Personal Essay: Classroom Observation

Personal Essay: Classroom Observation


     Josh Van Coppenolle

     EDU 301

     Social Studies Methods

     Mary Iandoli

     Classroom Observation

     Date: 9-30-96

     Kindergarten teacher: Mrs. Debolt

     First grade teacher: Mrs. Casteluzo

     Location: Penn Yan Elementary


     Carrie and I were going to observe a kindergarten classroom social

studies class that combined their lesson with a first grade class.  We were

scheduled to arrive at 2 PM. When I arrived at 1:50 PM,  Carrie was waiting

outside the school  and informed me that she had already gone in and was told

that there was going to be a fire drill in just a few minutes.  We waited for

the fire drill to finish and then went into the class.  The time was about 2:10

at this point, so the teachers were running a little behind.

     When we entered the room it was empty, we had obviously beat the

students back from the fire drill.  This gave us time to look around.  The

kindergarten room was brightly decorated with lots of posters and student's art

work.  The kids were working on colors because there was a strip on top of the

blackboard that had the colors and things we might see in that color.  The

student's desks were arranged in two rows, pushed together and facing each other.

 There were about twelve seats in each group, so there were about 24 students in

the class.  Apparently, the class had just been returning from a trip to the

school library when the fire drill went off,  so when they came in they were

still carrying their library books.  The students were asked to take their seats

and they did so quietly.  Everyone's eyes were on Carrie and me.  Mrs. Debolt

asked us to introduce ourselves, which we did.    She told the class that we

were learning to be teachers and that we wanted to sit in on their social

studies class.   Each student sat at a little desk with their name laminated on

the top.  The students had laminated cards with their names on them tied around

their neck with a long piece of yarn.  I think that these were their library

cards.  Mrs. Debolt asked me to collect these, which I did.  The students were

pretty quiet while this was going on and followed directions well.  Mrs. Debolt

told the class that we were going to have a joint lesson with Mrs. Castiluzo's

1st grade class.  She asked everyone to come up to the front of the room and sit

quietly on their bottoms,  hands in their laps.  The two classrooms are

connected by a door and soon Mrs. Castiluzo,  her aide, and the 1st graders came

in.  It was a tight squeeze but everyone got a little spot on the floor.  You

could tell the kids who like their personal space because they were

uncomfortable in the tight space and tried to wiggle and scoot.  Mrs. Debolt

introduced Carrie and me and then started her lesson.  She started with a story

about a green bear who lived in 
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