Observations
Scroll below to take a closer look at three of my observations.
Recycled Caterpillar Puppets
Spring 2022
In May 2022, Principal Angela Rodriguez conducted a formal observation in my theater classroom. Below, you'll find my formal observation report as well as the lesson plan and photos from the class.
In collaboration with the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle unit and the shadow puppet movie the class and I were making together about buildings and caterpillars, my lesson focused on how to use recyclable materials to create our very own caterpillar puppets. Here, you'll see the step-by-step process board I created to support our learners, including our ELL learners who used the pictures follow along.
In the photo above, you'll see the board I created to best illustrate the scope and sequence of our project. I created a step-by-step process with photos of each step. Because of the photos provided, students were able to dictate the process on their own and complete the project at their own pace. I encouraged students to return to the board as they needed to guide their puppet-building. You'll notice key components of literacy and math underlined/written in red marker.
In the photo above, Isabelle, an incredibly soft-spoken child, manipulates her finished caterpillar puppet along the cardboard tube in front of the whole class. Because I encouraged Isabelle to follow along with the board, she was able to complete her project independently and had the confidence to present her work as well.
In the picture to the right, Kaniel, an English Language Learner, presents his caterpillar puppet. During the work time, I walked Kaniel through each of the steps one-on-one, guiding his pointer finger along each picture. Additionally, I asked the Paraprofessional, Ms. Samantha, to assist Kaniel in his home language, Spanish. Kaniel was so proud of his work, he volunteered to share first!
Caterpillar Puppet Lesson Plan
Principal Angela's Formal Observation
Soundscapes
Winter 2023
In January 2023, Principal Angela Rodriguez conducted a formal observation while I taught a full group theater lesson in Ms. Rachel K's class. I spent the first few weeks teaching the key elements in storymaking: setting, characters, problem. For this lesson, I zoomed in on the term "setting" and specifically asked if students could identify a setting simply by what it sounds like. In this lesson, I introduced the vocabulary term soundscape and asked students to guess the setting by the soundbite. Here, you can listen to the beach soundscape we made that day, as well as see behind-the-scenes photos and review my lesson and report.
Additionally in this lesson, I was able to incorporate the professional learning I have collected from sessions I've attended as well as turn-keyed to my colleagues in STEAM concepts, specifically loose parts. In my lesson, students had the ability to choose their own loose parts and test the sounds they made, matching each one to a component of the beach. Using the higher level questioning "How might/how could we make the sounds of a beach entirely out of loose parts?" "How will all of these sounds work together to create the setting?"
Remi chose a mixture of beads in a plastic bag to recreate the sounds of rolling waves.
Understandably, Sebastian thought the best tool to use to make the sounds of sand was sand! We pour some sand into a bucket and used a small cup to scoop it over and over. The sounds of scooping sand sounded just like walking along a real beach.
Students knew immediately that they wanted real water to use for the waves in some way. We poured the water into a plastic bottle. Jack used critical thinking to decide on the speed in which he moved the water inside the bottle. Too quickly and the water sounded like "playing in a pool." Tilt the bottle gently and the water sounds just like lapping waves!
Soundscape Lesson Plan
Principal Angela's Formal Observation
Recycled Self-Portraits
Spring 2021
In May 2021, Assistant Principal Lisa Lew conducted a virtual, informal observation while I was co-teaching a virtual class with another teacher. That day, my co-teacher was sick, so I took over teaching the lesson using her lesson plan. We were beginning the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Unit, and students were tasked with making self-portraits out of recyclable materials. For my Priority Area of Growth, Lisa suggested I consider using a visual or display from a prior lesson to help prompt students' knowledge for the activity. As you will notice in both of my lessons above, as well as my Not A Box/Not A Stick lessons on my Sample Lesson Plans Page, this is an area I make sure to address for each lesson I plan now, expanding students' opportunity for recall and knowledge.