First Week of Observations

On my first day doing observations I had the chance to observe 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grade, which are the levels that were assigned to me. I was very nervous because I didn´t know what to expect. I was really intrigued about how the teacher handles kinds’ behavior, so the first lessons were enlightening for me because I found out some techniques to do it. I was paying close attention on how the teacher delivered instructions, and I notice that she follows the same structure at all lessons, so the kids are used to these patterns. For example, she starts every lesson asking them to put everything away and clear their desks to make them focus on what she is going to say. After this, she starts with the date and then work on a warm up and introduces the topic. At the end of the class they have to clean their desks again. She also draws instructions on the board step by step. For example: 1. Open book on page 40 (and she draws a book with the page number on it). 2. Draw (and she draw a pencil). Kids are already familiar with this structure, so they always understand what they have to do right away. Then, I also notice how she asks them to sit or to be quiet. She counts until three or threat them by telling them that their break will be shorter. All these little tips are going to be very useful for me since I don´t have a clue on how to work with little kids.

Some of the topics reviewed during that week were feelings and family members. I realized that lessons are mainly focused on drawings, posters, and flash cards. Every activity is always represented with an image. Since they are still learning to write, most activities are about drawing, coloring, identifying, matching, and repeating.