Step 1: Provide a summary of what you experienced so the reader knows what you did

and what you experienced

Description of the critical incident or practice
The first room I got to observe was Ms. Whitlock’s first grade classroom. Ms.
Whitlock had actually forgotten that we were coming to observe but it all worked out
well! She explained that the students were “adopting” peeps and giving them names
and other attributes. My peers and I went and sat at different tables in the room that
had the students. Immediately as I sat down, one of the students at the table I chose
asked if she could read her sentences for me. Of course I was eager to hear what she
had to say because it's a good indicator of how much the students are learning at this
school in comparison to any other school I have observed at. I was immediately in
shock because this student was very proficient in reading and writing. There were 4
students in total at this table and each student wanted to read me their sentences. The
students were able to read the words they had written and the words that the teacher
typed as prompts for the activity.
I opened my notebook to start taking notes about what I was observing when
one of the students asked what I was writing about. I explained that I had to take notes
about what the students were doing for a college class I was in. The students wanted
me to write their names and their peeps names. I thought it was really sweet that they
wanted me to document their names and peeps names because it gave me an
opportunity to connect with the students more. I learned that 2 of the students at the
table I was at are twin sisters and speak German fluently, as well as English. There
were a lot of students in the class that spoke other languages besides English but it
seemed that most of them were highly proficient in English reading and writing from
what I observed.

a. Feelings
i. Excited
ii. Shocked
iii. Happy
b. Thoughts
 i. I felt excited because the students were very enthusiastic about the
activity they were doing which made me interested in getting to know
them more and getting to know more about what they were doing in
class.
ii. I felt shocked because the students were so good at reading and writing!
There were complex words and even some students were able to spell
their peers’ names!
iii. I felt happy because it seemed like the students in this classroom were all
very excited to learn and be engaged in the different activities their
teacher planned for them.
c. Connection to your thinking:
i. What went well?
● The activities the teacher planned were age appropriate and super
engaging!
ii. What didn’t go so well?
● Since Ms. Whitlock didn’t inform the students that we were
coming to their class, the students were more “squirrely”. If the
teacher had prepared them, I bet that the students would have
been able to control their excitement a little more and refrain
from being as confused as some of them seemed to be.
iii. What do I want to do the same next time?
● I would want to be in this class again because the students seemed
to have a lot of cool personalities that I think would be interesting
to learn about.
iv. What do I want to do differently next time?
● I would want to go and chat with another table of students to see
what another group of students in the classroom were like.

Step 2: Make at least one connection to personal experience, other texts you’ve read,
and/or what you know about schools
 - In the first grade classroom, students were very engaged in all the activities
that Ms. Whitlock had planned for them. In many different readings and in
multiple education classes I have taken, something key I have learned is giving
students age-appropriate activities that will help them learn and develop skills
but also be fun! I enjoyed watching the students become excited about
“adopting” the peeps and creating different facts about each peep. Later, the
teacher also included an activity that had to do with vowel pairs in a game
set-up that engaged the students in a competitive way.

Step 3: Expand on five High Leverage Practices or more you chose to use in your
write up by telling which one, how you used it and what your thinking was in
choosing this for your student(s).
- HLP #7
- HLP #7 involves establishing a consistent, organized, and respectful
learning environment. The first grade classroom had a very organized
and consistent classroom. Ms. Whitlock used a chime to get the students'
attention. The expectation is that students will stop what they are doing
and clasp their hands above their heads to show they are paying
attention. This is a great strategy because it basically forces students to
remove their hands from whatever they were just doing and allow them
to give their complete attention to the teacher.
- HLP #12
- HLP #12 focuses on systematically designing instruction toward a
specific learning goal. The students in the first grade classroom I was in
were practicing vowel pairs in a board game activity. This engages
students in practicing this specific concept which I assume is a part of
the learning targets for their grade. First grade focuses heavily on
phonics words and understanding the English language, so this would be
a great activity to incorporate so students can practice these necessary
skills.
- HLP #14
 - HLP #14 involves using cognitive and metacognitive strategies. In the
fifth grade classroom, Ms. Koehler was engaging her students in a
“break-out room” activity that helped them practice what they were
learning about in their social studies unit of the American government.
This strategy helps students apply their knowledge in an activity that
gives them immediate feedback to help correct/encourage their
understanding of the material and unit. This activity is not a test or
assessment of learning, so there is less pressure which should encourage
students to not feel stressed about getting it completely correct.
- HLP #17
- HLP #17 focuses on using flexible grouping. In Ms.Koehler's fifth grade
classroom, students were allowed to work in whichever groups they
wanted to. There were some groups that had 6 students and some that
had 2 or 3. Students were able to work together to “break-out” and
finish the activity. This strategy allows students to work together and
help each other out if some peers may be struggling to understand the
concepts.
- HLP #18
- HLP #18 focuses on using strategies to promote active student
engagement. In Ms.Whitlock’s first grade classroom, students were
engaged in the peep adoption activity. This activity helps students
practice writing and reading skills, as well as incorporating creative
writing skills too. The creative piece has to do with coming up with a
name and other facts about the peep the student adopted and then
writing it out. This was age appropriate and lasted long enough so that
students could have enough time to write and color their paper.

Step 4: Field experience. Choosing 3 questions to answer about your experience.

1. Does the teacher have fun with kids and is she or he peaceful in how they
interact with kids?
 a. Ms. Whitlock had fun with the students for sure! While we were
interacting and observing each group, Ms.Whitlock would walk around
the room and interact with students in different ways to show she was
interested in their work. In between the activities, she also played a
GoNoodle video and danced along with the students too! She is very
involved and has fun with the students throughout the day.
2. How was the instruction delivered? Small group, co teaching, groups, stations,
cooperative learning
a. In the first grade classroom, students were seated at tables in groups of 4
students. It was two small tables pushed together so that the table would
make a “v” shape and the tables were also oriented towards the front of
the classroom. This type of grouping allows students to have partners
and table-mates to work alongside one another to complete different
activities. I didn’t get a chance to ask Ms. Whitlock if there was a certain
strategy she used to place students in certain groups but sometimes
teachers do group students based on their learning abilities.
3. What extent were the students productively engaged in activities?
a. In Ms. Koeler’s room, students were deeply engaged in the break-out
room activity that she planned for them. The fifth graders were in
different groups and it was obvious that each group had a certain level of
competitiveness. It was interesting to watch some groups complete the
breakout room very quickly and others to take their time. This activity
was able to cater to all different levels of learners in a way that allowed
each student to feel productively engaged in the activity.