Field Observation Packet

Stephanie Felix

Introduction to Special Education 203

Field Observation Packet

Spring 2020
 Youtube Video Analysis Activity 1

One Teach, One Assist Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoBUb4ZpgyI

1. Was the video filmed within the United States?

This video was filmed in a kindergarten class in the United States. The video films a

collaborative lesson taught by a General Education teacher and a Special Education teacher. The

teachers in this lesson use the co-teaching strategy, one teaching, one assisting.

2. Did this teacher use any strategies or techniques that would be more fun, more creative, or

more beneficial to students in a Reading, Writing/ Language Arts/English/ Grammar, or Math

class?

A strategy that the teacher used to make this lesson more fun was incorporating a holiday

celebration into the lesson. The teacher incorporated the idea of Thanksgiving and turkeys into a

lesson to teach students about sentences. The lesson was designed to not only teach students how

to form a sentence, but to also teach students about the first Thanksgiving. The concept of

Thanksgiving really seemed to excite the students and get them eager to learn. Additionally, the

teacher also called the scrambled sentence a “twisted turkey” to make the lesson more enjoyable.

3. What accommodations and modifications did the teacher use if or for the students within his

or her classroom that were Special Needs? If the teacher did not have any Special Needs students

in her classroom, which I prefer you to try to find, but if you did not, what strategies did he or

she use that could be applied to a wide range of students with Special Needs?
 The main accommodation for students with Special Needs in this class was the Special

Education teacher being present in class. The General Education teacher and the Special

Education teacher used a collaborative teaching model to teach this lesson. While the General

Education teacher taught the lesson, the Special Education teacher assisted. During the whole

group lesson the General Education teacher stood in front of the class and led the lesson, whie

the Special Education teacher stood behind the students and prompted those that needed help.

When it was time for group work, both the General Education teacher and the Special Education

teacher walked around the class helping students who needed extra help with reading their words

and constructing their sentences. With this extra teacher in the class creating a smaller

teacher-to-student ratio, students with and without Special Needs were able to get more attention

and specialized help. After the group work, each group stood before the class and read the

sentence together. Both the General Education and Special Education teacher helped students

read and sound out the words as needed. As the lesson transitioned back to whole group learning,

the Special Education teacher helped make the transitions smoother by redirecting students and

guiding them towards the next activity. All throughout the lesson, the teacher was constantly

repeating her words as she looked students in the eyes to make sure they were listening.

4. Did you like or dislike the teacher's classroom design? (The set up of his or her classroom,

desks, reading, writing, art, science, history, corners, behavior centers, or etc.)

The teacher’s class had a main white board in the front of the class and a large rug in

front of it. The flooring in the classroom was tile, so the large rug was where the students sat

during whole group learning. I liked the idea of including a rug, because not only is the rug more
comfortable than the hard tile floor, but by having students sit on the rug the teacher has the

students sitting all near the front of the class and in close proximity to each other. Behind the rug,

there are three vertical tables next to each other; this is where the students sit. Each table is a

different color. There is a green table, a red table, and a blue table. This helps students easily

identify which group they are in, since the color of their table is the color of their group as well.

Color coding the tables and groups creates a sense of cohesion in the class, and helps students

know where they belong. Moving forth, the long tables make it easier for students to move their

chairs closer together when working collaboratively. Likewise, it also allows students to move

farther away when doing independent work.

5. Did the teacher appear to have classroom management?

The teacher appeared to have sufficient classroom management skills. Given that the

students are in kindergarten, the teacher was not very strict on them. During the introductory

whole group lesson the teacher allowed the class to shout out the answers to her questions, rather

than instructing them to raise their hands. However, for the few students who did raise their hand

to speak, the teacher did acknowledge them and allowed them to speak. The students in the class

were very respectful when the teacher was talking, they did not shout answers randomly. The

students waited to be asked. Additionally, all the students listened quietly while their classmates

presented their sentences. The teacher demonstrated efficient classroom management skills when

transitioning between activities. When releasing the students to do group work at their tables, she

clearly went over the instructions and what they are to do in their groups. Then, the teacher asked

if anyone had questions. When no student asked a question, the teacher repeated the instructions
and released groups one by one to their desks. By releasing students one group at a time the

teacher was able to avoid chaos and manage minimal distractions.

6. Did the students appear, happy, or comfortable in the teacher's classroom?

The students appeared happy and comfortable in the teacher’s classroom. All the students

participated in the lesson and in the group work. The students were very comfortable sharing

their answers and asking for help when they needed extra guidance. Both the General Education

teacher and the Special Education teacher did a great job assisting students in a timely manner.

The students seemed happy to be learning about Thanksgiving, and they even laughed at a lot of

the teacher’s jokes. The students were having a good time reconstructing sentences and learning

about the original Thanksgiving between the Native Americans and Pilgrims.

7. Did you see the use of any Assistive Technology or hands on Technology, Smart Boards,

Elmo's, projectors, calculators, or etc.

I did not see any assistive technologies being used during this kindergarten lesson. This

video was filmed in 2015, and there were multiple technologies developed but none were used in

this classroom. The students were engaged in a more traditional style of learning in which the

teacher used the white board as more of a bulletin board. As for the students, they were given a

set of flashcards with one word on each card. The students then physically rearranged the

flashcards to make the sentence make sense. The students also made sure the sentence began

with a capital letter and ended with a period.

8. Was there group learning, Cooperative Learning, or simply Whole group learning?

The lesson began with a whole group lesson that smoothly transitioned into group work.

During the whole group lesson the students helped the teacher unscramble the “twisted turkey”

sentence about the first Thanksgiving between the Native Americans and the pilgrims. In their

groups the students were instructed to do the same thing, except this time without as much help

from the teacher and more help from their peers. The students engaged in cooperative, hands-on

learning with their groups where they worked together to unscramble their sentence. The

students moved the words around, and raised their hand if they needed any additional help.

9. Were the students engaged, or seem to be active listeners in order to benefit from the lesson(s)

given by the teacher?

The students seemed to be very engaged throughout the lesson about Thanksgiving.

During the whole group lesson, all students sat on the carpet and faced the board where the

teacher was displaying the sentences. In order to keep the students engaged, the General

Education teacher asked the students a number of questions to get the students thinking about the

“twisted turkey” sentences. The teacher also kept the students engaged by asking them to put a

thumbs up if they agreed with her statement, and a thumbs up if they agreed with her sentence.

They students actively participated by shouting out the answers or raising their hands to share

their response with the class. When it was time for the students to present, all the students

sounded eager to read their sentences for the class. The students also sat quietly while their peers

read their sentences, and they also clapped after every presentation.
 Youtube Video Analysis Activity 2

Second Grade Reading Lesson Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKk2XzCSHu4

1. Was the video filmed within the United States?

This video was filmed in Delaware, Massachusetts, and was published by the

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The goal for publishing

their videos of teacher classroom observations is to share effective teaching techniques, and also

to celebrate their teachers’ awesome work in class. In this lesson, the teacher is using a small

group teaching method to teach second grade students fluency and new vocabulary words.

2. Did this teacher use any strategies or techniques that would be more fun, more creative, or

more beneficial to students in a Reading, Writing/ Language Arts/English/ Grammar, or Math

class?

Before reading the story about the Sonoran Desert, the teacher showed the students

pictures. This lesson was recorded in Delaware, Massachusetts, so a handful of students did not

know where the Sonoran Desert was located. The teacher showed the students pictures of the

Sonoran Desert on the map of the United States, and she also showed the students pictures of the

desert in the summer and in the winter. The teacher repeated the same steps with the next small

group of students that read about the Kalahari Desert in Africa. By showing the students pictures

before beginning the lesson, the teacher was able to get the students more excited about learning

more about the deserts that many were unfamiliar with.

3. What accommodations and modifications did the teacher use if or for the students within his

or her classroom that were Special Needs? If the teacher did not have any Special Needs students

in her classroom, which I prefer you to try to find, but if you did not, what strategies did he or

she use that could be applied to a wide range of students with Special Needs?

The teacher did not use any specific accommodations and modifications for students with

Special Needs because there did not seem to be any Special Needs in this class. One thing the

teacher did all throughout the video was give students positive encouragements and

reinforcements. Positive reinforcements can be an accommodation for Special Needs students,

but they can also be used with students without Special Needs. Moreover, since the video was

filmed in a second grade class, some modifications the teacher could have used to accommodate

students with Special Needs have Special Needs students practice fluency with a first-grade level

book about the Sonoran desert. The teacher could have also accommodated Special Needs

students by sitting them right next to her in the round table, so the teacher could pay closer

attention to that student. By sitting closer to the teacher, the Special Needs students would also

be able to hear the teacher clearly, and ask for help as needed. Furthermore, the students in the

video were instructed to read one chapter on their own and write down five interesting things

they learned. In order to accomodate a Special Needs student, the teacher could have an audio

recording of the last chapter so the student can hear the story being read, and follow along.

Along the same lines, the teacher can instruct the Special Needs students to write down three

things he/she earned instead of five. Quality over quantity.

4. Did you like or dislike the teacher's classroom design? (The set up of his or her classroom,

desks, reading, writing, art, science, history, corners, behavior centers, or etc.)

The teacher has a smart board in the front of the class, and immediately to the right in the

front of the class there is a round table. The round table placed in the front of the room is the

round table the teacher used to teach fluency in small groups. By having the table in the front of

the class, the teacher had a more restricted view of the rest of the class, because the class was not

directly in front of her, instead the rest of the students sat completely to the right. I also do not

think the placement of the round table was ideal in this classroom because the door is also in the

back of the class, so the students can easily walk out if the teacher is distracted. However, I did

like that the students’ desks were set up in groups of four. By seating students in groups of four,

the teacher allows students to work cooperatively with a small group of students, without

distractions caused by larger groups.

5. Did the teacher appear to have classroom management?

The teacher managed her class effectively. In her small group the students knew to raise

their hand to speak. The teacher called on the students one by one to avoid students talking over

each other. As for the rest of the class, the teacher was constantly checking up on the rest of her

class while the students in her small group worked cooperatively. Additionally, when the teacher

observed that one of her students in her small groups was not participating, she began to call on

students randomly to answer the questions in order to include all the students in her lesson. The

teacher also created smooth transitions between small groups. She released group 1 to return to
their desks, then set the round table up again before requesting students in group 2 to sit at the

round table to practice their fluency.

6. Did the students appear, happy, or comfortable in the teacher's classroom?

The students appeared happy to be in this classroom. All the students seemed to get along

very well with the teacher and their classmates. The students seemed excited to sit at the round

table and participate in the small group learning. This lesson was also the lesson right before

recess, so the students knew they had to complete their assignment before recess. The students

did not complain, instead the students’ recess motivated them to work that much harder. In their

small groups students were eager to share what they learned with one another.

7. Did you see the use of any Assistive Technology or hands on Technology, Smart Boards,

Elmo's, projectors, calculators, or etc.

One assistive technology present in the video is a smart board. Instead of a whiteboard in

the front of the class, this classroom has a smart board. Throughout the majority of the video the

General Education teacher taught students fluency and vocabulary in small groups at the round

table. The teacher did not use the smartboard, instead she used short fluency books, and gave all

the students their own copy to follow along with.

8. Was there group learning, Cooperative Learning, or simply Whole group learning?

The lesson mainly focussed on having students learn in small groups. The teacher pulled

six students at a time to sit at the round table with her. At the round table the students were
reading a book with five chapters about the Sonoran Desert. First, the General Education teacher

led the reading of chapters one and two. She consciously included students in small group

learning,and encouraged all the students at the table to read along and sound out new words

together. Then, the teacher transitioned the students into cooperative learning by breaking the

students up into groups of two to read two more chapters in the story. After reading two more

chapters in pairs, the students shared one thing they learned with the rest of the group.

9. Were the students engaged, or seem to be active listeners in order to benefit from the lesson(s)

given by the teacher?

The students in the small group lesson seemed to be very engaged. During the small

group lesson all the students read along with the teacher. The students not only read along with

the teacher, but they also put their finger on the words as they read the first two chapters with the

teacher. Additionally, the students also raised their hands to answer the teacher’s reading

comprehension questions. After the students read two chapters with the group, and two more

chapters with their partner, the students finished reading chapter five at their desks

independently. In order to make sure the students did their work independently, the teacher asked

the student to write down five things they learned from the story in their reading notebooks.
 Youtube Video Analysis Activity 3

Classroom with Inclusion Teacher Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHF1QNzIY8

1. Was the video filmed within the United States?

This video was filmed in DC Prep Edgewood Elementary Campus in Washington, D.C.,

the nation’s capital. This style of teaching in which the teacher teaches the whole group is very

common in the United States. Ms. Ellen Shupe, the Special Education/intervention teacher,

lectured in the front of the class, and the students all sat in desks in front of her.

2. Did this teacher use any strategies or techniques that would be more fun, more creative, or

more beneficial to students in a Reading, Writing/ Language Arts/English/ Grammar, or Math

class?

One strategy Ms. Shupe used that made the math lesson fun for the students was allowing

them to use different colored markers to draw models on their projector sheet. The students used

the projector sheet as a whiteboard; they showed all their work on the projector sheet. The

students seemed very excited about using the projector sheet, since it seems as though before this

they were using counters to show division. Now with the protector sheets, students were drawing

division models.

3. What accommodations and modifications did the teacher use if or for the students within his

or her classroom that were Special Needs? If the teacher did not have any Special Needs students
in her classroom, which I prefer you to try to find, but if you did not, what strategies did he or

she use that could be applied to a wide range of students with Special Needs?

Ms. Shupe used positive affirmations all throughout the lesson, especially when students

raised their hand to participate or when the students worked independently. Positive affirmations

is not only something the teacher used with her Special Needs students, she also made positive

remarks towards her students without Special Needs. The teacher used words like “Great job,”

and “Awesome job,” and also gave students high-fives. In order to help her Special Needs

students during independent work time, the teacher made laps around the classroom and helped

all students who were having troubles. She used questions to lead their thinking, she did not give

them the answers. This lesson led by Ms. Shupe was a math lesson. In order to accommodate her

Special Needs students she allowed students to use math counters, small math manipulatives, in

order to learn division. Additionally, Ms. Shupe repeated the directions orally and also wrote the

directions out on the board. This helped her Special Needs students know exactly what is

expected of them. She also had students repeat the directions back to her in order to check for

understanding.

4. Did you like or dislike the teacher's classroom design? (The set up of his or her classroom,

desks, reading, writing, art, science, history, corners, behavior centers, or etc.)

Ms. Shupe’s classroom has a whiteboard in the front of the class, all desks facing the

front of the class, and a round table in the back of the class by the door. The students are seated

in desks in pairs. I like how Ms. Shupe has students seated in pairs. This allows Special Needs

students to get help from their shoulder partner, and get questions answered from a student’s
point of view. Having students seated in pairs also helps reduce distractions often caused by

having students seated in large groups. All students’ desks are also facing the front of the class. I

also like this idea since it helps keep all students more focussed on the lesson.

5. Did the teacher appear to have classroom management?

Ms. Shupe used effective classroom management skills to manage her class. Ms. Shupe

had a schedule going for her class. Everytime she released her students to do independent work,

she expressed their allotted time. She was prepared. When students finished earlier than

expected, Ms.Shupe already had another small task for them to do. In one instance when a

student finished his division problem before the time ran out, Ms.Shupe allowed him to get out

of his seat and share his answers with another classmate who also finished their work early. She

reminded the students to whisper to respect their other classmates who were still working. In

order to create smooth transitions, Ms.Shupe asked her students to put their pencils down after

every task and look up at her. Ms. Shupe did not give out the next task. Ms. Shupe’s lesson plan

was also very well executed. She had a Do-Now to introduce division, then she had a Lecture,

followed by a guided practice, an independent practice, and concluded class with an exit ticket.

In the end, before getting ready to clean up she also reviewed the goals, or standards, the students

met in class that day.

6. Did the students appear, happy, or comfortable in the teacher's classroom?

The students in the classroom did appear happy and comfortable. Throughout the video

the students get happy when the teacher stands before the students’ desk to assist them. Students

are not scared of their teacher, instead they appreciate the time the teacher takes to individually
assist them. The students seem the most happy and proud when the teacher congratulates them.

After their independent practice, the teacher even asks students to give themselves a pat on the

back, and they all giggle and smile. The students seem happy to be in a classroom with

Ms.Shupe.

7. Did you see the use of any Assistive Technology or hands on Technology, Smart Boards,

Elmo's, projectors, calculators, or etc.

In this video I did not see any assistive technologies being used to assist students with

Special Needs. This may be due to the fact that this video was filmed in 2012. The teacher used

the whiteboard, and big notepads to show the math problems step by step. The students used

projectors sheets to do their work, and the teacher cleaned them off between each use. The

projector sheets acted as whiteboards, but were less messy.

8. Was there group learning, Cooperative Learning, or simply Whole group learning?

Ms.Shupe began the lesson with a whole group lesson. Then she shifted to guided

practice, then independent work. During independent work the teacher encouraged cooperative

learning. She allowed students sitting next to each other to turn to each other if they needed help.

She also encouraged students who finished early to share their answers with others who had also

finished their work. In turn, this allows students to compare their answers, and find their

mistakes. By doing so, the students were learning from one another.
9. Were the students engaged, or seem to be active listeners in order to benefit from the lesson(s)

given by the teacher?

The lesson lasted approximately one hour, and the students seemed to be engaged all the

way through. The students in the class were constantly raising their hands to share their answers

with the class. As the teacher was leading the guided practice, all the students were also

following along on their own sheets. The students seemed excited to learn! Additionally, when

the teacher asked the class to count with her, they all did. The students even verbally corrected an

error the teacher made on purpose.

 Atlas Video‌‌Analysis‌‌Activity‌1 ‌

Link: https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/784/

Subject‌‌ Social Skills, Special Education teacher in

General Education classroom

Topic‌‌ Exceptional Needs (Mild/Moderate

Disabilities), Applying a Five-Step
Process for Giving a Compliment

Case‌‌#‌‌ ‌Case #784

Grades‌‌ ‌Second Grade

LEARNING‌ EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
‌ENVIRONMENT‌‌

Safe‌‌and‌‌encouraging‌‌ ‌ he Special Education teacher was encouraging her students and

T
creating a safe environment in which the students could feel free
to express themselves. In the beginning of the lesson the teacher
asked how her body posture should be when she gives a
compliment, and a student responded “face.” The teacher did not
tell the student he was wrong, instead she said “Oh yes, I need to
smile. Good job!” The teacher thanked the student even though
the answer he gave was not necessarily the correct one. Also,
later in the lesson when the teacher asked for the opposite of a
compliment, a student answered “uncompliment.” The teacher
did not make a rude remark, nor did she tell the student that that
is not even a word. Instead, the teacher said, “You’re really
thinking, I liked how you used that prefix, but not quite.” By
 being nice to the student even when they get the wrong answer
and giving positive feedback, the teacher is encouraging the
students to not be afraid to share their thoughts.

Collaboration‌‌amongst‌ I‌ n this lesson about the five-step process to give a compliment,

‌peers‌‌ the students were able to collaborate with one another. After the
teacher introduced and modeled the process to successfully give a
compliment, she allowed the students to stand up and give a
compliment to three of their peers. The students were able to not
only give a compliment to their classmates, but they were also
able to correct each other in the proper way to give a compliment.

Respectful‌‌exchange‌‌of‌ The students in the video were respectfully exchanging ideas.

‌ideas‌‌from‌‌all‌‌students‌‌
During the small group lesson, the students raised their hands to
speak. The students did not talk over each other. When one
student spoke, the others listened politely. When the teacher was
giving the lesson, all the students made eye contact and listened
attentively. There was only one instance in which students were
having a side conversation while the teacher was talking.
However, the teacher politely said their names, and the students
stopped talking and turned their attention to the teacher once
again. Additionally, when the students got to move around and
compliment three other classmates, all students did so
respectfully. The students paired up and did not leave any student
alone. Moreover, when the student received a compliment they
also said “Thank you!” or “Thanks” to give thanks to their
classmates for the nice compliments. The students in the video
were very respectful towards one another.

‌‌

STUDENT‌ EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
‌ENGAGEMENT‌‌

Engagement‌‌with‌‌peers‌ ‌ he entire lesson involved students engaging with the teacher

T
‌and‌‌teacher‌‌ and their peers. During the whole group lesson, students engaged
with the teacher by raising their hand to speak. The teacher

Higher-level‌‌questioning‌
‌(teacher)‌‌/‌‌thinking‌
‌(student)‌‌
Teacher‌‌as‌‌facilitator‌‌(i.e.‌
‌note‌‌movement,‌‌dialogue,‌
‌facial‌‌interactions,‌
‌equitable‌practices,‌‌etc.)‌‌
constantly asked the students questions to keep the students
engaged in the lesson. As she explained the steps on how to give
a compliment, she asked the student a question to get them
thinking. She asked “What should my body look like?” and
“What should my tone be?” Before moving on to the next step
the teacher waited for all students to share their thoughts. In a
similar way, when the students were giving each other
compliments, the students waited to finish with one student
before moving on to the next. The students did a great job
keeping their posture, smiling, and not crossing their hands while
exchanging compliments, as talked about in the lesson.
The teacher used some higher level questioning when she asked
students to compare and contrast compliments and insults. The
teacher drew a double-bubble map on the board for the students,
and placed compliments and insults on the two main central
circles. In order to guide the students to higher level thinking, the
teacher asked questions like “How does a compliment make you
feel?” and “What word can you use to describe an insult?” The
students engaged in higher-level thinking by answering the
teacher’s questions, and finding similarities and differences
between compliments and insults. The students even made
connections back to the process of giving a compliment, and how
the process of saying something nice to someone is much
different than the process of saying something mean to someone.
Additionally, the students also used higher level thinking when
they used the five-step process to give three other classmates a
compliment. By giving other compliments, the students were able
to engage in higher order thinking and understand the concept in
a deeper way.
‌ he teacher was the facilitator of the group. The teacher acted as
T
a guide and assisted the students in learning for themselves.
Throughout the lesson, the teacher was constantly asking students
to formulate their own ideas and verbally share their ideas with
the rest of the group. The teacher acted like the facilitator during
the completion of the double-bubble map. As she drew the

INSTRUCTION‌‌
Logically‌‌sequenced‌‌and‌
‌paced‌‌content‌‌to‌‌build‌
‌students’‌‌skills‌‌
Processes‌‌that‌‌offer‌
‌authentic‌‌and‌
thinking map on the board she asked students to describe what
this type of thinking map was used for. Then, the teacher asked
students guiding questions to prompt students to discover
similarities and differences between compliments and insults on
their own. The teacher did not give students the answers, instead
she guided students to use their knowledge to find the correct
answers.
EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
The lesson was logically sequenced and the content was paced to
build students’ social skills. The teacher began the lesson by first
introducing compliments; she defined and gave examples of
compliments. Then, after defining a compliment, the teacher
introduced the five-step process. In order to maximize the
students’ learning during this portion of the lesson, the teacher
handed each student their own comic strip that outlined the
appropriate way to give a compliment using the five-step
process. After introducing the process, the teacher modeled the
process to the students. The students were able to see the comic
strip come to life through the teacher’s role play. Next, the
students role played and gave compliments to themselves using a
handheld mirror provided by the teacher. Furthermore, after
practicing giving a compliment to themselves, students were able
to give compliments to each other. Lastly, the teacher concluded
the lesson by allowing students to use what they learned about
compliments, and what they know about insults, to create a
double-bubble map. Throughout the entire lesson, the transitions
from one task to the next were smooth and very thought out; one
task led smoothly into the next. Each task built off the previous
one, and the students seemed to really enjoy not only formulating
their own ideas, but also putting their ideas into practice.
‌ process that offered authentic and differentiated experiences
A
and feedback was the teacher’s role plays. In order to model
differentiated‌‌experiences‌
‌and‌‌feedback‌‌
Facilitate‌‌inquiry‌
‌processes‌‌to‌‌support‌
‌students‌‌problem-solving‌
‌and‌‌thinking‌‌skills‌‌
giving a compliment, the teacher looked into a mirror and gave
herself a compliment. She explained that in order to be able to
give others compliments, students must first learn how to give
themselves a compliment. The teacher’s role playing helped
familiarize students with the real world occurence of giving a
compliment to others, and also giving a compliment to oneself.
Subtly, through her role play, the teacher was not only teaching
students how to give others praise through nice compliments, but
also how to give oneself praise and love oneself. Promoting a
positive self concept and promoting high self-esteem is also a
very important part of education, both in a General Education
and Special Education classroom. After watching the teacher role
play, the students were eager to do the same. All the students
enjoyed not giving themselves a compliment, giving others
compliments, and receiving compliments from their peers.
‌ he teacher facilitated an inquiry process to support students’
T
problem-solving and thinking skills all throughout the lesson.
The teacher was constantly asking the students questions to help
the students construct their own responses. The teacher also
presented problems to the students and asked them how they
would solve it and how they would feel in certain situations in
which the students were given a compliment or an insult. The
focal point of the lesson was to teach students how to
appropriately give a compliment using the five-step process the
teacher derived. The teacher guided students to understand that
they should give each other compliments, and not insults,
everywhere they go- in the classroom, at home, and even on the
playground. Overall, the teacher asked a number of reflective and
open-ended questions to stimulate students’ problem-solving and
thinking skills.
 Atlas Video‌‌Analysis‌‌Activity‌2 ‌

Link: https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/1674/

Subject‌‌ Literacy and English Language Arts,

Special Education

Topic‌‌ Exceptional Needs (Mild/Moderate

Disabilities), Building Fluency Skills

Case‌‌#‌‌ ‌Case #1674

Grades‌‌ ‌Second Grade

LEARNING‌ EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
‌ENVIRONMENT‌‌

Safe‌‌and‌‌encouraging‌‌ The Special Education Resource teacher created a safe and

encouraging environment for her Special Needs students. During
her lesson she constantly walked around the round table where
the students sat. In order to create an environment in which
students felt encouraged to share, the teacher gave her students
positive praise. Not only did the teacher cheer on the students
who shared their responses, but she invited the rest of the
students to do the same. After students shared their thoughts
aloud, the teacher said, “Let’s give everyone a round of
applause… very good.” All throughout her lesson, the Special
Education teacher made sure students were involved. Before
calling on students to share their answer, she allowed students
time to share with their partners. Allowing students time to
pair-share before sharing their responses aloud allowed the
students to become more confident in their responses. After every

Collaboration‌‌amongst‌
‌peers‌‌
Respectful‌‌exchange‌‌of‌
‌ideas‌‌from‌‌all‌‌students‌‌
‌‌
response the teacher responded, “Good job” or “I like how you
said…” Additionally, the teacher constantly reminded students
how excited she was about the lesson. She smiled as she said “I
am excited about our next objective, and I hope you are too.” By
modeling a positive attitude about teaching, the teacher was
encouraging the students to also get excited about learning. The
positive attitude, praise, and feedback from the teacher and peers
encouraged students to participate more.
The students collaborated with one another frequently throughout
the lesson. Before sharing their answers with the whole group the
teacher asked students to share with their partners when they
were ready. This gave students ample opportunities to collaborate
with their peers and bounce ideas off each other. By sharing their
thoughts with their partners, the students were able to hear their
partners’ thoughts and thus, learn from each other. In this small
group setting, the collaborative learning among students allowed
each student to express his or her ideas. Altogether, by promoting
collaborative learning during this reading fluency lesson, the
teacher was allowing students to not grow from each other, but
also boost their self-confidence as well.
All the students shared their ideas respectfully with one another,
and with the teacher. During the small group lesson, students
raised their hand to speak. The students did not talk over the
teacher, and they waited to be called on to speak. While the
teacher, or another classmate, was talking, the rest of the students
sat quietly. The teacher reminded students to be great listeners
and focus on the person talking and refrain from side
conversations. In one instance when a student had something to
add on to his classmate’s comment, the student raised their hand
and waited to be called on to speak. The students in the video
respected each other and each other’s ideas.
STUDENT‌ EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
‌ENGAGEMENT‌‌

Engagement‌‌with‌‌peers‌ ‌ he teacher engaged with the students and had the students
T
‌and‌‌teacher‌‌ engage among themselves as well. Throughout her lesson, the
teacher engaged with her students by advising them, and
providing them positive feedback. After the class read the
passage together for the first time, the teacher modeled giving a
student a gold star. In this lesson, a gold star was earned by
students who actively participated in the repeated reading. The
goal was for all students to receive a gold star. The concept of the
gold stars promoted positivity and productivity among the
students. All the students worked towards improving their
fluency, and thus earning a gold star. The teacher constantly gave
positive feedback to the students by saying “Great job!” and “I
noticed how you… excellent job!” As for interactions among the
students, all students engaged with one another respectfully.
During their partner reads, students listened attentively and
marked the last word their partner read. Students all got excited
when they were able to read more words than before. The
students did not compete with one another, instead they worked
as a team.

Higher-level‌‌questioning‌ The teacher used high-level thinking questioning when she asked
‌(teacher)‌‌/‌‌thinking‌ students to self-evaluate and reflect. After each read, the teacher
‌(student)‌‌ asked students to evaluate their reading. The teacher asked
students “Did you read too slow? Or too fast? Or just right?” She
allowed students time to think, and then respond by pointing to
the appropriate animal that represented their reading speed. The
students pointed to the turtle to signify they read too slow, to the
rabbit to signify they read too fast, and to the gold star to dignify
they read at the right speed. By asking the students to access their
reading rates, the teacher was encouraging students to use
higher-level thinking. The teacher not only asked them to point to
the animal, but also to share why they believe that animal best
represents their speed. Along the same line, during the repeated
reading lesson the teacher prompted students to use higher-level

Teacher‌‌as‌‌facilitator‌‌(i.e.‌
‌note‌‌movement,‌‌dialogue,‌
facial‌‌interactions,‌
‌equitable‌practices,‌‌etc.)‌‌
INSTRUCTION‌‌
Logically‌‌sequenced‌‌and‌
‌paced‌‌content‌‌to‌‌build‌
‌students’‌‌skills‌‌
thinking to explain why they did not end up on the same spot
after reading the same text for the same amount of time. She
asked the students, “What do you notice about the red and the
black mark?” A student responded, “the first try we read a little
bit, and the second try I think we read a lot more.” Students were
able to understand that through rereading the text, they were
building fluency.
The Special Education teacher acted as the facilitator during this
fluency lesson. During the guided and group work part of the
lesson, the teacher acted as a coach. The teacher gave students
control of their own learning by taking a step back and allowing
the students to take the lead. During the guided practice, the
teacher did not lead the reading, instead she allowed students to
read together, and she just advised them. Before beginning to
read, the teacher advised the students to put their finger on the
words as they read, and sound out words they were not familiar
with. Rather than reading the text to the students, the teacher
coached the students to reread the text in order to build their
fluency. The teacher controlled the timer, and announced when
time was up. When the time was up, she brought students back to
the whole group to share their improvements with the class. As a
facilitator, the teacher also provided support and advice to the
students that were struggling. Along the same lines, she also
pointed out the great reading strategies students used while they
were reading out loud in order to encourage the students to
continue their great work.
EVIDENCE‌‌FROM‌‌VIDEO‌‌
The lesson was logically sequenced and paced to build students’
fluency skills. The teacher began the lesson by introducing the
objectives. First the teacher read the objective to the class, then
she engaged the students by asking the students to read the
objective together outloud. The objective for this second grade

Processes‌‌that‌‌offer‌
‌authentic‌‌and‌
differentiated‌‌experiences‌
‌and‌‌feedback‌‌
fluency lesson was “I can use repeated reading to help me read
fluently.” After introducing the objective, the teacher further
defined the “repeated reading” strategy for reading. Then, the
teacher followed a teaching model she referred to as “I do, we
do, you do.” First, the teacher modeled using the repeated
reading strategy to improve her reading fluency. Then she
engaged the students and shifted from her doing the reading, to
all students reading together as one. The students read their
passage titled “The Little Cookie Girl” altogether as one. In order
for the students to mark their progress, she instructed them to
highlight the last word they read together when the timer
stopped. The small group read the passage altogether twice.
During these exercises, the teacher reminded students to also
sound out words they did not know, and recognize vocabulary
words they were already familiar with. Then, it was time for the
students to read in pairs. This was the “you do” part of the lesson.
The teacher assigned the students partners, while one student
read, the other listened and marked the last word their partner
read before the timer was up. During this lesson, students were
improving their fluency by using the repeated reading strategy;
the more time they read the same text, the more words they were
able to read before the time was up.
‌ process that offered authentic and differentiated experiences
A
and feedback, was having students mark the text. The teacher
instructed students to underline the last words they read when the
time was up. Instead of having students memorize where they left
off, the teacher gave the student four different colored markers.
The first time the students read the text altogether, the teacher
had the students underline the last word with a black marker. The
second time the students read, they underlined the last word they
read with a red marker. The third time students read the passage
in pairs, they underlined the last word they read with a blue
marker. This way students were able to visually see their
improvement from reading the text one time, to reading the text
twice and then for the third time. Allowing students to visually
track their progress made students more excited. The students
were able to see for themselves how using the repeated reading

Facilitate‌‌inquiry‌
‌processes‌‌to‌‌support‌
‌students‌‌problem-solving‌
‌and‌‌thinking‌‌skills‌‌
strategy was helping them improve their fluency. By seeing the
marks on their papers, the students were also able to make goals
for themselves to read more words each time.
The teacher facilitated the inquiry process to support students’
thinking skills. After each read the teacher asked students to
reflect upon their pace, and explain how their pace relates to their
fluency. The students in the video are in second grade, so the
teacher used animals to represent the different speed levels. A
turtle symbolized a student reading too slow, and a rabbit
symbolized a student reading too fast. The teacher constantly
asked students questions to encourage them to think deeper.
From trial one to trial two, the teacher asked students about the
difference in the amount of words they read the first trial, in
comparison to the amount of words the students read the second
trial. The goal of the inquiry process was to help students learn
how the repeated reading strategy was helping the students
improve their fluency.