EDU 4010 OL1

Journal of School Observations (JOSO)

Name: Megan Pulley

Date of Observation: 11/21/16

Classroom Teacher: Mrs. Roberson

Time: 1.5 hrs.

I observed..
(What did you see/observe?
What did you hear? What did
you notice?)
Be specific

I thought..
(What you thought about what
you saw, heard, observed,
noticed)
These can be questions

I read
(What did you read that was
connected to what you observed,
noticed, thought? Provide
evidence/quotes from the text/s
that confirm and or dispute your
ideas).

Reflective Questions(How did this experience enhance

my knowledge of a specific reading
concept? Did it challenge or
reinforce my prior understanding?
Explain. What did you learn? What
would you do the same/differently?)

1. Mrs. Roberson begins with

a review of Ancient Greece
and Rome, which was their
topic from last week. She
gives students a passage to
read, with a few questions to
answer after reading. She has
students
share
their
ideas/answers
to
the
questions.

I thought it was effective that

Mrs.
Roberson
began
by
reviewing material from the
previous week before moving to
something new. I feel that it is
always appropriate to have
students
share
their
thoughts/answers to questions, so
Im glad she had them do that.

Chapter 6 of our text, Activating

Prior Knowledge and Interest,
relates to this observation because
Mrs. Roberson made a point to
have students review what they
had already learned so that she
could make a connection between
their prior knowledge and the
new content that she was getting
ready to introduce.

2.
Mrs. Roberson then
introduces students to the
topic of Middle Ages and
Christianity. Students turn to
the specific page in their
textbook. On this page there
is a full-page picture of a
Manor. She has students look
at the picture and talk about
what they notice. She gives

I really liked that Mrs. Roberson Also in chapter 6 of our text, we

had students take the time to will find information about
focus on the picture in the activating students curiosity and
textbook.
From elementary interests, as well as allowing
school we begin to teach students them to make predictions about a
that much meaning can be found text. Mrs. Roberson did just that
from viewing the pictures. I when she had students analyze
believe that will always be true, the full-page image that was at
so I thought it was effective that the beginning of their reading for
she had them discuss it.
the day. I believe this activity
EDU 4010.OL1 D. Barringer

This observation enhanced my

knowledge of the importance of
relating new information to the
concepts that students have already
learned. Not only did Mrs. Roberson
connect the new information to what
they already learned in Social Studies,
but she made connections to their
everyday lives. I will make sure that I
activate students existing knowledge
when teaching new material.
This observation enhanced my
knowledge of allowing students the
opportunity to make predictions and
think about what they are about to read.
I feel that using images is a great way
to activate students interest in a text, as
well as be able to utilize it for making
predictions about the content of the
material to be read.

EDU 4010 OL1

Journal of School Observations (JOSO)
students a worksheet for
taking notes about the specific
subtopics that are listed in the
text when they read the text to
themselves. Students must
also write a short summary of
a few sentences after reading.
3.
Mrs. Roberson has
students share the information
from their notes and she gives
additional information about
the Medieval time period.
She then asks for volunteer to
read and participate in a skit
that relates to their discussion.
While those students are
outside preparing, she reads
and discusses a poem with the
others.

I thought it was a good idea for

Mrs. Roberson to give students a
worksheet for taking notes, so
that they would be focused when
reading.
I personally really enjoy acting,
so I loved that Mrs. Roberson
incorporated a skit relating to the
time period that they are
beginning to study. What a great
way to bring the material to life!

sparked students interest (or at

least it seemed to), as well as
gave them the opportunity to
make predictions about the type
of culture they were about to
study.
Page 292 of our text provides
information about the importance
of taking notes: More than 50
percent of the material read or
heard in class is forgotten in a
matter of minutes. A system of
taking and making notes triggers
recall and supports retention.
Mrs. Roberson provided students
with a note-taking sheet so that
they would have a guide as to
what information they should
focus on.

EDU 4010.OL1 D. Barringer

This observation most definitely

enhanced my knowledge about having
students take notes while they are
reading. The portion of text that I
quoted is astounding, and speaks
directly to the importance of notetaking. I learned that students can be
given a guide to aid in taking good
notes. I definitely plan to offer notetaking guides to my students when
necessary.