Observation
Student Observation
Classroom: Holly Reader
Grade: 4th
Curriculum Area: Science
What I notice
Everyone is told to line up and
get ready to go outside
There are Ziploc bags, plastic
spoons, a container of water,
small decomposable plant
holders, a packet of seeds, and
soil packets that look like corks
The students are told to get a
decomposable plant holder that
has the soil packet in it and
make sure the packet is flat on
the bottom and not crooked
The teacher tells them that she
will pour water into the holder
and the packet will start to
expand and when it expands,
they are to start breaking apart
the soil with the plastic spoons
or their fingers
Once the water has been
absorbed into the soil, the
students are to get a few seeds
from the teacher and put them
in their holder
After that, they put it in the
Ziploc bag since it will start to
fall apart and make a mess
With this, they will take it home
and they can plant it and take
care of it
They are also told that
whichever of the ones that
sprout, there will be a few, rip
out the smaller ones so only the
taller one can grow
1
Observer: T.J. Rendino
Date: 3-24-2017
Time: 2:55-3:40
Thoughts, Questions, Connections to
Methods Classes
This lesson seems like it will
have a follow-up later on and
the teacher will ask them about
the progress of the plant and
maybe ask at what part of the
plant cycle their plants may be
The teacher did a good job at
keeping the students engaged
and interested in looking
forward to seeing how their
plants will grow
Will the teacher ask the
students how their plants are
doing? If so, how often?
What will students do if their
parents say they wont be able
to plant the plant?
I wish there was more time for
the teacher to do a science
lesson so they could learn more
about the plant cycle
beforehand and then do the
experiment
The lesson did not seem to be
an inquiry lesson because with
the little time that was there,
the teacher had to go straight to
the experiment
I would change it so that at the
end, I would get the students to
hypothesize what their plants
will look like, how much they
will grow, and how quickly they
think it will begin to grow. I
would also get them to do a
drawing of their plants
progress at the end of each
week and bring it in on Monday
 and the students can show each
other or present how their plant
is doing

Questions to Consider in Your Reflection:

Do you think the teacher you observed established and communicated

learning goals, tracked student progress throughout the lesson, and
celebrated success? Explain.
Do you think the teacher was effective at managing the classroom during
science instruction? Explain.
Do you think the teacher helped students effectively interact with new
science concepts and/or processes? If so, how? If not, why do you think
that?
Do you think the teacher helped students deepen their understanding of
new science concepts and/or processes? Explain.
Do you think the teacher effectively engaged the students? Explain.
Do you think the lesson you observed was an inquiry lesson? Explain.
What aspects of the lesson that you observed would you change? Keep?
Explain.