Reflective Essay on Classroom Observation
Danielle Moeller
Professor Schilling
Lit Block
4-22-07
Observation Reflection
As I walked into the classroom for my first day of observations, I was greeted with a warm “Hello!” In fact, each time that I entered a new classroom I was given the same greeting. All of the teachers were more than happy to be helping a future educator by letting me observe their teaching styles and learn new techniques to use.
Through spending time in various classrooms, I have gained valuable information that I will take with me into student teaching and my future classroom.
Many of the things that we have talked about in class were illustrated for me in the classrooms that I visited. The most prominent of them was the use of word walls.
Word walls are a list of words usually located on a large bulletin board on one wall of the classroom; they hold all of the words that the students should know how to read and spell at any given point of the year. In one of the last classrooms that I was in, the word wall contained not only the vocabulary words that they had learned so far, but also the word form of numbers and each of the student’s names. Word walls are very helpful for students. It is a great resource for them to use when they forget how to spell a word that they have already learned; all that they have to do is look at the wall. Word walls are used most often in the lower elementary grades when students are learning how to read and spell new words. I did not see them very often in the upper elementary grades.
Through all of the examples that I saw in different classrooms, I have learned that it is very important to make these boards visually pleasant, colorful, and easy to read. One teacher had all of the words already on the board and simply flipped each of them over as they learned them. I feel that this method can be daunting for students because it could make the task of learning a seemingly massive amount of words appear impossible. In response, the students could get
Professor Schilling
Lit Block
4-22-07
Observation Reflection
As I walked into the classroom for my first day of observations, I was greeted with a warm “Hello!” In fact, each time that I entered a new classroom I was given the same greeting. All of the teachers were more than happy to be helping a future educator by letting me observe their teaching styles and learn new techniques to use.
Through spending time in various classrooms, I have gained valuable information that I will take with me into student teaching and my future classroom.
Many of the things that we have talked about in class were illustrated for me in the classrooms that I visited. The most prominent of them was the use of word walls.
Word walls are a list of words usually located on a large bulletin board on one wall of the classroom; they hold all of the words that the students should know how to read and spell at any given point of the year. In one of the last classrooms that I was in, the word wall contained not only the vocabulary words that they had learned so far, but also the word form of numbers and each of the student’s names. Word walls are very helpful for students. It is a great resource for them to use when they forget how to spell a word that they have already learned; all that they have to do is look at the wall. Word walls are used most often in the lower elementary grades when students are learning how to read and spell new words. I did not see them very often in the upper elementary grades.
Through all of the examples that I saw in different classrooms, I have learned that it is very important to make these boards visually pleasant, colorful, and easy to read. One teacher had all of the words already on the board and simply flipped each of them over as they learned them. I feel that this method can be daunting for students because it could make the task of learning a seemingly massive amount of words appear impossible. In response, the students could get