This week I observed the students in different settings than the previous week. I went to music class, physical and health education (PHE) class, and to the library this week.
The students seem to really enjoy music class and readily participate in the singing and movements when necessary.
It became obvious that the students who maybe aren’t enjoying music class so much ask to go to the bathroom and take their time returning. I really enjoyed seeing the music teachers classroom management strategies. These included a laminated picture of a hand in the air which said “Give Me Five” across it, which she had on a magnet stuck to the board so that anytime a student called out she would point to the picture or take the picture off the board and to move it closer to the student. This was very effective as the students quickly became quiet and raised their hand if they had a question or something to say (sometimes the student was content once they had spoken aloud) and it did not take away from the teaching occurring at the same time. She also drew lines to complete a star as the students behaved accordingly – sometimes she even invited the students to come draw a part of the star. Lastly, when choosing students she had the simple system of two envelopes with titled “waiting for a turn” and “had a turn” which ensured her selection was fair.
Physical and Health Education was fun to watch because the students clearly enjoy the freedom of running around. I chose to observe this class because the teacher was beginning the healthy eating section of the curriculum. As I feared, the students were a little restless and I would say only half paying attention to the short conversation about how to stay healthy. That being said, it was nice to see that this portion of the curriculum does not need to take up an entire class rather short conversations can be a start.
Library is becoming more intriguing since it has become not only a time where students exchange books but where students are engaging in becoming an author and illustrator. When the students were told they would be using Ipads (although for next class) to become an author and illustrator of their own book there were lots of cheers and smiles. I am excited to see how this develops in the following weeks.
This week it became more obvious that Mondays can be difficult for the students to settle back into the school routine. I plan to use this observation to create lessons on these days that require a little less or that are more personalized to the students.
See Week 2 for more information.