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Classroom Observation At Beiger Elementary School

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When you walk into Amy Zache’s warm and inviting first grade classroom at Beiger Elementary School, you are greeted by twenty three of the most beautiful smiling faces. These thirteen boys and ten girls have a passion for learning that is clearly fueled by the positive energy of Mrs. Zache. Although all of the students are Caucasian, with the exception of one Caucasian and African American boy, she does an excellent job of integrating other cultures into her lessons. Along with worrying about the integration of different cultures, Mrs. Zache must worry about how to make accommodations for the four students with speech IEP’s, one student with a sever cognitive disorder who has an IEP, four boys on ADHD medication, and multiple other students …show more content…

Reading workshop is taught in a self-contained classroom. All students are in groups based on level and meet with the teacher 4-5 times per week for differentiated instruction. During the whole group instruction the students go over letters, letter sounds, sight words, vocabulary words, and any other words the students need to know that connect to readings that are being done in other lessons. Word study is taught through daily phonics, spelling, whole class word work, and small group instruction. They use word tiles, magnetic letters, dry erase boards and stamps for these activities. Mrs. Zache has made her word work lessons indirect instruction because the students know what they are supposed to be doing and can do it without a lot of help from the teacher. During word work the students have a list of “must do’s” and “may do’s” that they need to complete. Mrs. Zache is not a fan of centers, which let her to come up with this idea. Students have assignments that must get done, “must do’s”, and once they are finished with these they are able to do any of the “may do’s.” According to Tompkins (2014), “teachers collect and analyze data from observations, conferences, and classroom tests, and then use the results to make decisions about students’ academic achievement and plan interventions” (p.31). These are also the same reasons Mrs. Zache assesses the children in her classroom. On example of how students are assessed is on their “must do’s”, but not on their “may do’s.” These “may do’s” include matching letters or letter sound games, old work that needs to be finished, etc. As students are working on these, reading teachers are pulling small groups out of the classroom to work with them and Mrs. Zache pulls small groups of students to give them more help. During this time she is also able to assess their abilities and make notes

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