11/11/15

Period 4
Year 8 English
Mary Zaki
Notes from Observing class:
-All students were instructed to stand behind their chairs to begin the class.
-Late students were left to wait outside until Mary had got the class working.
-Clear instructions to students about what book to take out and have in front of
them and a quick overview of the lesson topic were given before the students sat
down.
-Once the students were seated the instructions were repeated Mary waited for
all students to be listening before speaking.
-Prior knowledge was accessed and the students were reminded of their current
topic.
-Mary explained that they would be looking at the character traits of one
character from their film study.
-Mary asked a lot of leading questions, most students knew to put their hand up,
however Mary reminded students not to call out when necessary.
-Mary was aware of students who were not focusing or listening and would call
on them to answer questions. Using this technique, the majority of students were
engaged an understanding the topic.
-A volunteer wrote notes on the board while the students gave examples of
character traits
-Students were then set their main task to use the character traits discussed in
a table (from a unit booklet) to explain why the character had those traits and
what parts of the film were evidence of this.
-Students were given the choice of whiting this by hand or using their iPads
-Mary set a time that they needed to have the first three traits finished by, this
was an achievable amount for people who were working to a moderate pace but
still gave some form of deadline for the students to work to, which helped keep
them on task.
- Mary walked around to check that the students were on task and to offer help
where needed

-If Mary noticed that a few students were making the same mistake or not
understanding a particular element of the task she would quickly address the
whole class to re-explain the correct process or requirement.
- Students were allowed to talk a little and Mary was not as strict about the
chatter as I get in classes like this. The students seemed to appreciate this and
were not getting out of control. It might help me to be a little less demanding of
silence , particularly in Civics/Business classes, when the students are working
individually but chatting.
-Most students had moments of being off task but would generally re-focus
themselves after a minute or two. For students who were getting off track for too
long, Mary would remind them that they needed to be up to a particular section
of the work by a set time.
-Mary was flexible to move in and out of small moments of discussion if it was
prompted by students questions. This discussion was relevant, student led and
gave the opportunity for advanced students to consider deeper meaning in the
film.
- Mary was adaptable and quick thinking when problems arose such as students
not having their booklet.
-A reflection time at the end was a great way to finish the lesson as it brought
the class back together and assessed that they all understood the task. This took
the form of quickly correcting the first three character traits; Students were
called on to share their answers to the character traits and once again Mary
ensured that quieter and less focused students were called on to give answers as
well as the students who were highly engaged and eager to answer.
-Mary would ask more questions leading off the students first answers in order
to prompt deeper thinking from them.
-A clear reminder was given about homework requirements and the
consequences for not doing it were also clearly stated.
-Students stood behind their chairs to be dismissed.
-The students who were late were kept back and spoken to.