Teacher from Different Grade Band Observation Reflection Form

Teacher Candidate for Science Endorsement (and grade band): Kristen Muller 5th

Teacher from different grade band Initials: DM Grade band : K-2

School: Shallowford Falls Grade: 1st

Lesson Topic: Animals

Write a brief summary of your experiences observing this lesson, addressing the
following questions:

 In your opinion, what went well? What could be tweaked/improved? (Cite specific
examples. You can note specific things such as differentiation if it occurred, use
of technology, inquiry-based, etc).
Overall, the lesson went really well. She is an amazing teacher and it was exciting
to observe in a lower grade band. We ended up taking the Animal Lesson 2 and
dividing it. She did the introduction on one day (really day 3 of unit) and then I
continued the next day. It was neat to see the student excitement for science in
1st grade.

 How well were the lesson’s student performance objectives attained?

The objectives were attained because the students were receiving an
introduction to the needs of an animal- air, water, food, and shelter. This seemed
to be an easy concept for the students to understand and relate.

 Since this lesson was from a different grade band than you typically teach, were
you able to see vertical alignment of the science standards? Be specific in your
description of how either this teacher builds on your fundamentals (if you are in
a lower grade band and observed higher) OR how this teacher’s lesson gave the
fundamentals for which you (in a higher grade band) eventually build upon.
This lesson was way different than anything I teach in 5th. Usually at some point
in a lesson, there is note taking. This was all just class discussions and examples.
This specific lesson did not vertically align with the 5th grade standards, but builds
a foundation for many different science concepts that we cover and go more in
depth.
 Other reflections about the lesson?
I enjoyed being back in 1st grade. I hadn’t been in the lower teaching
environment in a few years and it was nice to see this age get really excited about
science. The expectations and understanding are very different than 5 th, but at
the end of the day, it is all learning. It is obvious their standards and assessments
are very different than the upper grades. Science is and should be fun in any
grade level!