Observation/Reflection Form

Multiple and Single Subject Candidates

Teacher Candidate: Ms. Towne Date: November 27, 2015 Subject: Reading Grade: 5th
CCSS: RL.5.2 Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in the poem reflects
upon a topic; summarizes the text.
TPE: 5.1 Candidates clearly communicate instructional objectives to students.
5.2 Candidates ensure the active and equitable participation of all students.
Observer of Lesson (circle one):

master teacher (X)

peer colleague

self/candidate

1. Open-ended observation - (A minimum one page dialogue with discussion/insights

Indicate which section of the lesson being discussed- beginning, middle or end-)
T- Okay, I want each of you to start reading out loud to yourselves.
T- You guys should be reading out loud to yourselves, but just quietly.
T- Belinda, can you start just reading to me? Just from wherever you are. You dont have to start
from the beginning.
B- (Reading the text) We have plenty of time. The storm wont really hit until later this
afternoon.
T- Leo, can you just start reading to me wherever youre at?
L- (Reading the text) Raylee walked through the house. She looked under bedsShe saw
Chomper by the fence. Come back, now! Raylee yelled. Chomper wouldnt come
T- You can keep reading by yourself Leo. Thank you.
T- Ashley, can you read out loud for me? Just wherever youre at.
2. Insights: It was difficult for me to understand what my students were saying because the room
was loud and it was hard to hear them if they were not speaking up and annunciating clearly. I
could hear all of them talking and reading the text aloud in my recording, but I had trouble with
understanding and comprehending what they were saying in their recording because of the noise
of the classroom and the other students and my master teacher. I listened to all of the recording,
and the only students I could clearly understand in my recording were Belinda and Leonardo,
because they were the closest to the recorder. The other 3 students that I was instructing were
hard to hear and I could not tell who said what. They all need to learn how to speak clearly and
read with fluency.
3. Does candidate communicate instructional objective to students? Yes (X) No___ What is
it? (TPE 1) The instructional objective is that after reading the story, students will be able to
identify 3 ways the character responds to various challenges.
4. Does candidate have a performance task/assessment tied to the learning objective by
which to measure students progress toward achieving standard? If results of students
work are known, how well did students achieve understanding of the content standard?
(TPE 3) I had the students write 3 challenges that the main character went through in the story,

which was my objective for the students. Each student was able to write 3 challenges the main
character in the story faced. Even though all 5 students were able to complete the objective and
standard, a few of them did not put enough detail in their writing. Out of the 5 students, the
highest performing student that achieved the standard/objective of the lesson got a 1, the lowest
performing student received a 5, and the rest of the middle performing students received a 2, 3,
and 4.
5. Does candidate explain content clearly? Describe how candidate reinforced content, such
as the use of written and oral presentation, manipulatives, physical models, diagrams,
visual and performing arts, non-verbal communication, or technology. (TPE 4) I explained
the content clearly. I made sure to explain the objective to each student individually as to ensure
every student was clear on what they were supposed to do and what was expected of them. I
reinforced the content by having them write 3 challenges the main character went through in the
story in order to see how well they comprehended the text and were able to summarize what they
read. I also presented the content orally, because I gave them oral directions and asked questions
about the story content.
6. Does the candidate ensure student engagement by making instruction relevant and
extending students thinking with stimulating and challenging questions, projects,
discussions, debates, or investigations? How so, or how might this be improved? (TPE 5)
One of the ways that I was able to extend the students thinking was by asking them stimulating
questions like What would happen if...? and Why do you think? The students had to know
the content well enough to answer those questions, because they are questions that they have to
come up with themselves and are not found in the book. I also extended their thinking by having
them do an extension writing activity that outlined 3 challenges that the main character
experienced.
7. Is the candidates lesson and instructional activity challenging, yet developmentally
appropriate, for students grade and skill levels? How so or how might it be improved?
(TPEs 6 and 8) I think my activity was just right for the students. I know they were having some
trouble with thinking and writing about the challenges the main character experienced. It was a
pretty easy to find the various challenges if one could not remember because the students could
just go back in the book and look for the challenges the main character faced. It was not a super
challenging activity, because the answers were within the book. If I were to improve my activity,
I would have had a different writing prompt. I would have had the students make a text-to-self
connection. They would write about a time they faced a challenge and how they were able to
overcome the challenge.
8. Did the candidate make adjustments in the lesson for English learners? (TPE 7) How? I
made sure to speak slowly and clearly so all students were able to understand me. When I
explained the directions, I made sure to ask each student if they comprehended the instructions
and if they had any questions. I had a short time when I worked with each individual student, so I
was able to help with their specific needs since I was just working with one student at a time.
9. Do students have adequate time to practice and apply what they learned? Describe
candidates use of instructional time (pacing and carrying out procedural tasks and

transitions). (TPE 10) This was not really a lesson for the students to be able to practice and
apply what they learned, because we were all reading the same amount of text and I was just
doing quality control to ensure they were all reading with fluency.
10. Describe how candidate monitored student learning during instruction. (TPE 2) One of
the ways that I was able to monitor student learning during instruction was having all of the
students in close proximity to me. We were all sitting around a circular table, so all of us were
sitting closely together. There was not any time for goofing off or not being focused. Even
though I was taking turns working with each student throughout the lesson, I could hear and see
the other students. I would be able to hear and see if any of them were off task. Luckily, I did not
have to do anything to keep the students working. All 5 of the students were behaving really well
and doing what they were supposed to be doing.
11. Describe candidates maintenance of student discipline through classroom management
and leadership for the successful delivery of the lesson. (TPE 11) All of the students I was
working with were in close proximity to me, so it was easy for me to manage all of them and
lead them in instruction and lesson content. All I had to do was to talk to each student
individually explaining the directions and what I expected of them, and they obeyed without
hesitation.
12. Does the candidate provide evidence of high quality instructional planning (e.g., written
lesson plan; standards-based objectives; assessment plan)? (TPE 9) (Submit the draft of the
lesson plan with Prof. initials and revised/adjusted lesson plan, if the lesson had to be revised.)
Yes, I have the original lesson plan with the professors initials and also the revised lesson plan. I
always make sure to make my lesson plans really detailed so that anyone is able to teach my
lessons.
13. How will you use what you learned from this lesson experience to plan for future
instruction? (TPE 13) I will try and have more group things planned for a guided reading. I
want it to be more interactive with the students. I had them mostly concentrating on their writing
assignments, so it was really quiet and I had a lot of down time. I was taking notes on their
performances while they were reading to me, and how their personalities were affecting their
quality of work. I also need to be more clear as to what the objective of the lesson is. I think it
was clear, but I dont think the students were really clear on what they were supposed to do.
They said they understood what the objective is for the writing assignment, but when I received
their work, but only a few of the students were able to correctly complete the assignment.