Half Hollow Hills School District

Independent Formal Post Observation

Id

Teacher

Building

Department Cert Type

4788 Courtney Freer West Hollow (053) ENL

Tenure Date Opened Observation Date Observer

Professional Tenured 11/17/2016

1/18/2017

Date Closed

Lori Campbell 1/19/2017

Lesson Plan Content

1. Did the students learn what you intended for them to learn? What evidence do you have to support this?
The students learned what was intended. As part of an ongoing unit, we have been teaching the students about the civil rights movement in
anticipation of our novel, Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963, which takes place during this tumultuous period in history. First the students engaged
in a quick conversation about the Civil Rights movement, then they shared out. We went through our Powerpoint and reviewed segregration and
the 'modern' civil rights movement. We briefly discussed the lesson from the day prior, where we discussed and analyzed the song 'Ebony & Ivory'.
Then, we introduced the lesson of the day. We discussed briefly the Beatles and Paul McCartney. Students were to brainstorm a list of nicknames
for girls, the example we gave them was 'chick.' Students shared out. We explained that in England, women are called 'birds.' A light bulb went off
in many of the students heads, they realized that McCartney was referencing the black women in the Civil Rights movement. Students worked
independently to analyze the song symbolically as well as to identify the adjectives that describe the nouns that McCartney uses and to identify the
verbs in the song. They then identified the tone/mood associated with those adjectives and verbs in order to facilitate a discussion of the message
of the song.

2. To what extent were your goals and objectives appropriate for your students?
The goals for this lesson fit with a larger unit as well as cross-curricular because students were able to connect to the Civil Rights movement we
have been learning about. Additionally, students will be able to make connections as we continue reading Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963. The
student objectives were appropriate because the ENL students were heterogenously grouped and their work was differentiated so they were
supported. I support what the students are doing in English class in their stand-alone group often to preview material & give them background
knowledge. I loved how the groups were collaborative during their group work. I loved how most the student groups stopped and waited for each
other to continue onto the next question. Where I felt improvement was needed was the Ms. Clark, while very passionate about the topic, spoke a
little too much and instead of weaving student examples into her stories as a way to bridge the lesson, she told the same stories each period,
some of which I felt weren't relevant or necessary to the lesson. I felt that in addition, I would have liked more time to speak and share my
thoughts on the topic. Ms. Clark often uses challenging words which is a great model for students, but I believe needs to back them up sometimes
by allowing me to share word meaning, define a word herself, or ask a student the word meaning.

3. Please comment on different aspects of your instructional delivery. To what extent were they effective? What would you do differently
to improve the lesson? Include comments specific to Activities, Grouping of Students, and Materials and Resources.
I believe the instructional delivery was effective. Students arrived and were quickly focused and ready to work. After reviewing the Do Now, the
students jumped right into the discussion and had a great time brainstorming and sharing their list of nicknames for women. We showed them
the videos of the song and pointed out the marching. Students mimicked the marching and made the connection with the Children's March.
Students then completed the assignment in groups. I believe the PPT was packed with a little too much information and should have been
broken down a little more for the kids. I would have liked to feel the lesson had more of a culmination and quick assessment at the end rather
than assigning it for HW. I did modify the HW assignment as well (a cloze activity) by including a word box.

Materials/Resources: There was a great use of materials and resources. I embedded the videos into the PPT and included a metronome video
in order to better support the ENL students with visuals.

4. Please comment on your classroom procedures, student conduct, and your use of physical space. To what extent did these contribute to
student learning?
The students are a very well-behaved group. They are focused and eager to learn. Their behavior on the day of the observation, as the other days,
was excellent. This allowed for the students to really get a good feel for the lesson and engage in excellent and stimulating discussion. I loved the
student collaboration. I especially loved how the middle group celebrated their thoughtful response with high fives.

5. Did you alter your plan? If so, how, and why?

I added additional differentiation to support ENL students.

Teacher Comments
Teacher comments:
Thank you Lori, for all of your support!!!!

Half Hollow Hills School District

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