1Classroom Observation Summary

Classroom Observation Summary

Christie Guite

EDU/305

April 9, 2012

Kristen Parker

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Classroom Observation Summary

My classroom observation took place at Belgrade Central Elementary School in small

rural community. I observed Jill Mackenzie’s Kindergarten class. The class consisted 18 five

and six years students. I joined there class for the afternoon. There were only two adults

present, myself and Mrs. Mackenzie. During my observation I sat on the other side of the

room, so I would not distract the student or disrupt their lesson. I wanted to focus on Mrs.

Mackenzie’s teaching style, her interaction with the students, class arrangement and the

developmental stages of each child.

My first observation was that there were that the students just came in from lunch

recess. Mrs. Mackenzie met them with a smile at the door. They were excited and hot from

playing outside. They quickly put their lunch boxes away, took their coats off and then lined

up for bathroom and drinks; like it was all second nature to them. After returning from

bathroom and drinks, the students quickly came to the mat for rest or read. Mrs. McKenzie

put on classical music for the students for 10 minutes. Each student had a choice to rest or

read quietly on the mat. This is a fantastic way to allow them to unwind from lunch and

recess. Since this an individual task the student they are encouraged to work quietly. Mrs.

Mackenzie had to give a couple of reminders of their behavior and how to be safe while on

the mat. Overall, I was quite impressed at how quickly they all settled up.

During my observation I enjoyed the flow of the classroom. It seemed very organized.

There were four circle tables; each had a different colored bin which held their crayons,

pencils and scissors. Each table had laminated name tags, that were decorated by the students.

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At Mrs. Mackenzie’s table there were four colored bins, each bin had different student names.

These bins were split up by reading groups and reading levels. Each student had their own

bag of books to read during reading groups. Mrs. Mackenzie would call up reading teams to

work as a group. In the back of the room, a pretend microwave and kitchen set for “house

area” and a sand box for the “science station.” Mrs. McKenzie’s classroom also had a

restroom that accommodates boys and girls, so the students do not have to leave the

classroom when needing to go to the restroom. On the walls and even on the ceiling were

several words, letters, and numbers. My favorite part of the room was a board of “Really

Ribbiting work!” This is the wall that the children are very proud of because it contains all of

their own work.

Mrs. Mackenzie had a white rocking chair that was in front of the mat. She sat in this

during read aloud or explaining a lesson to the students. During the observation I observed

Mrs. Mackenzie sitting in the chair teaching the students math and calendar. When the

students transitioned to from the mat to their tables, they did so quietly and waited for their

next direction. The children reviewed their math goals and the rubric and practiced their

goals in pairs. While Mrs. Mackenzie reviewed goals, another teacher came into to get a

student for Title 1 reading.

During math I noticed that each goal had there set of goals that they were working on.

Many of them were goals such as count to 100, count by 10’s or count by 5’s. Although

many met their goals at this point in time, others have not. They continue to work on their

goals until they become successful. At all times the students seemed to be interested in the

work and listened very well when Mrs. Mackenzie spoke. This indicates to me that the

students are engaged in learning and truly enjoy having her as their teacher.

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I couldn’t help but notice how caring and sincere Mrs. Mackenzie was with all her

students even the few she had to give reminders to. Whenever she had explained a project or

problem she asked the children to give to do a thumbs up or thumps down. If the children

were unclear of the direction they would give a thumbs down, and Mrs. Mackenzie would sit

on the mat to provide an explanation. She didn’t leave the mat until she knew they understood

what they needed to do. Once math ended the students were called upon to pick up and pack

up, to get ready for thank you’s and hopes.

The students in Mrs. Mackenzie’s class worked as a team and independently on

projects. Throughout the whole class Mrs. Mackenzie was always nurturing, warm and loving

and stern when she needed to be. I did get the impression that the student’s felt distracted, I

got the impression that this is how the class flows daily.

Mrs. Mackenzie did a fabulous job with all of her students, she interacted with all of

them. I felt that the flow and set up of the classroom was sufficient for the grade level. This

set up, I would consider in my own classroom someday. It was very organized, the students

had only labels on everything in the class but also pictures to go with it. I learned that it takes

a lot of patience to become a kindergarten teacher, and I can only wish that someday to

become half the teacher Mrs. Mackenzie is.

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