Instructional Strategies

Field Report #2: Instructional Strategies

Zoe Lane

Tarrant County College

Educ: 1302-20001

Professor Sikes

10/22/2023
 Instructional Strategies

The field report experience was conducted in Azle, Texas's Azle Independent School

District. This observation was conducted in Mrs. Finch's 1st grade classroom at Hilltop

Elementary School. Mrs. Finch teaches her 23 students by herself in her classroom.

Classroom layout

Mrs. Finch has four tables in the shape of hexagons to accommodate all 23 students in the

classroom. As you walk into the classroom, you see Mrs. Finch's desk, a bean-shaped desk with

little chairs where she calls the students up to do minor work with her. The classroom's theme

was butterflies; butterfly trim was around all the whiteboards and walls. In the reading area was a

butterfly rug beside the bookshelf the kids could sit on during independent reading and partner

readings. There are three bulletin boards; the one next to the teacher's desk has a smart board,

anchor charts, number lines, and the alphabet. The second bulletin board has multiple math

strategies and anchor charts of math strategies to help guide the students when they need a

reminder. The third board contains the "word wall." The alphabet is listed with words underneath

that start with the letter it is underneath.

There are multiple anchor charts all over the classroom; Mrs. Finch has them organized

into each subject for easy access to locate when needing a reminder. There is also an anchor

chart with the bathroom expectations and the "Class Mission." The class mission is an anchor

chart that the students verbally say out loud as a class every day as a reminder to be respectful

and kind and to get ready for the 2nd grade. All the students have signed their names onto the

class mission as a contract.

 Instructional Strategies

Engagement

The small rotation groups the kids were making were just a refresher for Mrs. Finch to

ensure the students understood the math concept they had been working on. When they

transitioned from the math small groups to a different activity, Mrs. Finch had the kids sit on the

rug before the multi-media and asked if they knew the rhyming words. This was Mrs. Finch’s

way of seeing what the kids knew or did not know about the following material they would be

learning. Having the kids sit in front of her, having them brainstorm two words that rhyme, then

proceed to read a poem that rhymes and have the kids tell her what words the rhyming words are.

This allows Mrs. Finch to ensure all the kids are engaged; she can see all their faces to see who is

participating and who is not.

Individual Needs

Mrs. Finch's students had no major behavioral issues except when the students talked

loudly when the voice level was at zero. Once the students' voices got out of control and too

loud, Mrs. Finch would reel their focus back in by saying, "Hocus Pocus," the students replied,

"Let us focus," and she would then remind them that their voice level is on zero. Mrs. Finch is

very proactive when it comes to behavioral issues. two students were spaced apart in line during

restroom break, but when it was time to partner read, Mrs. Finch told the boys, "Remember, you

boys cannot be partners because you both always get too rowdy and lose a sticker, so let's pick

different partners." The boys were bummed about not being partners but did not want to lose a

sticker because they were both just one sticker short of eating lunch with Mrs. Finch.

While doing rotations that help, the students get to use hands-on activities like sight word

bingo, using pictures to see the item visually and spell it by sounding out loud numbers to 20

with ten blocks. Once the small groups were over, they transitioned into reading and sat on the
 Instructional Strategies

rug by the multi-media. Mrs. Finch had the students close their eyes and wanted them to picture

what the poem read. She would read each stanza one at a time and ask the students what they

imagined when she read it. This helped auditory learners with difficulty reading and

understanding what was just read. Mrs. Finch pulled four students to her desk for a small reading

intervention. Once they were ready to start, Mrs. Finch told them, "When we read, we need to

remember what we just read; if we read it and we do not remember or understand what we just

read, we did not read it properly. Therefore, we should slow it down and break it up to

remember." She then read to the students as they followed along, and after every sentence, she

had them explain what she read to make sure they understood what was said.

Grouping strategies

There was a lot of group work for the students to work together and ask each other

questions if needed. The class came together as a whole once they switched subjects. Mrs. Finch

would then go over the next set of materials and re-explain a concept that they were working on,

and after that, Mrs. Finch would give instructions to the students on what they would be doing

when they got into their groups and how to do the activity. Once the students got into the groups

and started doing the assignment, she would then go around and ask, "Do any of you have any

questions about what you guys should be doing?" And if the kids needed clarification, she would

explain what to do.

During my observations, I could not tell if any students were part of the special

population. It is hard to tell who is apart from the special populations at the first-grade level and

only 18 weeks into school. Overall, my observation of Mrs. Fich was very successful and

informative. The kids were amazing and worked very hard on their work.
Instructional Strategies