Aleks Todorovic

Observation Hours Set 1

Lesson Plan Reflection

After observing Mrs. Jennifer Ritchie for 5 hours in her 8th grade Language Arts class, I have
come to a few conclusions on her lesson plans. Mrs. Ritchie does an adequate job on gaining the
attention of her students. Although most of her students are engaged, there is a handful of them which
are not. Instead of yelling or waiting for them to give her their full attention, she just continues on with
the lesson. The objectives for the lesson or unit they are on as a class are stated on the board in I can
statements. Even though the objectives are stated on the board, the instructor never reads them aloud or
reminds the students of what they are. I feel the students knowing what they are learning and why is an
important part of education. Along with the objectives, the purpose was never stated to the class. Mrs.
Ritchie uses a mixture of different instructional strategies such as textbooks, worksheets, group work,
individual work, and technology. The instructor also checks for understanding regularly by asking
questions, asking students to create predictions, and asking students to summarize stories to ensure full
understanding. Closures are rarely given and are mostly unclear.
Mrs. Ritchie's lesson planning is okay although I believe she misses key parts of best practices
in lesson planning. Stating objective, establishing purpose, and closures are never 100% given to the
students. These I feel are important components in lesson planning because they give students an idea
of what they are learning, why they are learning the material, and ends each lesson with ease. Without
these, students are not given a stable and consistent learning environment.