Literacy Lesson Observation, Reflection, & Recommendations

Location: Hampton, VA Moton Early Childhood Center

Date: 3/ 13/ 2018

Grade Level: Pre-K

Topic or Focus of Lesson: Rhyming words & the -at word family

Objectives: What objectives were apparent in the lesson? If there was a lesson plan
available, did the objectives in the plan match the ones you observed being taught?

- The students will be able to match the picture to the word correctly.
- The students will be able to read the words correctly.
- The students will be able to define what it means to be a rhyming word and say at
least two words from the -at family.

Teaching: What did you see the teacher do? What teaching techniques were used? Pay
attention to materials, grouping options, instructional strategies, pacing…

The lesson was set up in small group form. The teacher was with the group of 5 students
at her kidney table. The teacher went over some examples of rhyming words and asked
the students what commonalities they noticed. The teacher called on students to describe
what it means to be a rhyming word. The teacher informed the students that today they
would be working with rhyming words from the -at family. The teacher told the students
they would first cut out the pictures from the sheet, then glue the pictures to their
corresponding word. The teacher oversaw the students as they cut and glued the pictures,
ensuring that they placed them in the right spot.

Students: What were the students doing? How were they engaged in the learning? Were
they engaged in the learning? Any off-task behaviors?

The students stayed engaged throughout the majority of the lesson. They sat in their
chairs and participated in the discussion about rhyming words and themes. They were
able to correctly provide examples of words from the -at family. The students accurately
cut and glued the pictures to their corresponding words, then read them with some
assistance as needed.

Off- task: distracted with the glue, not sitting in the seat all the way/ standing up, getting
their pictures mixed up with other students’ pictures.

Interesting observations: What did you see that was interesting, unusual, surprising…?
 It was surprising to me that even the lower groups were still able to read the words. If
they got confused, they were able to use the context clues from the picture to help them,
as well as the fact that all the words were from the -at family. It was interesting with
some of the words that the students were coming up with as rhyming words. Some of
them were common (cat, hat, sat), while others were made-up words (lat, dat), which
showed they had a strong concept of what it means for words to rhyme.

Questions you have after the lesson about the teacher, teaching techniques, students,
content of the lesson, literacy learning, literacy instruction, etc. What did you leave the
lesson reflecting on, wondering about, etc.?

1. How could this concept have been adapted for whole group?
2. What would have happened if the students did not grasp the concept throughout
the lesson? How would the teacher have differentiated her instruction for them?

Positives: List two positive things (related to literacy learning) you observed from each:

Teacher Students
Provided proper time for students Made further associations with the
1. to respond to the questions- did not rhyming words- made sentences and
cut anyone off. stories with them.
Appropriate manner of assessment Made connections to other word
2. for the concept- not too easy or families they had been learning about.
hard.

Support: List two areas in which you could assist or support the teacher with the
instruction of the lesson in Ideas 1 and 2 below. Include the specific standard # you
would be assisting the teacher with, a thorough description of your suggestion and
support, and cite a resource the teacher could use (this could be a textbook, article,
website, video, book or any other resource that could enhance or extend their
lesson). Even if the lesson is absolutely wonderful, consider what adaptations for
individual literacy needs (both high and low) might be made, what extensions could
follow, etc.

A link to the ILA Standards is included with the assignment directions in Canvas.

Support:

 Idea 1: ILA standard # 5.1 Modify the arrangements to accommodate students’ changing
needs.

o The only seating options in the room are chairs at tables and the rug. I
would like to provide suggestions for different types of seating to
accommodate the students who struggled throughout the lesson to stay
 focused, because they were distracted by having to sit still in their seats at
the kidney table.

 https://luckylittlelearners.com/flexible-seating/

Idea 2: ILA standard # 3.1 Candidates understand types of assessments and their
purposes, strengths, and limitations.

o Though the teacher used verbal assessments throughout the lesson, I would
like her to be aware of different options for assessing. Especially with this age
group, it is important that they are assessed in a variety of ways, and multiple
times throughout the year, to keep track of progress and implement additional
help if needed.
o http://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-reading-assessment-
guiding-tool-instruction