Meagan CO#2

The second observation took place again in Mrs. Ledbetter's class, but this time it was for speaking.  The setup was the same and she made sure to have the complete lesson followed by the times written on the board.  The lesson was comprised into two parts: a worksheet that practiced speaking(especially inflection and enunciation) and utilizing deductive skills and a really cool guessing game called Headbandz.  Before Mrs. Ledbetter began the active lesson, she made sure to engage the students in a friendly discourse about ever having an awkward moment and then asking students about the days, weeks, and months.  It was a good conversation as it built the schema for the speaking activity.

The active lesson was a worksheet where students had to vocally answer questions by yes/no or describing it. The interesting portion of the activity was the last three questions that were only pictures of three different scenes: a baby sitting in a pumpkin patch with a lady bug outfit, a young girl ferociously picking her nose, and a man yelling at the dinner table with a knife and fork in his hands. The objective was for students to describe as much about these photos as possible.  Mrs. Ledbetter kept them engaged by asking questions like, "What season could it be in the baby photo?" or "Is that man really hungry, and if so, what makes you think so?".  The activity not only practiced their speaking, but tested their ability to connect the dots and recall their memory of past knowledge (i.e. that man is yelling; people usually yell when they are excited or frustrated, so he must be frustrated from hunger).

My favorite part of the observation was the Headbandz game.  The objective was for one person to pick a card without looking, place it in the headband and on top of their head, and then ask questions to the other players so they can guess whats on the card.  It relied heavily on each students ability to cleverly pose a question or state a description in order to correctly guess the card.  It was a perfect activity for students to engage in as they could speak without feeling intimidated or lost (lower affective filters)  and enjoy themselves.  It also encouraged student participation amongst themselves and with Mrs. Ledbetter.

Again, I really enjoy observing Mrs. Ledbetter's classes as her amiable nature allows her students to feel comfortable and that they achieve a part or all of the lesson in every class.  Furthermore, she makes sure everyone knows the lesson plan and is clear of the directions before moving forward.  And if students have trouble or do not understand, she will model the example and write/draw it on the board.