PRE-OBSERVATION INFORMATION

2016-17
Teacher: Victoria Harriman

Date and Time for Observation: March 30, 2017

Domain 1:
*Please have the following available during the observation: a formal lesson plan, your lesson plan book,
and this pre-observation form.
How do you plan instruction based on student assessment data (both long term and short term)? What data sets
did you use? What do you know about these students, where they are, and where do they need to be as a result
of your instruction?
Before each unit, the students are given a pre-assessment to determine what
material they already know. This also helps us determine what the students already
know on the subject as well as what things they still are unfamiliar with. After each
lesson, we also have students complete an activity that involves science writing, so
that we have an understanding of who has mastered that topic. At the end of each
unit, students are given a formal assessment, which indicates whether they have
mastered all of the concepts that have been taught to them. All of these
assessments allow us to see where each student is and what their specific needs are
within our instruction.
Our home room class is a very diverse group! Many students have an IEP in
place. Our science students need continuous repetition. Because we consistently
use informal observations to see where the students are, we can determine
the students that need to be retaught or need enrichment. Several of the
students in this class are very high energy, and struggle with paying
attention. Several students have behavior charts in place as a technique to
help the students understand what is expected of them during the lesson.
How do you engage in on-going reflection to promote student achievement; cite an example.
After every lesson, we reflect on what went well in the lesson and what
we need to change. We also look at if there are things that we should include
in our lesson plans for next time.
Many of the students excelled at learning about the three types of
clouds, so I have planned this lesson in order to further student achievement
about the weather, deeper than the expectation from the objectives.
Knowing that indicator 3.5 has changed to include student-driven inquiry, how do you plan for this within your
daily/weekly lessons?
 For this topic specifically, students did show insightful interest in
learning more about the weather, including degrees and temperature which
led to the designing of this lesson. In general, I plan for student-driven
inquiry by having students ask questions and answer their own questions in
order to facilitate their thinking and inquiries in different subjects.

Domain 2:
Describe and evaluate the variety of formal and informal assessments you use to drive instruction. How do you
ensure that your assessments are aligned with the AZCCRS?
We use various forms of assessment. One of the informal assessments
we use daily is informal observations. These observations are done while
students are doing independent practice. Formative assessments are also
used to drive instruction in the form of assessing completed work at the end
of class. This helps us determine what concepts need clarification as well as
what concepts we can move on with. The formal assessment is given at the
unit and measures how well they have mastered the objective. Depending on
the results of these assessments, we determine whether we need to go back
and re-teach the concepts. The formal assessment given through the science
curriculum is aligned with the new common core standards.
Domain 4:
Describe the research based classroom strategies and grouping techniques you use in your room.
In this classroom, students seats are arranged to be group so that a
very diverse group of students sit at each table. On the carpet, some
students that struggle have assigned seats, including those that need extra
support or buddies to help them understand topics. Other students are free
to choose their seat on the carpet. These grouping techniques allow for
strong conversations and allows students to help those at their table who
need extra support.
Technology (How do you use technology in your planning and teaching?)
This lesson includes technology in the use of the Smart Board, where
students can interact with the thermometer as well as have access to the
internet where the current temperature is. Students often use technology for
 science in other lessons, including researching topics and completed science
based lessons on the computer.
Using indicator 4.6, briefly describe a lesson that you have taught this year that required your students to
engage in creative and critical thinking and/or problem solving.
Students often engage in problem solving lessons in mathematics.
Students completed at least one problem solving question each day in math,
and have just participated recently in a lesson regarding problem solving
with three digit subtraction. Students had to think critically about what the
words were saying in order to solve the problem, as well as relate words to
what they have already learned about subtraction.
Domain 5:
Critique ways you collaborate, plan, support, and interact with colleagues professionally.
At the beginning of each unit, the second grade team meets to decide
the general ideas for the unit and what they should include by the end of the
unit. Next, my cooperating teacher Ryan and I met and mapped out the
specific details and lessons for the entire science unit. Throughout the units,
the 2nd grade team communicates about lessons that went well, lessons that
needed to be retaught, and other patterns that may be useful for maximizing
student achievement. Teachers support each other by sharing assessments,
activities, and ideas throughout the unit.

List the staff development activities you have been involved in and evaluate the evidence you have gathered
that they have strengthened your knowledge and skills that support and enhance student outcomes.
The staff development activities that I have been involved in that
would strengthen student outcomes for science include the latest
professional developments on poverty and understanding our students,
given by the school counselor Yemen. I feel that by being given a better
understanding of where my students are coming from, as well as an
explanation to behaviors that we see in the classroom I can better ensure
that my lessons are planned accordingly.
In my post-conference, I would like feedback about:
 How I can improve my science lessons to be more student-driven

Lesson Plan Format for Supervisor Observations

Title: Temperature, Clouds/ Weather Unit

Subject/Grade Level/ Date(s): Science, 2nd grade, March 30, 2017

School: Prince Elementary, Tucson AZ

Time Frame: 35 minutes

Materials List:
-Smart Board
-Weather Unit Slides
-crayons (red, orange, green, blue, purple)
-completed student/ teacher thermometers
-notebooks
-pencils

Type of Lesson: whole group

Connection to Standards:
PO 4. Analyze the relationship between clouds, temperature, and weather
patterns.
http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/k-12standards/standards-science/
Standard 1: The student will listen actively to the ideas of others in order to acquire new
knowledge.
HI-6: following multiple step directions which include prepositions.
Standard 2: The student will express orally his or her own thinking and ideas.

http://www.azed.gov/english-language-learners/elps/
Instructional Objective: Students will be able to relate a given temperature to how weather
feels.

Language Objective: Students will be able to follow multiple step directions.

Students will be able to share their own ideas to a partner or the class.

Relevancy: The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand that we

depict weather by how it feels outside, as well as how to read a thermometer in
degrees fahrenheit. These are both very necessary life skills.

Check for Understanding: Throughout my lesson, I will be using a selection of

strategies to check for understanding. During the lesson, I will be asking students
to think pair share about the weather and the names of clouds. During
independent practice, I will be using specific questions to help understand
student thinking and check for understanding. At the end of the lesson, I am
checking for understanding in the closure activity.

Learning Connections: The vocabulary that will be presented in this lesson

connects to ELA standards of vocabulary development, as well as science
standards for vocabulary with regards to this unit. Students have received prior
instruction on the three types of clouds and have been observing the weather
through nature walks, which will help them tremendously in this activity.

Anticipatory Set: Students will join the teacher on the carpet, and using known
hand movements they will review the three types of clouds. (5 minutes)

Guided Practice: The teacher will remind the students of the thermometer that
they completed last week. Next, the teacher will instruct the students on how to
use the thermometer, including how to slide the inside up and down. The teacher
will show the students that when the temperature reads 110 degrees, it would be
very hot outside. The teacher will continue to fill in all the sections of the side of
the thermometer (hot, warm, cool, cold, freezing). (10 min)

Independent Practice: Students will go back to their seats, and will practice
moving their thermometers to three different temperatures and writing in their
notebooks what type of weather they might see outside. (15 minutes)

Closure: Students will observe the weather outside, and move their thermometers
to a guess of what the temperature looks like outside. The teacher will then show
students a current weather prediction for that day on the smartboard to check
their answers. (5 min)

Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be assessed based on the work in their

notebook, where their work will be graded on completion and to check for
understanding.

3 2 1
Student was on task and Student was on task most of the Student was not on task
Noteboo
respectful to group time and respectful to group and/or not respectful to
k member/ teacher. Student members/ teacher most of the group members/ teacher.
has three correct time. Student has two correct Student has less than two
Weather
temperatures and temperatures and explanations of correct explanations of
explanations of weather. weather. weather.

Modifications/Differentiation: Some students will receive modification in this

lesson, by being given the temperatures they will explain. Students will also be
given modifications by having sentence starters, and their thermometer sections
written for them.
When students are finished, they can read the weather books that are in the
classroom or finish other weather projects that are not completed.