  
 
What strategies does your colleague use to promote student engagement?:​ The teacher used 
equal participants because she let everyone have a turn of rolling the dice. The teacher also does 
a nice job of letting each student share.  
 
What type(s) of student interactions did you observe?: ​Every interaction was very positive with 
the students. The teacher would say "I notice" when she saw the behaviors she wanted, instead 
of focusing on the negative behaviors.  
 
How does your colleague model and maintain effective classroom management?: T ​ he teacher 
gives specific feedback while teaching. The teacher is also moving around throughout the lesson 
so that she is able to see everything that is going on. Teacher gives positive "I notice" statements 
to the students who are following the expectations. She then praises them for following the 
expectations.  
 
What takeaways do you have from this observation?: I​ was very happy that I got to observe a 
whole group phonics lesson from another 2nd grade teacher so that I could compare to my own 
instruction. I was able to see different activities that I could present to my students. I also really 
enjoyed being able to see the room with her students in it. It was nice to see where she put 
students and how they participated in the activities.  
 
Describe at least one thing you could implement into your own classroom from this 
observation.: I​ really like her roll and read activity that she incorporated into her phonics lesson. 
I think this helped engage the student before going into dictation.  
 
What other comments or questions do you have?: