Katie Zambito

1st Supervisor Observation Reflection

02/03/16
My formal observation lesson plan was based on the similarities and differences
between the sun and other stars. This lesson was student centered and based on student
conversations and partner work. The students are in the final stages of this concept and
will be testing on the information within the next week. Students were to work with a
partner to complete a cut and paste Venn Diagram activity in order to compare and
contrast the sun and other stars. Students were informally observed throughout the lesson
with the assistance of a checklist. Students were informally assessed based on three
divisions of criteria; accomplished, making progress, and needs improvement. As the
students worked with their partner, I circulated the room and listened to student
conversations and decisions throughout the activity. Analyzing the informal checklist
showed that two students were in the 'making progress' phase of learning while the
remainder of the class was in the 'accomplished' phase of learning. One student (MM)
chose to work with my cooperating teacher throughout the entire activity. After
discussing this specific students progress throughout the activity with my cooperating
teacher, she informed me that this student has accomplished this learning. I was informed
that this student was able to properly identify the location of each statement on the Venn
Diagram with the assistance of my cooperating teacher reading the statements on the
activity.
From engaging in this lesson, I learned that student movement is a powerful form
of engagement in lessons. By incorporating movement in the 'hook' of the lesson and
creating a 'human Venn Diagram' the students engagement increased and every student in
the class participated. After watching my video from my lesson, I noticed that the

Katie Zambito
1st Supervisor Observation Reflection
02/03/16
students were able to move throughout the hook without breaking any of the expected
rules that were stated prior to the activity. After 4:06 into the lesson, I set expectations for
the movement in the classroom and gave students a warning prior to beginning. The
students were given examples of things not to do while participating in the movement
activity (i.e. fussing, running, talking) and they were given a consequence if these rules
were broken (i.e. behavior chart clips will drop). I learned that setting expectations prior
to completing an activity and giving students the corresponding consequences will
decrease the likelihood of behavior issues throughout the activity. As seen in the video
(4:24), I also modeled the correct movements for the students in order to decrease
confusion on where they should stand once they reach the correct place on the 'human
Venn Diagram'. Based on this lesson, my goals for future lessons would be to incorporate
movement into more lessons. By allowing students to move throughout lessons helps
connect to students with different learning preferences. Movement can help create
memorable experiences for students in order to assist them in understanding and recalling
the information. I was able to incorporate kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learning styles
into the 'hook' of the lesson by writing/placing the terms on the board/Elmo, allowing
movement, and reading each sentence aloud for students.
After analyzing the video, I noted multiple times in which students were asked to
share their background knowledge with the class or with their partner. At 2:53 in the
video, I began the lesson by asking students a question about the specific chart that we
will use to document our learning (Venn Diagram). At 6:53 in the video, I asked the
students to recall their background knowledge about the term, 'numerous', in relation to
the science sentence shared (There are too many in the sky to count.). When grouping the

Katie Zambito
1st Supervisor Observation Reflection
02/03/16
students for the turn and talk activity, I set time limit expectations, order of speaking
expectations, and answering expectations. These expectations were set by a series of
statements such as; "Decide who will be talking first" (8:15) and "You have 2 minutes to
talk with your partner" (8:27). I also complimented the entire class for being able to
problem solve quickly and quietly with their turn and talk partner based on who will be
speaking first. When grouping students for the turn and talk activity, at 7:54 I paused to
reconsider placing two students together. These particular students tend to argue with one
another and are sometimes unproductive due to the argumentation that arises between
them. Therefore, I quickly adjusted and created a group of 3 to prevent these 2 students
from having to work with each other.
Before assigning partners to complete the Venn Diagram activity, I modeled the
correct format in which students would be expected to use to complete the worksheet
(15:40 in video). I purposefully selected to model the activity with my inquiry students,
CS (initials) because she often has difficulty with engagement in lessons. My wondering
is based on if her engagement levels are lower because she doesn't understand the
directions, or if there is another factor. Therefore, I chose to model the activity with her to
give her an extra opportunity to understand the spoken directions and ask any questions
before working with her partner.
By analyzing student data, I recognized that all students were able to properly
place the big ideas on the Venn Diagram. I recognized that every group of students
incorrectly placed the same statement on the Venn Diagram. After discussing this
particular statement with the entire class, I decided that the statement was not detailed

Katie Zambito
1st Supervisor Observation Reflection
02/03/16
enough for to students to accurately identify the correct placement on the diagram.
Therefore, this particular statement was removed from the assessment portion of the
activity because of the discrepancies between the meaning of the statement.