Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Elementary Education Program

Pre-Observation Form

Directions: This form is to be completed prior to every lesson that will be observed by the mentor
teacher or university supervisor. It is to be submitted no later than 3 business days prior to the actual
observation along with your lesson plans.

Name: Anna Schlesinger Date: November 11, 2017

1. What is the topic of your lesson?

Hunger and Friendship

2. Why are you teaching this lesson? What is your rationale for teaching it?
I am teaching this lesson as a way to cultivate student thought on hunger and
friendship. Kindergarten is the ideal time for students to begin learning about
relationships and what it means to be a friend. It is also important for them to
begin understanding social problems in the world around them, like hunger, and
simple ways they can help.

3. What is your Teaching Behavior Focus? Why did you choose this?
My teaching behavior focus is to foster student engagement throughout the
discussion. I chose this focus because this can be a heavy topic for students
and it is important to have discourse to allow for discussion, thoughts, and
questions.

4. Why did you design your instruction in this lesson the way that you did? Why did
you choose this way of teaching the lesson (e.g., Was the idea from a methods
course? From your mentor teacher? Another source?)
I designed my instruction as a read aloud because I see this as best fit to
captivate the attention of kindergarteners when it comes to difficult topics to
discuss. The topics of hunger and friendship are still addressed, but a level
appropriate for kindergarten. The format I am following is from my reading
instruction methods course.

5. As you are thinking through this lesson, what do you believe will be the most
challenging part of this lesson for you when you teach it? Why?
I think the most challenging part of this lesson will be making sure students
understand the topics. I do not want the ideas to go over their heads, so I want
to ensure that I use appropriate language and discourse to foster their learning.
6. How will you know if your learning outcomes for the students are met
successfully?

I will know if my learning outcomes for students are met through their discourse
and take-aways from the read aloud.

7. How will your classroom management support the learning outcomes?

My classroom management will support the learning outcomes as I will vary how
students answer questions and think about the book. I will ensure that students
remain focused by keeping the read aloud interesting and thought provoking. I
will do this through changing voices and having questions thought of ahead of
time.

8. List 1-3 areas which you would like for your observer to pay particular attention.
Why do you want your observer to focus on these areas?
- How I read the story (voice changes, excitement, tone of voice)
- Questioning (are my questions age appropriate?)
- Positive and appropriate classroom management

I want my observer to focus on these areas because I want to make sure I am

being engaging and age appropriate to the students. I think sometimes I think I
am doing these things, but I would like another set of eyes to watch on what I
could improve on. Classroom management is big in kindergarten and I would
like to see if what I have learned throughout my time observing is now coming
into use when I teach a lesson myself.

9. Is there anything else you would like your observer to know before the
observation?
N/A