The Middle of the Observation Lesson

The Observation Continues

If you missed the post on the beginning of the evaluation lesson, you can find it here: Starting Your Observation Lesson

Now, that we've looked at the start of our observation lesson, let's get to the meat of the matter, the actual teaching. Standard Release Teaching, TIMS, TEM, or Whatever - The name is constantly changing but the basic concept doesn't.

Ideally:

• You must model what you are teaching. Call it "I do" or just say to the kids, "Watch this!" You may need to show them what to do once, twice, or even thrice depending upon your students.

This may not be the type of modeling I'm 
talking about, but I bet he got your attention.

• Do the lesson with the whole group while having the kids help by talking you through it. Ask questions, such as, "What should I do next?"

• I find this to be a good place to check for understanding and remind the kids of what they are learning . . . or better, yet, ask them to tell you. This can be something as basic as a thumbs up or fist or five. If the students are lost, they hold up a fist. If they understand the lesson well, five fingers indicates this. They could hold up 1, 2, 3, or 4 fingers, dependent on their level of understanding; however, be careful. I've had kids watch their classmates for what to hold up. Some kids might be embarrassed to publicly admit that they do not understand the lesson. For this reason, you may want the kids to shut their eyes.

• The third main step of the lesson is to have kids work with a classmate to complete the skill. Pairing could be with the next door neighbor or placing a partner who understands with someone who is lost. Administrators love this peer interaction, so be sure to include it.

Tune in next week to read about closing the lesson.

Also, if you haven't entered the teacher giveaway, today (Sunday) is the last day so head on over to the rafflecopter! Good luck!

If you need more details, click here: About the Giveaways

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1-2:
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3-5:
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Middle School: 
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Musical Monday Moves Me:

Did you like the male model above? If so, here is some more eye candy to the tune of Call Me Maybe. These hot hunks make the lyrics relevant! Hey, I may be married, but I'm not dead.

Since we discussed that students need to understand, here is a song by Shawn Mendes, Understand.