5th grade observations

Note: The following observations were made of teachers in Virginia by Jeanette Gordon.
The teachers were given a pre-observation form to complete if they chose to. If they did
not answer some of the questions, those were deleted. They also had the option of
using a different format of their choice to communicate prior to the lesson.
PRE-OBSERVATION FORM
ESL Teacher: Tammi Wooden (5th
grade)
Gen Ed Teacher: Courtney Graves
Observation Date/Time: Feb. 14, 08 (10:15-11:00) No. of students: 19
Grade and ELP levels (if applicable): 5th
grade (6 ESL, 3 tag, 3 SpEd)
Subject: Science
Co-taught lesson: Yes Co-planned lesson
What “big idea” or “Essential Understanding” do you want students to
understand in this lesson?
Many processes contribute to changes on the earth’s surface.
What critical content do you want students to know?
Changes to the earth’s surface occur over time.
What is the content objective? (How will they demonstrate what they know and
understand?)
Write cause and effect statements to tell how plate movement affects the
development of volcanoes, mountains, and earthquakes.
Draw and label the four layers of the earth.
What is the language objective?
TSWBAT list and give examples of processes that change the earth’s surface.
Use think-pair-share to summarize the major processes that form volcanoes,
mountains, and earthquakes.
What modifications will you use for the ELLs and/or struggling learners?
Models, visuals, analogies,
TPR to explain converge, diverge, subduct.
Visual posters and stories to activate background knowledge.
What are the roles and responsibilities of the collaborating teachers?
Classroom teacher gives direct content instruction. ESL teacher offers support/small
group instruction to reinforce concepts.
10. Is there any other information you would like me to know, such as what to
look for?
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This is the first time we have co-taught together. We are still working out ways in
which collaborative instruction would be most effective
RUNNING RECORD OF THE CLASS OBSERVED
Observations Comments
Students were asked to move quickly
and quietly to the rug after having their
science books and workbooks ready on
their desks.
The students moved quickly and
quietly.
While they were waiting for students to
come back from math, T asked students
to read a song related to science.
A girl volunteered.
T had the boys choral read.
The girls then choral read the song.
The students then read the song
together.
T Ladies and Gentleman we still need to
wait for the math students
Who can tell me what this song has to do
about what we have been studying.
S Rivers deposit sand.
Who can tell me what deposit sand
means?
S Drop off sand.
S Take sand and put it somewhere else.
S Erosion
T Does it say erosion in the poem?
S No
T How do you know it is about erosion?
S explanation
T asked an elaboration question
S It is the process of rocks mixing
together into smaller rocks.
T Mixing together?
S Mixing together with sediment.
T asked S to explain sediment
T What else is a connection’
S Weathering
T What were the four ways that cause
weathering that we studied?
T Water
T Ice
T Mass Movement
T Wind
T is using the time productively
rather than just waiting for others to
return.
The song was related to the content
for the day and was at a lower
reading level than the science text.
SIOP Comprehensible Input
Rereading of developmentally
appropriate material is the best way
to develop fluency. Hence, the
activity would be very helpful for
students with lower literacy skills.
The repetition of such material is
very non-threatening to
ELLs and provides modeling. All
students are reviewing the content.
SIOP Review and Practice
Review of previous day
Effective vocabulary instruction, with
multiple ways to explain a word.
Students knew a lot about the topic
and there were many volunteers.
They were easily using the content
vocabulary and were very
comfortable talking.
I was not able to keep up when
recording the discussion since it was
moving quickly.
The vocabulary related to the
content is very visible, and there are
related posters.
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Some Ss looked at the vocabulary on the
front of the class
Today we’re going to learn more about
the processes that change the earth.
What are the ones we studied so far?
Deposition
Weathering
Erosion
What are the 3 layers of the earth?
Threw a rubber model of the earth
layers to a student.
S said core.
T asked S to tell something about it.
S It’s liquid.
T Is the whole core liquid?
T The outer part.
(I couldn’t record all of the questions
and answers.)
When one student talked about pushing,
the teacher asked, “What is pushing
called?”
S Force
Comment by a student looking at the
model.
I didn’t know the core was that big?
The child threw the model back to the
teacher, and she threw it to call on
others.
Other students were asked to give the 3
layers and describe them. Examples:
T What is the name of the layer?
T He just gave us one fact about the
crust.
Can you repeat the fact he gave us?
S It’s floating on top of the mantle
T That leads directly to what we are
going to be learning about today.
T The liquid layer of the earth is in
constant motion.
T What is that related to?
S The water is in constant motion.
S It’s wavy. It’s like a current?
T What is the earth’s crust made up of?
T Think about it, put your hands down.
Keep your hands down and think.
There is a giant hint behind me.
A girl came back from math.
She was told to get her math book
out and to go into the hall to tell the
other returning students what they
were to do.
The student did this quietly. Because
the student went into the hall to tell
them what they needed to do, the
class would not be disrupted by each
student returning.
The students quietly got their science
books out and joined the group as
they came in.
SIOP Review and practice
Building Background
Comprehensible Input
The teacher is clarifying vocabulary.
She is connecting prior learning to
future learning.
The use of the model both supports
content and is fun for the students.
The students are very familiar with
the terms, and it is evident that they
have had a lot of practice sharing
what they are learning orally in class.
The teacher is asking students to
identify similarities and differences
between past learning and new
learning.
Rather than calling on the students
that were raising their hands, and
there were many, the teacher asked
them to lower their hands and think.
This wait time gave other students
the time they needed. There were a
few who still did not know. The
teacher asked students to whisper
the answer. All students could
answer, and she called on one that
needed more support to now answer
the question.
This is a very effective strategy that I
will share with teachers.
SIOP Interactions
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Some students raised their hands. The
teacher asked students to whisper to a
partner who did not have his/her hand
up. All students then were able to raise
their hands.
T Remember that yesterday we said
that the mantle was made up of plates.
Some said Rock.
T Is it rock or plates? Tell me.
T said it is plates, not rocks and
explained that rocks don’t move easily,
but plates do,
T reminded them how long it took a
plate to move and asked more
questions.
Eventually the students decided that the
plate could be made up of rocks.
T If you remember… she summarized
prior learning.
The teacher is consistently asking
reflective questions.
SIOP Review
Building Background
The characteristics of the layers of
the earth are critical for
comprehension of the new content.
Students were asked to look at a picture
for 1 minute. They were to then go their
table and write as fast as they can to
write what they saw.
One student got up right away and went
to write. Another student started to go,
and the teacher told her to take her
seat, to listen to the directions.
Students were asked to write their
predictions.
One student asked if it is my prediction
or my hypothesis.
T answered whether it would be a
prediction or a hypothesis. She helped
clarify that in science it is often a
hypothesis but that this was more of a
prediction.
Students quickly began writing their
predictions.
All but one was on task. The teacher
asked if he was writing. He then began
to write and persisted during the time
allowed. All students were very engaged
in their writing.
I was not able to see the picture, but
the teacher later told me that it was a
very graphic visual of a major
volcanic eruption. (Mount Vesuvius, I
think.)
The teacher gave the students think
time.
The topical words clearly visible
make it easier for all students to
write.
There is a sense of urgency in the
class. Students are on task quickly,
persist during the time given. There
is immediate accountability.
SIOP
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Some were referring to the words
posted around the white board.
When time was called, the students put
their pencils down. Students were
asked to turn to the person next to them
and share their written predictions.
Put your left finger on your nose if you
heard one that was really cool that was
different than your own. Tell me about
it.
Interactions
Humor and movement promotes
interest and engagement. Students
are recognizing “cool” ideas that a
partner has.
Think-pair-share a partner’s idea.
Today we are going to see if we can
recall the processes that change our
earth.
What are they again?
We will also compare and contrast
earthquakes and volcanoes.
SIOP
Lesson preparation is very evident.
The objectives that will be covered
during this class period are
communicated to the students.
Additional language objectives will be
met during the following class.
Take out your books turn to p. ?
T What is the word in red?
S Volcano
Teacher pointed to it on the board and
all repeated it.
Why did the writer put it in red
S Because it is the main idea.
T Because it is the main idea.
T We are going to look for the
supporting details.
Point to the word “you” show that
everyone is ready.
A student reads the passage out loud.
T Reread that paragraph to yourself
silently.
Raise your hand if you think you found a
detail that is important to list.
Students reread and many raised their
hands to share. Examples:
S Mountains are formed by lava and
ash.
S Magna reaches the earth’s surface.
T That is the definition of lava isn’t it?
Other details were giving one about a
plate boundary.
T What is a plate boundary?
No answer
Explicit focus on text structure
demonstrates effective literacy
instruction.
Suggestion:
I would only use the word “main idea”
for a complete sentence.
Students are always asked to find the
main idea on standardized tests.
The answer must always be a
complete sentence.
Volcano is the topic
Have students identify the main idea
of a passage in a complete sentence
first and then give the details, also in
complete sentences.
SIOP comprehensible input.
Evidence of vocabulary support by
connecting to what is known and
encouraging reflective thought.
Use of visuals to promote
understandings.
Comparison to boundaries of
countries.
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T What is a plate?
Student answered.
T What is a boundary?
S answered.
T so what do you think a plate boundary
means?
S discussed and teacher demonstrated
with her hands.
S read a long paragraph.
The teacher asked them to reread
before raising their hands with details.
She also demonstrated plate movement
with her hands. The students imitated
the movement.
T A continental plate and oceanic plate
collide
What do you think happens when they
collide?
How are volcanoes forming?
Use the notes on the board to tell me
how volcanoes are forming.
Many students are raising their hands.
S Two different plates collide together to
form a volcano.
T Thumbs up if you think it is a good
idea?
T Who can add more information?
S It’s pushing up.
Students began discussing force,
motion and energy.
At frist the reading appears to be a
round-robin kind of reading where
students take turns reading a
paragraph.
That is not a recommended practice
in a classroom. However, this
teacher has modified that in ways
that make it very effective.
First the students were prepared in
multiple ways before they read.
A student volunteers to read.
However, the teacher first asks all
students to put their finger on the first
word of the paragraph and uses
humorous strategies to engage them
in following along. The reading
serves as a model. The students
then reread the paragraph to
themselves. They are immediately
accountable for what they are
reading. Hence, EVERYONE in the
class seemed to be following along
during the first reading and all were
rereading. When they shared the
main idea and details, it was evident
that they had been taught to restate
the ideas in their own words. I was
impressed with student engagement
and their ability to orally share the
most important information about
what they are reading.
Their contributions are recorded, and
they are asked questions about the
information.
T There are 3 graphic sources on page
3
I will give you 30 seconds to preview the
resources.
Who can tell me about one?
Did you find a detail?
T I like the graph of the major
earthquakes?
T What information can you get from the
graph?
S answer…
T Were you alive during any of those
earthquakes?
T She asked all students to point to the
Again the teacher is explicitly
teaching the students ways to
effectively use text material.
The student was taking a little time to
figure out the answer. Other
students raised their hands. She
directed them to point to what
graphic source they liked the best to
give the other student more time to
answer.
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graphic source that they liked the best
while a student was preparing to
answer.
S yes 2001
TYes, the year was 2001
Further discussion of the graph.
T I saw that you pointed to the picture.
Why did you like it?
He described the details of the picture.
T That is an amazing picture. Why is the
picture there?
Another S It demonstrates the
destruction of the earthquake.
T Put your finger on the word “The” at
the beginning of the next paragraph.
One student read. All students looked
for a detail. When they shared back,
the teacher reminded them to share in
their own words rather than looking at
the book.
An earthquake is “shake your shoulders
like an earthquake” That is our last
paragraph. Everyone get your self
ready to read.
This is our last paragraph. One student
read. All reread to look for an important
detail.
Examples:
S Most earthquakes area too small to
be felt.
T related comment and additional info.
When a student had trouble saying an
idea, the teacher pointed to a key word
on the word wall.
S was able to add a detail.
T OK Take your plates again. T
demonstrated with her hands, and all
students copied.
This time they aren’t colliding they’re
brushing past each other.
Ss discussed the differences between
the two movements studied in the
lesson. They began to discuss cause
and effect.
Following teacher questions, they
eventually were saying that
The use of time in this class is
exemplary.
The teacher helps students
recognize that a picture is used not
just to communicate a specific event
but to make a broader point.
.
The teacher is very aware that as
students continue to read the
complex science text that some will
begin to tire.
She employs humor and movement
to engage them.
SIOP
Whenever the content is complex,
hand movements, vocabulary
support and discussion supports
what is being read.
Understanding by Design
Explicit focus on the “essential
question”
The teacher helps students connect
prior learning to new learning. The
big idea is reinforced.
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Friction causes heat and heat is a form
of energy.
T What is the question of our whole
unit?
Ss What processes change the earth.
T What forces Change the Earth? Look
at the poster.
Ss summarize the processes studied
thus far.
T What are the similarities between an
earthquake and a volcano?
Ss examples:
They both shake the earth.
They can both destroy things.
They both have to do with plates.
T On a scale of 1 to 5 How similar is an
earthquake to a volcano?
Ss rate with their fingers.
No five? S no
T So how are they different?
S We can hear a volcano first.
S An earthquake destroys things, but a
volcano doesn’t.
T If we were close to a volcano and the
lava and ash came over us, would it
destroy something?
S oh yeah.
The teacher reviewed the concepts of
Earths plates
Oceanic plates, continental plates
Show me your plates.
They used their hands to demonstrate
plate movement for a volcano and for an
earthquake.
Identifying similarities and differences
has been identified by Marzano’s
research to be the most effective
instructional strategy.
SIOP review and practice
Open your Learning Logs
I learned
Write what you just learned about
volcanoes.
I learned
I know
Be sure you use complete sentences
because that is what we will start with
tomorrow.
S How do you spell collide?
T There are several places you can
The lesson incorporates all four
domains of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing.
Students know that the next day they
will be accountable for sharing in
class in some way. This promotes
dedication to the task.
The teacher is encouraging
independence and use of the
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look.
Someone started to tell him. She said
no.
The teacher then remembered he didn’t
have his glasses today.
She told him a page number where he
could look it up.
All students were writing quickly and
quietly.
She encouraged them to write key
words.
classroom resources. This practice
also prevents students from
distracting others with unnecessary
questions.
Collaborating teacher gave them the
homework.
Write a Venn comparing and contrasting
the assignment.
Who can repeat for everyone the
directions?
A student repeated.
Another asked a clarifying question.
The ESL teacher is speaking to the
whole class which helps raise her
status in the class. It is very
important that the ESL teacher is
sees as able to teach the whole
class, not just working with a few
students.
Raise your hand if you can tell me a
process that changes the earth.
Weathering Line up for lunch
Who can tell what weathering is?
A student answered and lined up.
They continued this way until all had
been shared.
Examples:
S Mass movement.
T Who can give me an example of mass
movement?
S A creek
S Erosion
S Who can explain erosion
She continued to give questions that all
had to answer. As soon as each
answered a question, that person left for
lunch.
Every student gave an answer.
A student that forgot the word crust was
reminded of how the egg was used as
an example? He then remembered
crust.
SIOP
Review and practice
The practice of having students each
share something that they learned as
they leave for lunch is a great way to
review as well as involve every
student in restating something
important that s/he learned.
Analogies are being used to teach
the content and promote retention.
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POST-OBSERVATION FORM
How did you feel about the lesson?
I thought it was fine.
Note: I was very impressed with the use of time as well as the instructional
strategies.
Courtney, I want to thank you for agreeing to model in our next workshop the reading
strategies that you used when the students were reading the textbook. Not only was
it very effective as you implemented it, but I think it provides the kind of modeling that
would make it easy for students to go into Numbered-heads-together in a very
successful way.
How did student behaviors compare with what you expected?
They were just what I expected.
Do you think the content objectives were met?
For the time we had yes. They will be continued tomorrow.
Do you think the language objectives were met?
They will also be continued tomorrow.
Do you feel that the ELL modifications were adequate?
Tammi brought in the Rigby big book which had the song at lower level or reading,
but the resource is beneficial to everyone. We discussed the many things that they
are doing in the class that provide support for ELLs. In this particular class, the ESL
students are intermediate or above, so they are able to participate in the class
without needing an alternative lesson from Tammi during the reading. The reading is
difficult for them, but because they have a lower reading first, lots of visuals,
restatements of the text ideas in student language, and notes written on the board
with few words, they seem to be able to follow the lesson.
If a co-taught or co-planned lesson, were you satisfied with the collaborative
roles and responsibilities?
The teachers are just beginning their collaborative teaching and are still working out
what is the best way to do this. Because the students returned with Tammi from
math later, she was not able to do a brief intro at the beginning of the lesson that she
had intended. She did help with the summary at the end. Courtney is already
incorporating so many of the strategies recommended for ELLs into her instruction
because she feels they help everyone. Tammi is providing one-on-one support to
ELLs as they participate in the whole class activities. We briefly discussed that if
they had lower-level ELLs that she would need to work with them in different ways
during the activities with the text.
I did not mention it at the time, but it is important for Tammi to identify second
language errors that the ESL students are making and to provide support for that. I
10

am sure she is doing that based on their writing. It is helpful to find ways to
incorporate some explicit guidance and practice with the kinds of grammar errors
that would never be addressed with native speakers but which are common for
second language learners.
What will you do the same and what will you do differently if you do this lesson
again?
They said that normally they have the students write what the teacher writes on the
board as students share their details from the text. Because I was visiting the class,
they wanted to try to progress further in the lesson so I could see a broader picture of
their instruction. I agreed that having the students record what was being written
would be very beneficial and that they should definitely continue that.
Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?
They asked me if I had suggestions for their collaboration.
I said that I liked that the ESL teacher is also teaching the whole class. We
discussed that since the science book is very difficult for the students to continue to
seek resources at a lower reading level. That is already being done through the
Rigby big book and the notes recorded on the board. However, a lower level reading
related to the same thing can be very helpful.
I made suggestions about using the term main idea only for complete sentences.
We discussed this. See related notes in the comments section.
We discussed that since not every student is volunteering to share, accountability
could be further enhanced by using Numbered-heads-together to share their main
ideas and details first in their teams. The teacher would call a number and those
students would stand. The teacher could ask who wanted to share the main idea,
and then the other students standing could share the details. What they have been
doing so far would serve as effective modeling for this task. All would get even more
opportunities to talk, and all students would be accountable.
We also discussed providing additional guidance for having the students complete a
Venn diagram to compare and contrast a volcano and an earthquake.
Students often need support with the aspects of comparison that would be the most
important. It is also helpful to write the similarity and the related differences on the
same line. This was modeled the following day in the workshop.
Feedback from the teacher to observer:
What did I do that was useful for you, and was there anything I did that got in
the way of your learning or thinking?
Time ran out, but please do give me any feedback that may help me in my
observations of other teachers.
11

Teacher: Jedd Stein (5th
grade Mainstream teacher)
School: Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy
Observation Date/Time: 2/14/08…..8:15-9:00 am No. of students: 18
Grade and ELP level/s: 5 Subject: Math
What “big idea” do you want students to understand in this lesson?
In this lesson my students will learn how to name, locate, and plot points on a
coordinate grid. They will also match number stories to appropriate graphs.
See above.
understand?)
I have two content objectives for this lesson. First, my students will be able to use
ordered pairs to name, locate, and plot points on a coordinate grid. Secondly, the
students will be able to read number stories and match them to correct graphs. They
will demonstrate their comprehension of both strategies by successfully completing
workbook pages in their math journals. Additionally, they will explain to partners how
they arrived at certain answers.
My language objective is that my students will be able to explain to a partner how to
name and locate various points on a coordinate grid.
What modifications will you use for the ELLs?
I will explain directions orally as well as having them written down. Additionally,
students will be working in partners with other classmates which has proved
beneficial this year. I will also be walking around and monitoring student progress.
What strategies will you use to accomplish your objectives?
As mentioned, students will be working in partners after a brief mini-lesson. I will
also be using our class overhead, elmo, and smart board throughout this lesson.
Ms. Andrews will be circling to help students comprehend the skills being taught.
What led up to this lesson and what will follow the lesson?
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We are following our districts pacing guide as well as a guide put together by
teachers who have taught 5th
grade math for several years. Everyday Math is a
spiral curriculum so our students have had some experience with the concepts being
taught throughout this lesson. Depending on how the lesson goes, I will either re-
teach or move on to our next lesson on area and perimeter.
Do you have any concerns?
Not really. I look forward to your observation and feedback.
Collected signed folders
Told students what they would be doing
during the day
He told students that he would be gone the
following day. “People love coming here
because you are excellent students.”
Students are seated in
cooperative groups
Students are very orderly during
the introductory activities
Math Objectives
T Who can tell me what SWABT will be
S read “Use ordered pairs to name, locate,
and plot points on a coordinate grid.”
S “Read number stories and match them to
the graphs.”
Language objective
S Explain to a partner how to name and
locate various points on a coordinate grid.
Students read the objectives
SIOP
Lesson planning is very evident.
Explicit communication of both
content and language objectives
Open SRBs to pg. 2008
One student confused about which book.
T explaianed
Students quickly and quietly opened their
books.
He called on a student to read from the
text page which was also displayed using
the Elmo.
A student volunteered.
There’s a funny word there “plane’
He gave an example of plane as airplane.
He discussed the meaning of the word
plane.
T What is it when a word sounds the same
Very effective use of technology.
The overhead is set up in front of
the room. He used the overhead
to give directions when students
first entered the room to welcome
them and explain what is to be
handed in.
Later the
Elmo was used to show the book
to assure that all students were on
the correct page and in the right
place.
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and means something different?
We did that last week.
S Homophone
T Is horizontal this way or that way and
demonstrated with his hands.
Students demonstrated horizontal with
their
T When you do a grid is x this way or y
S answered correctly
T You can remember that because y has a
tail.
T said that you always need to move on
the x axis first.
One student shared how another teacher
had taught them.
(couldn’t hear)
He said I’m going to share another way to
help you remember. Do you want to hear
it?
Most all S YES
He demonstrated with an analogy for
painting his house.
I need to climb a ladder to paint the wall.
However, before I can go up the ladder to
paint, I first have to put the ladder where I
want it. I move it first to the right or left and
then I climb.
He had a student come up and be the
ladder. He tried to climb the ladder before
moving it. Then he demonstrated moving
the student first and then climbing. The Ss
were amused
He wrote plane on the overhead
Plane is a flat surface that extends forever.
What do the arrows on the illustration
mean?
S the arrows mean it keeps going.
Are plane and plane spelled the same or
different?
They are spelled the same.
T wrote the next word on the overhead.
S were consulting their book.
S read the definition and the teacher
explained the word.
Coordinate grid Who can tell me what that
is?
SIOP
Comprehensible Input and
Building background
The teacher is using many visual
techniques to promote
understanding.
Marzano’s research supports the
use of analogies. Comparing the
known to the unknown also
promotes comprehensible input
The teacher uses humor often. I
did not have time to record all of it.
Often it is conveyed through tone
of voice.
Vocabulary instruction reflects
recommended practices. The
words are explained examples.
Suggestion:
Having students compare plane
with the top of the desk and the
wall could help them differentiate
between plane and a fixed shape.
Students are very comfortable
asking questions.
Verbal irony was used, but it was
not said in a sarcastic tone. All
students understood that he was
encouraging more of them to try to
answer.
Suggestion:
In a later workshop I will introduce
Marzano’s 6 step process of
Building Academic Vocabulary.
In that method, they explain the
term and give examples, students
restate in their own words. I would
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Wow, I’m impressed 4 of you know it.
Students looked in their book more could
answer.
S Coordinate grid, used to name points in
a plane.
S When I look in the back in the glossary it
says, “ …”
T That is a poor definition because it uses
the word it is defining to define it.
In a Coordinate grid, we have something
called an
ordered pair
Several students raised their hand.
Emily what do you think it is?
Emily answered,
He said let me give you and example
(2, 4) (10, 5)
These numbers tell you where to go on a
coordinate grid.
Remember, you have to move the ladder
over before you can go up.
Gave negative examples. Used arrows to
indicate direction.
S asked for the definition of ordered pairs.
He drew a vertical and horizontal axis.
and numbered them.
Can someone come up and point to them.
One student went up and pointed to the
vertical axis.
do that before having them read
the definition.
The teacher indented ordered pair
under Coordinate grid which
helped students visually
understand that ordered pair was
a concept related to the coordinate
grid.
T doesn’t’ just call on students
with their hands up. He restated.
SIOP comprehensible input
Review
Reviewed the analogy and
explained again with various
examples and use of arrows.
Students were engaged and on-
task.
He used the Elmo to project a grid on the
smart board and was able to zoom in and
out as needed to clarify.
He asked for student volunteer to come up
and show 7, 3
S demonstrated
S had asked if it made any difference if the
ordered pair was written differently.
He then did 3, 7. A student demonstrated.
T So does it make any difference in how
they are written?
The grid on
T uses humor during the class
which reduces anxiety.
15

Ss YES
Let’s look at our book.
He showed the page using the Elmo.
Come up and point to the locations on the
smart board.
S volunteers went and indicated on the
board.
The first student went on the vertical axis
first. T correctly in a very non-threatening
way. She did it and he said, “Great job”.
The class seems a safe place to
make errors. There was no
indication that student felt badly
about making an error first. She
had corrected it with help and
returned to her seat seeming
pleased.
Open math journals to p. 292
He showed the book on the Elmo
“Plotting a turtle”
Who would like to read plotting a turtle?
The student read the explanation.
It says, …
(The task was to try to write the ordered
pairs and plot them to look like a turtle.)
Now, here’s the cool part.
It says, start with the nose on the turtle.
T It won’t look exactly like it, but let’s try.
T Who can give me a point where I can put
a dot. Remember it has to look like a
turtle.
Ss gave ordered pairs and told him where
to put the dot.
After I’ve done that, I’m going to draw a
straight line.
I should label that. He wrote the ordered
pairs.
S volunteered another and students told
him where to go to put the dot.
(The new point didn’t seem very logical.)
T Should I draw the line from here to here?
S No, that’s the tail.
T Maybe I should wait to connect the dots
until we have all the dots.
He erased the first line.
Students continued to give coordinates
T It doesn’t have to look just like a turtle,
We are just practicing.
We’re going to start pop-corning someone,
SIOP Building background
The ladder example and activities
on the smart board had prepared
the students for the reading.
SIOP (Modeling that leads to )
Practice and application
T language makes the task seem
even more interesting and fun.
The students were asked to do a
challenging task as they practiced
the skill.
Since the thinking is more
complex and interesting, it
increases motivation and
challenges students who already
understand the skill. Hence, the
task is differentiated for a range of
learners. If a student didn’t
choose a very effective coordinate
pairs for making the image, it was
still OK because they were just
practicing.
T was responsive to student
efforts and made adjustments to
reflect their thinking.
There was little similarity to a
turtle, but the teacher was
complimenting them on their
success with plotting.
Students called on each other
which made the class more
16

because not everyone is raising their hand.
Students began calling on each other for
answers.
The teacher connected the dots.
Our turtle got hit by a car.
T stressed the point of the lesson and said
that even though it didn’t look like a turtle,
they had met the first objective.
student-centered.
We’ve met our first objective.
What is our second objective?
The objective was read again.
Using the Elmo, the teacher showed that
they would have to match each number
story to a graph.
They were then to explain their answer.
I’m going to put you in partners and have
you work together.
You know how this works. I will just put you
with a partner and no one will complain.
Do this page with your partner,
The workbook included practice of both
objectives.
Talk about the answer and then we will
share back.
You have ten minutes to do this.
Students began work very quickly and
quietly.
We then left for the debriefing.
When we returned, they were all on task
with the substitute.
When we were leaving, the teacher stayed
a moment to talk with me about something.
The students were told to line up and go
into the hall. They did that very quickly
and quietly. When we left and walked
down the hall, ALL of the students were
standing in an orderly way and quietly
waiting without any adult supervision. I
complimented them on their orderliness.
SIOP
Very effective focus on the
objectives.
SIOP component
Interaction
The learning environment in this
class and the school is VERY
conducive to learning. Time is
being used well. Consequently, I
focused on the lesson sequence
and didn’t record the time.
17

I think it went well. I feel they grasped the concepts.
A few of them really struggle.
I called the ones that struggle to go to the smart board.
That’s the way they are. I like to kid and crack a joke. It needs to be fun.
One of the ESL students had a friend come over to help her with something she
didn’t understand.
He discussed that the objectives for the period were met, but that they would now
need to practice.
The students had just started that portion of the lesson when we left.
The teacher said that he always supports with he says orally with writing, visuals,
demonstrations with his hands, and use of analogies. He specified that he has
students that support his two ESL students and that they have been just wonderful in
helping them. During the lesson, one ESL student was very comfortable asking for
support.
Were you satisfied with the collaborative roles and responsibilities?
During the class the ESL teacher is not present. However, Jedd expressed great
satisfaction with the support Alice is providing the ELLs during the language arts time
when she works with them independently on tasks that reflect the objectives of the
class.
again?
I really liked how it went. Maybe more analogies to demonstrate over and up, maybe
more focus on negative numbers. However, we need to do more with negative on
another day for them to understand that because it is confusing for them.
He asked if I had any suggestions.
We discussed that before the students were to read in their book that he had
explained the ideas first if visual ways and with examples before they read. I felt
they then had more understanding of what they read. I encouraged him to use that
same strategy with the definitions of the terms. He was definitely explaining the
words and giving examples, not just using the terms of the formal definition. I
18

recommend that he do that before the students read the definition of the words. I
would also have them restate the definition in their own words to a partner based on
his explanation prior to reading the definition.
Marzano’s 6 step process for Building Academic Vocabulary would also encourage
students to represent the vocabulary word visually. I will share that in the next
workshop, but you can see a flash presentation of it at the following site:
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/six_step_flash.html
We also discussed how to focus on an understanding about all grids:
I understand that grids can be used to communication location and trends to others
in effective and efficient ways.
I understand that people need standard ways of communicating the information.
We discussed ways to teach the reason for a grid in hands-on discovery ways:
Example: Put a dot on a piece of paper and tell someone else how to put their dot in
the same spot. (They will measure which is fine, but help them see that use of a grid
is faster.)
Have them put a dot on a circle and have them try to describe to a partner how to put
the dot on the same spot on a different circle. Measuring with rulers isn’t very
effective. Give them a compass and have them try to figure out what else would be
needed. Why are degrees used rather than linear measurement?
Students can put a dot on a Styrofoam ball (or marshmallow) and try to figure out
how to give directions to someone else how to put a dot on the same place on
another similar object.
Often students don’t get the point of why they are doing what they are learning and
how it was developed.
I asked, if I could use Jedd’s lesson objectives as an example in the teacher’s
workshop. He agreed, and I felt it was helpful to others.
Feedback from the teacher to observer
Time was up, and we didn’t have time to do this. I would appreciate any feedback
you would like to give that would help me.
Jeanette Gordon
Teacher: Gina Miller (ESL 5th
grade pull-out) No. of students: 6
ELP level/s: Developing to bridging Subject: social studies
1. What “big idea” do you want students to understand in this lesson?
Proper sequencing in writing creates a logical product.
19

2. What critical content do you want students to know?
Is your story following the plot you designed?
3. What is the content objective? (How will they demonstrate what they know and
understand?)
SWBT sequence a selection in a logical order (a person’s life).
4. What is the language objective?
SWBT discuss how writing is affected by the sequence.
5. What modifications will you use for the ELLs?
These are all ELLs.
6. What strategies will you use to accomplish your objectives?
Pair/share and sequencing and share out
7. What are the roles and responsibilities of the collaborating teachers?
N? Inclusion class
8. What led up to this lesson and what will follow the lesson?
These students are doing research projects on famous Americans. I want to find a
painless way for them to properly sequence these papers.
9. Do you have any concerns?
The content was designed to create interest in a Civil War character, but I am afraid
there is too much language. These kids are very high, but it is always a gamble.
T What did we do yesterday?
We were studying plot.
Everything we are doing is going to relate to a
big idea of sequencing.
Where does a biography start?
S when the person is born.
T what did we learn about autobiography?
Students shared prior learning.
If Hannah Montana wrote her autobiography
now it would end at 16.
Students discussed the difference between
features in an autobiography and a biography.
The teacher was explaining that a person might
write an autobiography at one point in his her
SIOP
Review
Note: The teacher was explaining
that in an autobiography there
wouldn’t be the death. She joked
that someone else would have to
complete the autobiography. (If
someone else is telling the rest of
the story, would that still be an
autobiography? I wondered if kids
might be a little confused.)
20

life, then later.
Let’s look at our objective. Students will
discuss how writing can be affected by proper
sequence.
Students read the language objective.
Language objective:
SWBT sequence a series of life events to
create the plot of US Grant.
I went out and got the coolest information about
US Grant.
Before I share my pictures, tell me what you
know.
S He was the general of the union.
Teacher recorded key words of key ideas.
S He surrendered to Robert E. Lee
S He surrendered at the court house.
T For a new car was it World War II?
S The Civil War
T For a new car and a trip to Hawaii, who can
tell us the dates of the War?
S 18661 – 1865
T What else do you know?
S He hated slavery.
T He didn’t. Actually he had a slave, and his
wife had a slave.
S How is that possible if he fought the Civil
War?
T I’m glad you were thinking about this.
One student thought he freed the slaves.
The teacher asked what that was called and
who did it.
Ss Lincoln….Emancipation Proclamation.
S That’s what set all of the slaves free.
S Not all of them because the South didn’t
acknowledge Lincoln.
T Who was the president of the Confederacy?
S Jefferson Davis
S He went to college with Robert E. Lee.
T What college did he go to?
T They went to the same college. It’s called
West Point Military Academy.
SIOP
Lesson planning
Content and language objectives.
The teacher’s enthusiasm for the
information promotes anticipation
and enthusiasm for the topic and
what is coming later in the lesson.
SIOP
Review and practice
.
The students are reflecting on
complex ideas and will discuss
apparently conflicting values.
Higher-order thinking is evident.
Students aren’t just studying facts.
They are being introduced to
historical realities.
SIOP review
The teacher showed pictures of Robert E Lee
and Grant.
Students discussed what they thought a military
academy would teach.
The teacher uses humor to evoke
interest and to involve the students
in examples.
21

S Fight
S Guns
The teacher gave the word tactics to elaborate
on a student answer. She used interesting and
humorous ways to evoke more thought.
Tell me boring stuff that they would need to
know?
Do you think it would be important to know how
far bullets and cannons would go?
Ss yes
S You would need to know about the land.
T Would you need to know how many boots
and jackets to order?
This is a picture of a current West Point
Graduate and the historical picture.
Tell me how they are similar first.
Students started telling differences. The
teacher focused them on identifying the
similarities.
S I think one way they are similar is that they
have weapons.
S The colors are gray.
T Lee didn’t fight for the US side, but what he
learned at West Point Military Academy was so
important to him that he held on to it for the rest
of his life.
T When you think about the Civil War, I want
you to think about the fact that he could have
fought for the Union, but he chose to fight for
the South. He had to give up his job.
The teacher elaborated on some of the
consequences of his decision.
The teacher explained the role of West Point
that is the same today.
Who is Uncle Sam?
Uncle Sam is the United States.
As students examined the uniforms they
students noticed similarities.
Anyone who went to West Point was an officer.
Pushing students to think about
applications of math, etc. can help
them transfer the need for math to
their own lives.
Research about what works best in
education finds identifying
similarities and differences as
providing the most benefit.
The teacher’s language may lead
students to reflect on how their
education may stay with them for
the rest of their lives. That might be
an idea to explore with them.
The teacher is helping students to
connect past events to today.
Lots of Building Background and
creating meaning
Suggestion for another day.
Show a picture of Uncle Sam and
discuss how the image has been
used to represent the US.
22

What’s the difference the between an officer
and a soldier?
Students discussed the roles of soldiers and
officers and how George Washington did things
with the men.
What do you think bravery means.
Not scared of anything.
Sacrifice
Teacher introduced the historical information
cards she had prepared.
T We are going to put them into a __?
Students took quite awhile before the kids
remembered the word sequential
One girl got the word sequence and others
were able to add to it. They were very engaged
in figuring out the answer.
Teacher is focusing on vocabulary
as needed throughout the lesson.
I would expand on the meaning of
bravery. Students often think it
means a person is not scared.
In reality it often means taking the
action that is needed even when a
person is afraid.
How very important it is to
remember that ELLs may not know
words that may be very familiar to
other students.
Sequence., sequential
The teacher expressed great excitement about
some of the information she had found out
about Grant.
She gave each student an interesting event in
the life of Grant.
Each student was to read his/her own card.
They were to then pair with a partner and use
“kid words” to explain the information on the
card. They couldn’t’ read it, rather needed to
say it in their own words.
The teacher’s enthusiasm is
catching.
Summarization strategies are one of
the strategies that promotes the
most learning for students.
Students were then asked to arrange
themselves in the order of the sequence.
They seemed very engaged in the activity.
The teacher discussed the events that seemed
unusual.
Grant never ate meat because he was afraid of
blood. Grant was calm enough during battle to
calmly record notes in his journal.
In addition to summarizing the
information in their own words, they
had to recall it from oral
explanations and discuss it with
each other.
Pretty good. I was so excited about the information. I like to push myself that way with
the history. They trust me on that. They’ll follow me anywhere because I’ll sell it.
23

That’s who they are. I’m a little more liberal in a small group with procedures. The kids
don’t speak much in class, so I want them to feel comfortable here to just speak up.
(I said that one of the characteristics identified by CREDE research is the practice of
instructional conversations. Teachers ask important questions, and students discuss
them among themselves. Interaction among the students is stressed without having the
students raise their hands.)
Yes, I think that moving their seats around helped them to understand the sequence
better.
We discussed all of the language that was generated during the activitiy.
All of the students were ELLs and their was individual support on vocabulary as needed.
One boy said, “I don’t know how to say this word in kid language.”
They give me a pacing guide. It is much more than that. A pacing guide isn’t really fair
because they really give us very helpful information. She showed me the pacing guide
that the grade level teachers develop and give her each week.
I use history to teach the language arts. We are focusing on plot and sequence in
Language Arts, so I teach that with history content. I have some students who are dual
identified in special education and ESL.
again?
The introduction took too long. I would have had only the same number of cards as
students.
(I said that I didn’t think that was a problem that the students could integrate those
events into the sequence during the next class. Gina said that they were probably even
more curious about those now.)
Nope
I decided to discuss the meaning of bravery, since I think many people often think it is
not being afraid, rather than doing what needs to be done when afraid.
We discussed sequencing ideas and discussion of strategies for helping students
understand what is important enough to include in a timeline or biography. We also
discussed why some apparently small events can be important to include because they
are surprising (Grant was afraid of blood) or how some small events give insight into
character. I said I would attach a related observation that Dana said I could share.
24

What did I do that was useful for you, and was there anything I did that got in the
way of your learning or thinking?
Teacher: Heather McFadden (5th
grade Mainstream)
Observation Date/Time: Jan. 23, 08 1:00- 2:30 No. of students: 20
Grade and ELP level/s: 5th
grade 2 advanced ELL 2 intermediate/advanced
Subject: LA
Heather did not email the pre-conference form prior to class.
She was busy with a parent volunteer when I entered the room, so we did not have
time to talk.
After the lesson she discussed that she was teaching the Concept of “summarizing”.
She explains that she uses a strategy called, “Sum it up for $2.00”. Each student
can spend up to $2.00 at 10 cents a word. Hence, they need to summarize in 20
words or less.
Teacher welcomed a student in Spanish.
The teacher was wearing a Leigh. Many
students had a Leigh. It is beach winter
day, something they do periodically.
What should you have out on your desks?
Students answered.
DLR and their vocabulary sheets, also
their Movie Review plan and outline.
Students answered.
I understand you didn’t finish the story
yesterday.
The teacher wrote on the board.
DLR
Finish Babe
Writing Prompt
Students were orderly as they
entered the class.
They put their things away in an
orderly way and quickly took their
seats.
It is evident that established
routines are present in class.
25
25

Group work stations.
T Yesterday in Language Arts. Who can
tell me what you did?
S We talked about our outline and talked
over what we did.
T Did you understand your writing
prompts?
S We’re writing a movie review. We need
to give details.
Is it the best movie?
Is it the worst movie?
It’s going to be easier if we’re writing one
of the extremes.
You need to give specific answers.
The substitute had given them some
suggestions. Raise your hand if you
finished your plan. Today you must finish
your plan and your outline. (That’s more
than usual since Monday was a holiday.)
We’ll go over DLR at the end of class.
We’ll finish Babe to the Rescue
The sub taught us
Did the sub go over the purpose of
reading the story with you?
No.
The sub taught LA for – years and didn’t
do that. I can’t believe it.
We’re working on summarizing. The
purpose is to summarize.
What does summarize mean?
Since there was a sub the day
before, the teacher clarified with
the students what they had done.
Serves not only as a check but as a
review and reinforces the goal of
summarizing.
SIOP components:
Lesson Preparation
Content and Language Objectives
The students have a writing prompt
every week to practice the state
assessment writing.
The focus on summarizing is very
explicit. Students all seem to know
what they are learning and why. It
was obvious that the students had
been explicitly taught strategies for
summarizing.
SIOP Component
Strategies and Practice and
Application
SIOP component
26

2 students gave complete answers.
Raise your hand if you’ve seen. –movie.
Not everyone had. She then asked them
about High School musical. All but one
had.
The teacher gave a nonexample of a
summary and then an example of a
summary.
Building Background The teacher
referred to a movie that had been
seen by all but one of the students.
The movie seemed to be of high
interest to them.
Using both examples and non-
examples is an effective strategy
for understanding a concept.
The teacher showed a laminated
summary chart for summarizing.
Someone wanted But, So
She then indicated which groups she
would be meeting with.
They reviewed why they hadn’t followed
the schedule.
T What happens if we can’t finish the
outline today.
T joked that she would fail 5th
grade and
then explained she would have the
opportunity if needed on another day.
SIOP Strategy
Scaffolding is apparent here.
Someone Wanted But, So is a
summary strategy that is simple
enough for many ELLs also.
The teacher’s humor seemed to be
understood and she was
responsive to the concern of a
student who worried about finishing
two days tasks in one.
Students were asked to turn to a partner
and summarize what they had read.
Most everyone was actively
engaged in the task.
SIOP component
Interactive
The teacher asked one team to share
back.
The teacher gave some hand cues to help
students focus on a summarizing skill they
had been taught.
SIOP Practice and Application of
summarizing as well as Strategy
and Comprehensible Input if a
student hadn’t understood well.
The instructor was using the two
dollar strategy to help students
focus on summarizing with only 20
words.
The teacher asked how many had seen
the movie Babe. Many had.
READ ALOUD to the whole class.
27

T said that the movie was similar to the
story so far and suggested they compare
the two.
The teacher read a section and asked the
students to guess what a car behind a
tree might mean.
It appeared as if the class
members were able to understand
the story. (I wondered whether the
two girls in the back were
understanding). Read Aloud is
often a time when different
activities are needed for ELLs with
lower skills.
The teacher is encouraging higher-
order thinking, comparing and
contrasting as well as drawing
inferences.
The teacher stopped to focus on the word
“flock”
Several students raised their hands.
Bryan, what do you think? Do we have
any context clues, or do we have to figure
it out?
Another child predicted a group of sheep.
Explicit guidance in using context
clues to help understand a new
word.
The flock was all saying
There’s one of our vocabulary words,
confusion. Several students gave many
examples. Then she said that their
definitions were better than the one in the
book, “a state-of-being perplexed or
bewildered.”
S-What do those words mean?
The teacher clarified and gave a personal
example.
I have a great connection to this. Ms. ___
went to see Ms. ____’s baby. We got
lost. We were confused. We couldn’t find
the house.
I like your definitions very well, but this is
the one that is going to be on the test.
Confusion means unsure, don’t know
what was happening.
Explicit focus on vocabulary.
(The students have a vocabulary
worksheet to use during reading,)
Prior to reading, they predict the
meaning of the word. During
reading, the instructor focuses on
the word and uses explanations
and examples along with the
definition. Students write the
definition and compare their own
predictions with the new word.
The teacher recognized that the
definition given was more complex
than the word being defined.
If assessment of comprehension of
the word confusion is only to match
the word with the definition, some
students who understand the
meaning of the word may not get it
28

correct. Understanding is more
important than memorizing the
definition which the teacher
understood.
Suggestion: Assessing vocabulary
by simply matching a word with a
definition is not recommended as
effective vocabulary assessment.
Hence, I encourage the teacher to
also assess in alternative ways.
She seems aware of the problem.
T The men had sticks and their arms
outspread. Demonstrated with her
hands. Why do you think, they have their
hands outstretched?
What do you think Babe’s going to do
about it? Talk to your partner.
Students started. She stopped them and
reminded them they were having a
conversation and needed to look at each
other rather than at the ceiling. T
modeled what not to do and asked if they
would talk with their mother without
looking at her. Ss laughed.
T There’s no way you can be wrong about
this. You’re just making a prediction.
What do you think is going to happen
next?
S gave answer.
T That’s a GREAT prediction.
SIOP Comprehensible input
Hand gestures.
SIOP Interaction
Modeling of expected behaviors
promotes development of these
skills. Modeling what to do as well
as what not to do is an effective
strategy for getting students to
attend. When students continued
they were more on task.
Such encouragement and praise
promotes risk-taking.
S- I have a question. Why are all the
sheep running toward the truck?
T Repeated the question for other
students to answer.
Ss discussed ideas.
Student-generated questions
indicate genuine interest as well as
a climate where questions are
welcomed.
29

T Why don’t the sheep just stand up for
themselves and say we’re not going?
S It’s the sheep’s instinct to go where the
dogs train them.
Discussion which included that the sheep
might be afraid the dogs would eat them.
T explained why the dogs wouldn’t eat
them.
T How is Babe’s approach different than
Fly’s Approach? Remember Fly is the dog
who kind of adopted Babe.
How does Babe react?
S He told them.
T Did he tell them?
S He asked them. Please.
T What do you think the dog Fly would
have done?
S What does “nip” mean?
T That’s a good question. T explained
and gave an example about her own cat
and used hand gestures to explain.
When the word sensible came up, one
student noticed that it was one of their
words.
After the discussion above, the teacher
went back to the word sensible and wrote
“having good judgment”. She gave
examples that were familiar to the
students, talking about her shoes. She
then gave examples of sensible with
regard to the behavior of crossing the
street.
The teacher clarified other difficult
vocabulary as she read.
Higher-order comparative question.
Ss seem comfortable to ask
questions.
Ss recognize their word focus.
Suggestion: How are confusion
and chaos similar and different?
Possibly have students rank
30

What does “chaos” mean?
Crazy, wild, disastrous,
Their definition is “great confusion” and
wrote it on the board.
S Is one of the words confusion?
The teacher gave additional familiar
examples of chaos.
degrees of confusion.
Confusion is less than chaos
Possibly teach the adjectives of
confusing and chaotic
T asked how the characters had changed
from the beginning of the story to the end
of the story.
Partners shared with each other.
Most students talked. The two in the back
row did not, nor did the two in the second
row near the door. The two by the door
raised their hands when they were asked
to share back. The two girls in the back
did not.
Higher-order question
SIOP Interaction
Suggestion: The only two girls in
the back row seem to be the least
engaged. Possibly seat them
closer to the front.
Get out your Reading Response journal.
You’re going to summarize the story Babe
to the Rescue. She gave a non-example
and restated the need to write the most
important information.
SIOP Practice and Application
Strategy
The students are going to practice
again in writing the strategy of
summarizing. They also are moving
from oral summaries to writing.
Teacher checked off what they had done
and restated what they needed to do.
T realized that she would only have time
to meet with one group and told which
group to meet with her.
Clarification of directions
T demonstrated the ability to revise
plans based on the time remaining.
The T did not rush the vocabulary
instruction, partner sharing or
higher-order questions to keep to
the original plan to meet with two
reading groups.
The teacher went to the table in the back
for GUIDED READING
The teacher cut an exotic fruit and
showed it to a group of students who went
to the table. They compared it with other
Use of Guided Reading with
students having the opportunity to
read developmentally appropriate
readings is a critical part of a
differentiated classroom. SIOP
31

fruit. Eat it and throw the rinds away.
That’s an exotic fruit.
Starfruit.
Exotic was the word I chose.
A few students ate some of the fruit and
quietly went back to their seat.
One student went to the table and the
teacher explained to her exotic and
showed.
Star group was supposed to join her in 30
wseconds. All students were on task and
quietly working as the “Star Group goined
her.
The reading group joined the table. The
teacher then explained to this group that
the other group had been reading. One
student said, “thank you”, and T said,
“You’re Welcom” with expression. All
others said Thank you.
The teacher mentioned that other
students would all get to taste it, but they
seemed content to continue working
One of the Guided Reading groups
had read a story where the word
“exotic” had been discussed. The
teacher brought an exotic fruit to
class. Having all student taste the
fruit was done in such an orderly
way. It seemed evident that such
sharing is not uncommon. The
group that had studied the word
“exotic” tasted the fruit first. Then
the guided reading group tasted the
fruit. The remaining students tasted
it before the end of the class.
T passed out the books to the students.
They had post-it- notes in the books, so
each needed their own book. T asked
one student to read her reading response.
The teacher asked the students to review
what happened last time. They found the
page. The teacher reread the last
paragraph.
T So what’s going on? Why did he bring
the helicopter? There are two reasons.
S He came to get the Panda.
S He came to drop-off food.
T reviewed key points.
Review was included to help the
students remember what they had
read before.
Building Background was included
because she asked if their parents
would let them do something like
the character in the story was going
to do.
Students all read independently the
section identified which maximizes
reading time. This reflects best
practice in Guided Reading.
The use of post-it-notes provides
additional focus to their reading as
well as serves as an anchor activity
if students finish before others.
32

Lou Yee gets to go with the Panda to the
zoo. Would your parents let you do that?
Students discussed relating their own
lives.
Teacher read a passage and asked them
to continue reading. Read the rest of this
page. Read to the 3rd
paragraph down.
You all have post-its in front of you.
Write down a question you have, a word
you don’t know or a word you like. You
have several options.
T encouraged students to reread
when they were done and not
working. The students did that.
Rereading at the independent
reading level is highly effective for
developing fluency.
The other students were working on
structured writing tasks.
The task was to write a Movie Review.
They were asked to make a plan using a
graphic organizer.
They were then asked to write their
outline. This was also structured.
It is evident that the students who
are working independently are very
clear about their tasks. They all
worked quietly. Most of the
students were actively engaged
during the full time.
SIOP Strategies and Practice and
Application
The students are getting strategic
guidance for their writing tasks
which have progressed in
complexity throughout the year.
They are also having ongoing
opportunities to practice the type of
writing that will be included on state
assessment. Student interests and
choices are incorporated into the
structured writing tasks because
they can write about a movie of
their choice.
The teacher said they would then go over
their DLR at the beginning of the next
class because time was up.
Caution: DLR activities are often
difficult to make meaningful and
comprehensible for ELLs,
particularly if they have lower ESL
skills.
33

Note: Lottie Baker the ESL support teacher, with agreement from Heather,
joined us for the post observation
I think overall it was good particularly because I’ve only been here one day this
week.
There were about what I expected. They were on task for the most part. (One
student was off task during Read Aloud sharing. I wondered if she was able to
understand the story. I was told she is the student with the lowest ESL skills. She
was involved during the Guided Reading.)
I think they were.
Note: Since time was limited, rather than completing the post-observation
form, we discussed ideas for the collaboration between Heather and Lottie.
I did not take notes during this discussion but will try to summarize the key
concerns and suggestions. I am also adding additional support for the ideas
discussed.
At this time, the ESL students in class have some English skills. Hence, they seem
to be able to participate in many classroom activities.
The Guided Reading Groups seem to be appropriate for the ELLs based on my brief
observation and teacher feedback.
The Read Aloud is often more problematic. It is important for the ESL teacher to
help determine to what extent the ELLs are able to process the story in the Read
Aloud. This is a time when it is often more advisable to do alternative tasks with
ELLs. Heather feels that the students are able to understand the story. I would
suggest that the ESL teacher determine to what extent the Ells can retell the story.
Some of the vocabulary may also be difficult for them. (I did not suggest this during
the post-conference, but matching a word to a memorized definition would not be
appropriate assessment for an ESL student, particularly if the definitions are more
complex than the word being defined. Students can memorize definitions without
understanding or being able to use a word. It is important that they are not using
their educational energies on such tasks. Again I would recommend that the ESL
teacher determine to what extent the vocabulary activities are of benefit to the ELLs.
If it takes too long to clarify the meaning of words from the Read Aloud, it may be
better use of the students learning time to focus on other vocabulary, perhaps
vocabulary that is critical for following directions or reading in other content areas.
Together we also discussed the use of DLR with ELLs. If the sentences are not
comprehensible to the ELLs, this would not be a very helpful task for ELLs. We
34

discussed how much more difficult it is or ELLs to understand sentences that are
outside of a meaningful context. It is not easy for those who have not learned
another language to recognize the complexity of this. A student can often be
confused by sentences outside of a meaningful context that are much easier than
they can understand when in a meaningful context.
The writing tasks in the class are taught with lots of structure and guidance which is
highly beneficial to ELLs. We discussed additional differentiation options if students
have lower ESL skills than those in the class at this time. However, since the writing
tasks progress in difficulty as the year goes along, students with lower ESL skills
could be given additional time with the easier options.
The teacher used very explicit guidance for teaching the skill of “summarizing” and
providing some specific strategies for gaining proficiency in those skills. This is very
helpful to ELLs. This is a task that can also be taught using easier readings, as is
being done in the Guided Reading. An ESL teacher can also often support the same
skills and strategies that are being taught to the mainstream students using simpler
readings.
Both teachers expressed openness to collaboration and an interest in serving the
ELLs effectively. Because the ESL teacher has more opportunities to interact with
the ESL students individually, it will be easier for her to determine the degree of
comprehensible input that is occurring in the class and the appropriateness of the
tasks and assessments. I would suggest following her lead. If ESL learners with
lower skills are ever served in the classroom, additional modifications would be
needed.
I encourage both teachers to continue their collaboration efforts.
Teacher: Patricia Brown
Observation Date/Time: 2/14/08, 11:55 a.m No. of students: 23
Grade and ELP level/s: 5th
grade: 2 Beginner ESL, 5 Int. ESL, 11 regular ed, 5
TAG
Subject: Science
the Earth constantly changes
Heat energy from the upper part of the mantle causes movement of the plates
that make up Earth’s crust. The plates move slowly in different directions with
different results.
35

understand?)
SWBAT contrast the location of the plates at the time of Pangea with their
location today by moving paper models of the plates.
SWBAT tell that heat from the mantle moves the plates.
SWBAT explain the connection between the heat/energy cycle that moves the
plates and the same cycle that moves ocean currents (our last unit.)
What modifications will you use for the ELLs?
simplified version of Pangea, writing down vocabulary,
What strategies will you use to accomplish your objectives?
hands on activity, video, numbered heads together
There is no collaborating teacher.
Prior lessons: structure of the interior of Earth
Subsequent lessons: earthquakes & volcanoes caused by plate movement
Do you have any concerns?
My partner & I have just reconstituted this class. She teaches the other half of our
students math while I teach science. We decided last week that this science/math
session is at the worst at this time of day: right before lunch, right after special,
having started the day at 8:00. This class is our group of students who have a
harder time learning concepts, and she was trying to teach them math at this time.
We decided that since science is easier for them to “get”, we would change their
math session to the earlier time. This way they are “fresher” for math and, perhaps,
will be better able to succeed.
Because of our grade level schedule, the TAG (Talented and Gifted) students who
would normally be in the other, earlier science class, are now in this class. Thursday
will be our second day on this schedule, so I will not have worked out any of the
issues of teaching TAG + struggling learners + ESL students at the same time.
T reviews the student groups since she
made a few changes.
Review your numbers.
Raise your hand if you are in the
northeast corner of the table etc. until all
had raised their hands.
2 students You’re roving reporters today.
Talked about the word roving.
Reviewed content and language
objectives from the previous day.
Teacher is integrating content into
simple directions
36

Rover spaceship connection
The students were seated in groups of 4
3 is a nice prime number
3s stand up please.
Tell me everything that you know about
the core.
S There is an inner and outer core.
S The inner core is solid because --.
S The inner core is solid because of the
heat and the pressure.
SThe outer core is like jello
T Actually, it’s like water. It’s a liquid.
T what else do we know?
I see N… consulting his notes.
S discussed the metal
T Look back at what we made yesterday
to remember what we said yesterday.
The students had collaborated as a class
to put together a wedge from each team
that showed the layers of the earth.
When one student was using his
notes, the teacher commented on
that and said that it was a good
strategy.
SIOP
Review
1s you have the mantle.
You have 15 seconds to consult with your
team about the mantle.
The ones then shared.
The top is the asthenosphere.
Convection currents happen there.
Saying key information.
SIOP
Interaction
T is using a variation of Numbered-
heads
Suggestion:
Ask the question. Then have
students share before they know
which number will be called. All
students then must focus because
no one knows which number will be
called.
You won’t need your notes today.
We are going to watch the video and
engage with your brains.
Relax your hands, not our brains.
Pangea Say that please
After the first video you are going to be
able to tell me what pangea is
Plate techtonics
Asthenosphere
Convection currents
After the videos they will need to share
what they learned and the questions they
have.
Use of videos to develop concepts
and language prior to literacy tasks.
37

Convection currents have to do with
things going around.
Teacher drew an exampled.
S I’ve noticed a lot of things that start with
the word tech. So what does “tech”
mean?
The teacher stopped and put several
words starting with the prefix tech on the
board. She said you know that I love
looking at words, but let’s put them in our
brains and let it settle for awhile. We’ll
come back to this another day.
Technology techtronics techno
While I am setting up the video, I need the
1s to go get the paper and a marker.
When several students were playing with
their pencils, she asked the students to
put their pencils on the floor.
She asked the students to repeat the
purpose of the video.
The video showed students in a class
exploring a globe. They were also putting
together the pieces of the continents.
The video discussed the concept of
pangea.
T 4s what’s pangea.
SAll the countries (another student
clarified, continents)
T All of the continents were connected
together.
The teacher redid that portion of the clip
to enable the students to see it again.
The students got the materials
quickly and quietly.
Refocusing student attention:
Repetition is helpful for the
students to check and refine their
understandings of the concept
based on the discussion.
The teacher then showed the portion of
the video clip that explained Continental
Drift.
T Remember, we’re, just getting the ideas
today. On Tuesday we’ll take the notes.
A student said she had 2 things she
wanted to say.
If you lived at that time, ….and something
about the supercontinent.
S How can it move?
T that’s an absolutely important question.
That’s exactly what we are going to learn.
S Why did they call it pangea?
Suggestion:
Students could use Roundrobin to
share their observations and
questions with each other prior to
sharing with the class.
Many students were very engaged
and asking WONDERFUL reflective
questions.
It may, however, help to promote
more language growth and
38

S Why did it happen?
T I don’t know. I’m going to look that up.
S We talked about how the plates were
moving. Isn’t that how the continents
moved?
S What happens if the plates go back
together and crash into each other?
T We’re also going to learn that.
S When all of the continents are
connected together, how did they cut it?
T It wasn’t a “they” . No one cut them
apart.
The teacher recalled prior knowledge and
explained.
S Was there as much water back then?
T I think so. Look back at what we made
yesterday. The land changed, but I don’t
think the amount of water changed.
S Did it happen when the people started
coming form South America?
The teacher put the time of the Pangea
on the board and compared that with the
time when the people may have migrated
from Africa.
engagement of everyone if
Roundrobin were used.
The students are definitely
reflecting on the content and asking
genuine questions.
Two students went up to the front. What
they have here are what you are all going
to get?
Could you put the continents in the place
where the continents are today?
The students moved the visuals on the
overhead to where they would
approximately be today. Could you put
Africa about where it is today?
Roving person that you are, could you put
them together as Pangea?
Notice that there is a huge hint. Match up
AA
The teacher pointed out that there
were letters on the manipulatives
that would assist the students as
they put the Pangea together.
SIOP review of earlier content as
they were doing the new activity.
The teacher was asking two
students to serve as rovers to
watch student behaviors and report
back about the positive student
behaviors.
It was insightful to have these
students model, so they wouldn’t
be left out of the activity.
The modeling demonstrated both
the task and promoted language.
39

We’re going back 250, 000, 000,
As the student was doing that, one
student asked where Asia was.
You saw up here how the continents
looked when they were apart.
The ones and the 2s are going to take a
piece of blue paper. The 3s and the 4s
are going to take a piece of blue paper.
Simon says put your hands on your
shoulders.
Simon says put your eyes on Ms Brown.
1s and 2s put your continents into Pangea
3s and 4s put your continents into today.
Suggestion: In addition to giving
them a number, it is easier to give
them a letter or an east, west,
name. For example east pair and
west pair, or east-west pair.
Humor to gain student attention
when they were losing focus due to
the manipulatives on their desks.
The roving reporters were to go around
and observe. They moved from one
group to the other.
Suggestion:
Have the roving reporters take
notes on a specific social skill such
as clarifying. If they are just
walking around and watching, it will
be difficult for them to really
perform a meaningful job and stay
on task.
T used 5 4 3 2 1 to call attention.
Roving reporters how did they look?
They looked good. Glue sticks are
closed.
When we cut these we had some major
continents lost. The teacher noticed that
a team was missing a piece.
It seems that students had helped
prepare the manipulatives
Teacher called attention and waited until
all were paying attention before
beginning.
There were a lot of missed directions last
time, so I want you to listen this time. I’s
and 2s you are going to move ahead and
do the part you didn’t do.
Students were a little confused.
If one of the partners moved it last time,
SIOP
Interactions
The teacher is taking risks in
applying some of the cooperative
structures modeled in the
workshop.
It would have been helpful if during
the workshop I had shared a
40

you will move it this time.
Some students are collaborating and
talking.
Some partners, only one is doing it.
strategy for giving partner tasks in
a way that causes less confusion
that just using the numbers.
The students didn’t seem as excited about the lesson as they usually do. (I didn’t
take notes, but I think this is what Pat said. My perception is that the students were
very interested.
I had expected that the TAG students would be helpful, but they seemed to be more
disruptive than helpful today.
I was surprised that the students were confused by the partner directions. In my
other class, they didn’t have any trouble at all following those directions.
I shared other ideas for giving the directions in a way that causes less confusion, but
I didn’t model that in the workshop.
Yes, I think so.
The language objectives specified in the lesson will be met in a later class. We
discussed language objectives and tried to refine understanding.
We discussed cause-effect prompts to explain why the plates move and the
convection currents.
We also talked about incorporating more language into the Pangea activity. For
example, prepositions of place could have been incorporated. One student could
explain to his/her partner where to place the continents, and they could take turns
describing and placing.
Pat seemed very interested in ways to focus more explicitly on the language needed
to explain talk about the science content: cause-effect, compare and contrast, etc.
I said I would email her an example related to density and causes of wind.
We discussed how she explains complex concepts to the students and discussed
ways to teach density.
Dana expressed satisfaction with her collaboration with Dana for language arts. She
does not collaborate on science with the ESL teacher.
41

We ran out of time and did not discuss the remaining questions.
again?
ESL Teacher: Alice Shairzay
Observation Date/Time: Jan. 23 10:0 No. of students: 2 (that's not a typo!)
Grade: 5th
grade ESL pull-out Subject: LA
Co-taught lesson: Yes or No Co-planned lesson: Yes or No
understand?)
Identify important events in their lives
List important events in time line
We'll be reading a biography and students will be summarizing it.
Is there any other information you would like me to know, such as what to look
for?
1 student is literate in native language the other not both have recently been adopted
by native English speakers.
The observer was a few minutes late. A
student read the content and language
objectives which were on the board. The
teacher showed them an example of an
historical time line. The girls went up to
the board to examine the historical
timeline and shared any of the information
SIOP components
Preparation
Written content and language
objectives.
Key vocabulary/concepts
UBD
The students were aware at the
42

they could about it. They realized that the
numbers were dates and that they were in
chronological order. The teacher used
the term chronological.
beginning of the lesson that they
were creating the timeline. They
would later interview each other
and write each other’s biography.
They also knew they would be
reading a biography of Lincoln
SIOP component
Building background throughout the
lesson.
Inductive teaching was used to
raise the thinking level, and to have
the students identify first whatever
they could from the example.
Teacher shared her timeline with the
students. It contains dates, events and
pictures of the major events in her life up
until the age of 11 since that is similar to
the students’ ages.
She explained the events and the
pictures.
T asked students to brainstorm important
events in their lives. One student talked
about a very difficult life in Russia prior to
her adoption. She did not want to include
those events which the teacher respected.
The T helped students differentiate
between common activities and major
events in their lives.
Additional SIOP components
Comprehensible input though use
of visuals, modeling, appropriate
speech speed and language.
Scaffolding from simple to more
complex tasks.
Interactions
Students interacted comfortably
with the instructor and with each
other.
The list of events on the board
provided modeling of, not only the
ideas but the spelling of some of
the words they would need on their
timeline.
Cultural sensitivity
Throughout the lesson the teacher
demonstrated cultural awareness
and respect. This kind of an
assignment in a large class can be
very problematic for some children.
However, both girls were adopted
from a foreign country by English-
speaking parents.
The teacher modeled how to make the
timeline. Students folded the papers to
have each portion of the paper be one
event.
T supported how to write 1995, not easy
for the student. The teacher said 19, and
the student answered how she would
write that. 95 was more difficult for her,
but the teacher gave her the time and
Because of the small group the
teacher could directly support each
student.
Personal knowledge of the
students was reflected. Both girls
are adopted, and it was evident
that the teacher knows the parents
and has knowledge of their
43

support she needed.
T Did I write complete sentences on the
timeline?
S No just important words.
T Is there anything you want to include on
your timeline that happened between
when you were born and when you
started school?
T Repeated question
S had trouble thinking about something.
What do you think?
T The teacher asked, You have a younger
brother, don’t you?
Yes, he is younger. They discussed that.
The other student said she had a brother
and sister, but she didn’t live with them or
know them.
T Is there anything important that
happened to you in Columbia before you
came to the US.
Your mother said you went to
Kindergarten.
Do you remember that?
T I went to a big class.
Did you live with your mother and then
with your father.
She explained several moves and
reasons for them.
She moved to her grandmother.
S A girl pushed me.
Was that an important event?
They discussed the kinds of events they
wanted to include? Was she badly hurt,
etc.
If you went to school when you were five
and you were born in 1995, what year
would that be?
S I want to tell about my ---student shared
a story that I couldn’t hear very well.
S My father teached me how to ride a
bike.
T That could be an important event.
adoptions.
The teacher included mechanics in
the activity. “Is this a complete
sentence?”
There is strong evidence of building
background, preparing to read a
biography.
The instruction is made
comprehensible through modeling
and visuals.
The students seemed very
comfortable sharing ideas and
stories. The climate is welcoming
and supportive.
The teacher was very responsive to
the stories and respectful of difficult
circumstances that the girl did not
want to include.
Inclusion of an oral question related
to math. Oral math questions are
one of the areas of greatest
difficulty for ESL students who are
being assessed on the ACCESS
test in Illinois, a WIDA state.
The teacher commented on the
excitement of learning to ride a
bike. This could have been an
opportunity to model back the
correct past tense of teach.
Ex. Your father taught you to ride a
bike, How nice.
The teacher could have used that
word again as the girl began to
write about learning to write the
bike.
44

Student wrote learned how to ride bike.
T Do you want to include when you
moved to the orphanage?
S No. T That’s fine. The teacher asked
her when she met her adoptive parents.
S My mother sent me pictures, chocolates
and a bear.
Do you want to include that?
Yes, I still have the bear.
T to other student. Do you want to include
how you met your mother and father?
S No,
T OK
S Yes, They bring me a chocolate. She
then related a story about that. Observer
couldn’t hear until she said, “When I
moved to the US, I looked in the
refrigerator, and there was ice cream.
While one student was orally sharing the
other would write.
How do you spell got?
T sounded it out, and the student wrote it.
The teacher explained what they will do
tomorrow and what they can work on
independently.
Summarized what they are going to
do tomorrow.
You will exchange
Your timelines.
Both girls were actively engaged
throughout the lesson. They
seemed to take turns talking with
the teacher about the events in
their lives or writing.
Extended discourse was very
evident in the class. Both girls told
complete stories about their
experiences.
Most of the interaction was
between the teacher and a student.
The questions by the teacher and
the student responses will serve as
good modeling for the students
when they begin their interviews
with each other prior to writing the
autobiographies.
SIOP component Practice and
Application
The lesson incorporated listening
and speaking, as well as simple
reading and writing tasks that
helped prepare students for the
more complex literacy tasks which
will follow. The students will later
read a biography about Abraham
Lincoln.
Additional SIOP components
Strategies, use of a timeline
Review and assessment through
check of learning and restating of
the objectives
45

T What did we learn today?
Students looked at the board.
They reviewed the word timeline and
events
What are we going to do tomorrow?
They put their timelines in their folder.
T Are you going to work on it in Mr. Steins
room?
They were deciding whether to take it or
not.
T Let’s work on it tomorrow.
I think it was fine.
It was a very typical day. We have a close relationship.
Yes,
Yes
Since there are only 2 ELLs at similar levels, I can plan specifically for their needs.
If a co-taught or co-planned lesson, were you satisfied with the collaborative
roles and responsibilities?
Mr. Stein teachers 5th
grade, and I support him. I only have the students for 45
minutes. I take them out of part of language arts. I have been paying attention to
the story they are reading in his class. We read a summary of it, and I teach some
background vocabulary. I stay ahead of what he is doing. I wish that when they
return to the class they could be included more in the activities that the class does.
Mr. Stein is using cooperative learning the class so that helps. However, when the
students return, they have missed the first 45 minutes. He and I can talk every day.
We have agreed that I will give them work they can do in his class if they are not
involved with the other students.
again?
46

Not really. I just wish I could pull them out for the full 90 minutes. It is not always
easy for them to be involved in the classroom activities when they return because
they miss the first half.
She asked for ideas to teach the student that had no prior literacy skills. I suggested
using the Language Experience Approach. I explained that and told her she could
find LEA information in her binder in the section on reading strategies. I then told her
a personal teaching experience to demonstrate how to use LEA with a student who
has no literacy skills at all.
Feedback from the teacher to observer:
The teacher seemed receptive to the idea of using LEA and looked forward to trying
it.
Our time was up, so I didn’t have time to ask this question. If there is any additional
information you would like to give me, Alice, please don’t hesitate to do so.
Jeanette Gordon
47

5th grade observations

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