McDanielCollegeDeaf(Bilingual)EducationProgram

PracticumReflectionJournal

(forallobservationsandactivitiesduringthepracticum)

Date:__4/28/2015Time__12:20PM2:15PMNumberofhours:2hoursand35minutes
School_______KDES________________
Category(checkallthatapply):__Age05__KGr.2_x_Gr.35__Middle__High
__Regclass__Res.Life__SpecialNeeds__Mainstream__SupportServices
___Other:___________________

ConceptualFrameworkUsedforthisReflection:(checkallthatapply)
_x__K=Knowledge
___D=Diversity
_x_AB=Attitudes&Behaviors(Dispositions)
__x__R=Reflection
___x_C=Communication
__x__T=Technology
Description
12:20PM-1:00PM (Responsibilities/Science Session)
Teacher A and I was chatting end of lunch break about what will she be talking
about for science lesson. Students were coming back from their lunch break. The third grade
teacher said, welcome back! What do you need to do now? Students knew they were supposed
to do their chores before they start their science lesson. All students were doing their chores such
as erasing white board, wash the desks, clean the recess outside if theres a mess, and organize
the classroom to where it was this morning. One student would not do her chore because she
prefers to read scholastic book. The teacher told her she is supposed to do her chores today. The
girl said, I do not want to do my chores today, I want to read! The teacher rolled her eyes and
said, Fine, go ahead read. (C & AB)
The teacher was prepping her science lesson on the computer and to make sure the HDMI
connector from laptop to the television is working properly to present her information about
Butterfly and lady bugs. (T)
Students were getting in their seats. The teacher flashed the lights to get students
attention. The teacher said, Ok, remembers what I did order few weeks ago? Students were
signing to her and said, Butterflies and Ladybugs! The teacher responded, Right! I did order

butterflies and ladybugs. They are on way. They will arrive on May 6th! The teacher said, Hold
your thoughts, I will be writing things down on the white board. The teacher wrote on the white
board
Butterfly
Ladybugs
The teacher asked students to see if they remembered about new word that they learned
yesterday. Student A said, Habitat The teacher praised her and said she was right. The teacher
wrote down to add to the list, Habittat. The teacher added the word habitat to the list. The
teacher said, please explain to me about habitat and what does it mean? Students were signing
to her, their home. The teacher was pleased to see that response from students. She signed
home to the students. The teacher asked students if they have heard this phrase before, Home
Sweet Home? Students were shaking their head like they do know. The teacher said, Ok, you
will be working on Habitat Sweet Habitat worksheet to figure out what we will need to prep
before our butterflies and ladybugs arrive in our classroom! The teacher announced to the class
that students will be working in pairs. The teacher assigned who will work together. Some
students will work on computers, and some students will be working with the textbook together
information to see what type of habitat butterflies and lady bug live in and needs to survive on.
Students worked on their assignment until 1:05p.m. The teacher flashed the lights at 1:00P.M.
and told students to clean up and start their math centers. Students cleaned up their mess and go
to see which rotation they need to be in first. (C & K)

1:05PM-2:15PM (Math Learning Center)

The teacher asked me to work with one student about quadrilaterals and vocabulary
related to geometry. He has to cut the shapes and interact with his math notebook. There are
visual resources for him to read about shapes such as how many sides, which side are parallel,
which sides are equal, and types of angles. He has to read the facts a loud to me, and I correct his
ASL signs if I noticed that he was signing in a wrong form. I also do expand the concept of how
to identify which shapes are similar and different. I asked him to identify which are similar or
different and give me the rationale answer. After discussing about shapes, he glues the pictures
and label the shapes in his interactive math notebook. (C & K)

Analysis
The 3rd grade teacher was doing a great job that day. She made sure her students are
transiting to different topic smoothly. I liked how she made sure students are doing their chores
right after lunch and before the science lesson. She made sure she used connection from day
before I observe to discuss about butterflies and lady bugs. She wanted to see if students did
remember she ordered for the class. She made sure students are aware of their habitat so they
will know how to take care of butterflies and lady bugs for few weeks (if they survive). Her
lesson plan was really simple and meaningful. She made sure students do have sufficient

information. She connected literacy with science well. She wrote down printed English on the
white board so students can see the correct spelling. She signed the word after she checked her
students background knowledge with the vocabulary. She did a great job switching L1 to L2
then L2 to L1. I liked how she found a worksheet that says Habitat Sweet Habitat. That is a
good way to connect the phrase Home Sweet Home. She tried to assign students to computers
and textbook based on their reading comprehension, which she informed me one minute before
her science lesson began. (R)
Critical Reflection
I really enjoy her class. She is amazing 1st year teacher. It is not often you will see 1st year
teacher doing really good job. I clearly can see her passion teaching her 3rd grade students.
However, If I had to replace her job today; I would change one thing. If she wanted to do
computer assignments, I will make sure ALL Kids have the access to the computer. I dont like
the idea of separating two groups depending on their reading comprehension. I want to assign
students to balance their skills so others can learn from each other. In addition, her word wall has
nothing to do with science. Maybe, she needs to add word wall for each content area such as
picutres or something related to her science topic. I know she did put down on the white board,
but 3rd grade students will be erasing that information end of the day. How can students
remember that word again? I think ill try to develop five different wall sections based what I will
be teaching through the day. I think that is awesome, but doing that type of project can be timeconsuming. I would have done that for kids so they are acquiring words and getting full access to
both languages from me. (R & T)