Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Pre-Observation Form

Directions: This form is to be completed prior to every lesson that will be observed by the mentor
teacher or university supervisor. It is to be submitted no later than 3 business days prior to the actual
observation along with your lesson plans.

Name: Elise Saenger-Heyl Date: 11/3/17

1. What is the topic of your lesson?

The topic of my lesson is the North Carolina State Constitution, the history
behind it, and an arts integration with theater. This lesson will include the three
different versions of the North Carolina Constitution, the amendments included,
and the key principles it defines. The theater principles will be to create a tableau
as a summary of the North Carolina Constitution.

2. Why are you teaching this lesson? What is your rationale for teaching it?
I am teaching this lesson to introduce students to the structure of the North
Carolina government, from the highest legal document that outlines this.
Students should also be familiar with how the state has changed over time,
especially regarding government as it directly affects citizens of the state. In
addition, 4th grade is all about learning about North Carolina and students are
exposed to all aspects of North Carolina, including government.

3. What is your Teaching Behavior Focus? Why did you choose this?
My teaching behavior focus is on providing ample wait time and asking higher
level questions. Because of the complex nature of the concept of a constitution,
specifically the North Carolina Constitution, it will be important to provide
students with the proper support to help them understand. Asking higher-level
questions will allow students with the opportunity to think deeply about the
material and ensure greater comprehension. Along with that, providing ample
wait time helps to give students the opportunity to fully respond and think
critically.

4. Why did you design your instruction in this lesson the way that you did? Why did
you choose this way of teaching the lesson (e.g., Was the idea from a methods
course? From your mentor teacher? Another source?)
I chose the method of jigsaw with the reading to allow students to take ownership
of their learning. Because of the complex nature of this topic, it was important to
provide students with a print resource that thoroughly explains the topic.
However, reading an article is not as engaging as an interactive method, and
therefore, using the jigsaw provides students with the engagement of ensuring
 they read carefully to help their classmates understand. It also breaks up reading
into manageable parts to not overwhelm students. I also included the theater
method of tableau as another method for students to engage with the content of
this lesson. At times, students need to use their bodies and move to process
material, and providing this method along with the direct instruction of the article
will allow students multiple opportunities to engage with the content. The tableau
will also help students to effectively summarize their thoughts and present them
in a concise manner.

5. As you are thinking through this lesson, what do you believe will be the most
challenging part of this lesson for you when you teach it? Why?
The most challenging part of this lesson, I believe, will be the jigsaw reading. As
it is dense material, I foresee some students having difficulty comprehending the
content in the article. However, providing students with the support of their peers
and the teacher as they read and search for important details will help them
comprehend.

6. How will you know if your learning outcomes for the students are met
successfully?
I will know if my students have met their learning outcomes if they are able to
accurately summarize the article when they share in the jigsaw format. This will
let me know whether they have understood the history of the North Carolina
Constitution and the changes that have occurred over time. Also, if students are
able to come up with a representation of the Constitution in their tableaus, I will
know that students were able to grasp the key concepts about the Constitution.

7. How will your classroom management support the learning outcomes?

Classroom management will be vital to ensuring success with learning outcomes.
When students are broken into their jigsaw groups, classroom management will
be important to ensure that all groups can be successful in reading and
comprehending their part of the article. It will be important when making groups
to ensure that each group has mixed abilities to provide all students with the
support they need, and help students to be successful in their group work.
Classroom management will also be important to have success with tableaus as
students will need to feel comfortable performing their tableaus and be respectful
of one another as they share.

8. List 1-3 areas which you would like for your observer to pay particular attention.
Why do you want your observer to focus on these areas?
I would like my observer to pay attention to classroom management strategies,
as I always welcome feedback and suggestions to improve. Classroom
management is vital to the success of a classroom so I am always striving to
improve in this area. I would also welcome suggestions on improving
engagement and responses to students.

9. Is there anything else you would like your observer to know before the
observation?
I welcome any and all feedback.