Observation of Mellisa Doran November 6, 2013 Grade 12 Review of the novel Animal Farm Focus: Test tomorrow Ms.

Doran taught one of the best review lessons seen this semester as the students were preparing for the Animal Farm exam. The room was split into two teams. Ms. Doran explained to the students that one person from each team would come to the front of the room and sit at two specific desks. They would be given a paddle to hold up in the air meaning they knew the answer. If no one knew, the question would go back in the bank. If the person with the paddle in the air first was wrong, then the other team would be allowed to answer the question, but they needed to raise their hand. If this person was wrong, then the question went back to the other team. The points given for correct answers were automatically scored at the bottom of the Smart Board screen. The game was set up in a Jeopardy mode with many categories of difficulty. One of the students in front of the room would pick the category providing their team answered the previous question correctly. Ms. Doran monitored the game so every student had at least three turns in front of the room. She made the rule very clear that a hand must be raised if the two students in front did not know the answer. The students enjoyed the game, but the room was also very orderly. The students knew they would take a turn, so no one could let their other team members do all of the work. Most impressively, Ms. Doran turned every answer given into another general question for anyone to answer in the room. This technique took the review to a whole new level because many parts of the book were discussed and references were made to chapters the students may have forgotten about. Also, Ms. Doran displayed a lot of enthusiasm with nice comments being made for correct answers. The class ended with an exit activity where the students were asked to write seven sentences about why they liked or disliked the novel with concrete examples and reasons. This work was collected as the students left the room. The class was managed very professionally, and all students experienced a great review. Mr. Lee Baranik, Supervisor Curriculum and Instruction, 495C