Field Visit #1 Observing

I really enjoyed my first time back in our classroom since fall semester. It was interesting to see what was new and what had stayed the same regarding our classroom, the students, and even the teacher! The desks are in a new arrangement now as a sort of horseshoe and there are some new things on the bulletin boards. I especially noticed that the science board now has several vocabulary lists for different topics on it that are probably going to be very important for the SOLs. It's nice to see some changes like these that give the room a new and exciting atmosphere. However, I also noticed that one of the bigger bulletin boards has not changed at all since we first started our field placement in the fall. Some of the students looked a little older and taller and some looked the same. It is also possible that there may be a new student in the class because a staff member from the office came in looking for a boy whose name we did not recognize from the fall.

I felt like it was very easy to get back into the groove of our classroom. The kids remembered us and the teacher was very friendly and accommodating. We already knew the students' names and the daily schedule which helped as well. We observed the students during their language arts period in which they participated in reading groups. Many of the students left the room and of those that remained, three worked with the teacher at a kidney-shaped table while another three worked independently at their desks and then they switched places. The students working independently read to themselves, but were also free to move about the classroom and to use the computer. We also observed our teacher's block one science class. This was very helpful to see because we will probably be teaching our unit to this block one science class. They were working on habitats. The teacher split them up into groups of three and gave them a large piece of paper and a few books on a specific habitat. The students were asked to draw a picture of their habitat, using specific animals and plants that they found in the books that actually live in that habitat. It was interesting to observe the dynamics of different groups. In several cases, it appeared that two students were taking charge while another followed the directions of the other two. Some groups seemed to be lagging behind at the beginning. By the time we left though, they all seemed to be working hard on their projects.

I was impressed by how smoothly the day seemed to be running given that they were on a two-hour delay schedule. I think the daily schedule and routines of the classroom helped the students to settle into their work. The teacher seemed very flexible as well. This is important since there are so many interruptions that occur in a classroom throughout the school year. I had a good first experience in our classroom for this semester and I am glad I got to observe both our regular class and this science class on our first time back in the classroom.