Personal Essay: Classroom Observation Essay, Research Paper

Personal Essay: Classroom Observation

Josh Van Coppenolle

EDU 301

Social Studies Methods

Mary Iandoli

Classroom Observation

Date: 9-30-96

Kindergarten teacher: Mrs. Debolt

First grade teacher: Mrs. Casteluzo

Location: Penn Yan Elementary

Carrie and I were going to observe a kindergarten classroom social

studies class that combined their lesson with a first grade class. We were

scheduled to arrive at 2 PM. When I arrived at 1:50 PM, Carrie was waiting

outside the school and informed me that she had already gone in and was told

that there was going to be a fire drill in just a few minutes. We waited for

the fire drill to finish and then went into the class. The time was about 2:10

at this point, so the teachers were running a little behind.

When we entered the room it was empty, we had obviously beat the

students back from the fire drill. This gave us time to look around. The

kindergarten room was brightly decorated with lots of posters and student’s art

work. The kids were working on colors because there was a strip on top of the

blackboard that had the colors and things we might see in that color. The

student’s desks were arranged in two rows, pushed together and facing each other.

There were about twelve seats in each group, so there were about 24 students in

the class. Apparently, the class had just been returning from a trip to the

school library when the fire drill went off, so when they came in they were

still carrying their library books. The students were asked to take their seats

and they did so quietly. Everyone’s eyes were on Carrie and me. Mrs. Debolt

asked us to introduce ourselves, which we did. She told the class that we

were learning to be teachers and that we wanted to sit in on their social

studies class. Each student sat at a little desk with their name laminated on

the top. The students had laminated cards with their names on them tied around

their neck with a long piece of yarn. I think that these were their library

cards. Mrs. Debolt asked me to collect these, which I did. The students were

pretty quiet while this was going on and followed directions well. Mrs. Debolt

told the class that we were going to have a joint lesson with Mrs. Castiluzo’s

1st grade class. She asked everyone to come up to the front of the room and sit

quietly on their bottoms, hands in their laps. The two classrooms are

connected by a door and soon Mrs. Castiluzo, her aide, and the 1st graders came

in. It was a tight squeeze but everyone got a little spot on the floor. You

could tell the kids who like their personal space because they were

uncomfortable in the tight space and tried to wiggle and scoot. Mrs. Debolt

introduced Carrie and me and then started her lesson. She started with a story

about a green bear who lived in the forest. He would change the color of his

house as the seasons changed. Before she read she assess for prior knowledge.

After she finished the book she led the group by questioning them about houses

and families and health. Then we talked about healthy bodies and how we make

healthy bodies by eating correctly. The teacher would ask a question and then

call on someone who raised their hand. When there was a fun task to do, the

teacher would call on a student that was doing something right, like sitting up

straight. I noticed that the same students were always raising their hands.

The teacher should have tried to involve all of the students.

After the discussion of green and healthy, Mrs. Castiluza read a poem,

but the children had already been sitting for 15-20 minutes and were not

interested in the long poem at all. Then, Mrs. Castiluza brought out a bag of

fresh vegetables that she grew in her garden. This got the kids interested

again and we discussed how the greens of the vegetables were different. Then

Carrie and I got 2 helpers and cut up lettuce, peppers, and cucumbers to make a

salad. We all ate salad and talked about the different textures and crunchiness

of the vegetables. The lesson was evaluated as the students ate their salad,

the teachers informally walked around the room and spoke with the children, but

not all of them. The kids finished, threw their paper plates away and returned

to their seats. I stopped back at the library briefly on another day and found

there to be quite a big selection of trade books on historical events and

biographies. There was a big selection on folk tales. I found a section with

plays that are made especially for classes with lots of parts. There were a lot

of multicultural books on display. I think that they looked pretty new. There

were computers available as well but I didn’t go and look at the soft ware

I think that the lesson was interesting enough, although maybe a little

too long. The teachers tried to use literature and poems to tell the lesson. I

think that the teacher should have a way to involve all the students in the

discussion. Also, I think that all the students should have been involved in

making the salad. I think the idea of the salad was good, hands on and a reward

at the end. The students were very well behaved and the teacher handled

misbehaving matter-of-factly without a lot of attention drawn to the deed. I

don’t think that the material was particularly challenging, but then again we

are dealing with kindergarten. The theme of the unit was ?myself and my family?.

I think I see the way they were going with the green bear in his home and a

healthy diet to keep you well. Did I mention that I want to teach 5th grade?

Seriously though, I think these little ones are adorable but everytime I spend

time in kindergarten, I realize that I will do much better with older learners.