Social Studies Structured Observation Guide

As you observe social studies being taught in the elementary classroom, reflect on the following aspects
of the lesson. In your write-up of the observation please address each of these areas.
Lesson Introduction How was the lesson introduced? How were connections made between students
prior knowledge and the new ideas to be learned?
My teacher asked them about slavery and when it began, and how it affected America and North Carolina.
She had them tell her what president ended segregation and how Abraham Lincoln signed the
emancipation proclamation. They talked about his presidency. She then told them their object and what
they were going to get from this lesson. They began with a warm up paragraph and question about the
state capitol moving to Raleigh, NC. Then they began talking about diversity and how personality and
physical appearances of people are different. They talked about culture and how people interacted in the
old capitol and how the change made since.
Purpose of Lesson What was the purpose or intent of the lesson? Were students aware of what they
were going to learn and why it is relevant to them?
The students knew what they were going to read about and study about. This information was relevant to
their class and what they have already been studying. In social studies and reading, theyve been learning
about slavery and how it affected Americans. They are also reading historical fictions during the great
depression based around African Americans. They were studying biographies and learning about different
historical figures and how they made changes to be the way we were today.
Instructional Delivery What methods were used in conveying the new information?
The instruction was given directly and orally by the teacher, she briefly walks through it, and they talk
about the questions so they can answer them after theyve read it together. She points out any text features
they see and points them out to key details and diagraphs. Then they take turns around the room popcorn
reading the chapter. After theyve read the chapter together, they then individually read it to answer the
TextBox questions throughout the chapter. This helps their understanding and checks to see if theyre
getting what they need to out of the textbook.
Closure How was closure carried out in this lesson?
She closes the lessons with them taking the review quiz after theyve went through the questions the next
lesson together. Then they talk about the quiz and what the students liked and thought were hard. She will
relate their learning to their experiences and to their learning. They discuss and talk about what changes
have happened and need to happen to continue to make positive changes in our future.
Lesson Outcomes Do you feel the goals and objectives of the lesson were met? Why or Why not? Did
students experience success with the assignments given to them?
I didnt see the grades from the assessment, but they seemed to logically add to the conversation and
discussion about their reading and adding depth to what theyve learned from prior social studies lessons
and the books their reading. They also made connections to themselves, their books, and their families.
For example, this wasnt a connection made in social studies but it was like so impressive to me and made
me feel like the yes, this is exactly what I want. A girl made a connection about the great depression
and how America felt when 9/11 hit. And she made the connection that her grandfather was supposed to
be at the world trade center but her baby brother was born a couple days before so he wasnt. She made

the connection with so much passion and emotion. It was really great, it wasnt necessarily the best
connection, but it was personal and they understood it. They are very smart 4 th graders who are so
intelligent and just want to succeed.
Classroom Management What classroom management strategies/techniques were of interest to you as
you observed this class?
I observed two different teachers at my school, so when I was in this teachers class I tried to have more
of a style more like hers rather than my CT teacher. I left some of my own, but I tried to be more upfront
and direct like this teacher, rather than being more open about things. A good point was brought up, that
the way the teachers run their curriculum for reading and social studies are more of the classes students
need to stay in their desks and have a more direct way of teaching. They have their time to read and work
together in their literature circle groups, but the stay in their desks majority of the time.
Lesson Reactions What were the strengths of this lesson? What aspects might you change or do
differently if you were responsible for teaching this material?
The conversation was rich and filled with depth of knowledge from this lesson. I liked that students
wanted to share and be involved in the conversation. I liked that the students were interested in learning
more about this time period and learning about different things that affected our state and our nation.
There was a clear way to check to see if they understood it, or at least could look it up to find the answer.
These were all things I liked about the lesson. I would like to try and make the lesson different then
reading directly out of the textbook and answering questions. I wish that it could be more engaging and
hands-on. A lesson can be direct but more appealing and have some hands-on part to it. It doesnt have to
be the exact same thing every time that social studies is taught. I would like to get them out of their seats
more and more excited about their learning even though they did provide a very meaningful conversation.
Personal Reflections- What will you take away from this experience that will impact your future social
studies teaching?
This lesson helped me give the students a lesson that they were used too. I personally dont think
we should directly teach out of a textbook, we need to go out and learn from our environment and other
resources. Although, during this time they were experiencing very wacky schedules with me and another
UNCC in and out of the classroom with them. They also had to deal with map testing for two or three
days. They had several other interruptions like assemblies, rocket Ryan, and book buddies. There was a
lot going on, so the fact that social studies was consistent and wasnt something new was probably
something that worked well. Students need some sort of repetition and schedule, because changes make it
really hard to work and focus on your learning.
I learned that not everything is as easy as we anticipate and that because you think youre going
to have enough time to do your entire lesson sometimes that isnt always the case. By the time I was
finished with reading and the other things the students had to do, that I wasnt aware of, I had 15 minutes

to give my entire lesson. So my lesson wasnt as deep and meaningful as I would have liked it to have
been. I really would have liked to read it to them or read it with them chorally because popcorn reading is
proven to be ineffective. I disagree with that, even though it is done so often in schools and my teacher
did this with my students. I feel like this hurts student self-confidence sometimes. I followed her model
that they had been used during this lesson. She walks them through the text, picking apart the questions
and determining what paragraph they need to reference for the Textbox questions.
In my lesson, I hoped to at least walk through the text and number their
paragraphs to figure out where the answers were for the questions so when they
went back to read the chapter, they would be able to find the answers without
having to read the whole entire page. We need to teach our students to work
smarter not harder. We need to teach them to skim, which is basically what the
teacher modeled and what I wanted to model.
This lesson helped me figure out what I needed to do for my students
because thats what they were used to and you cant continuously change their
schedules all the time. They need stability and I liked that social studies offered a
stability that they hadnt had much of in the month of February and March. Overall,
Ive learned so many things I hope to take with me and some things I hope to not
continue in my class.