Grade School Classroom Observation

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because he noticed I was an unfamiliar face in the classroom and came over to greet me, which I found adorable. Just before coming over to greet me I was watching Charlie as he was off playing with some toys alone before the lesson began. I watched as he finished constructing a small structure with his blocks and looked around to see if anyone was watching his progress. Charlie then had a mischievous look on his face and knocked what he had been building down and watched the blocks fall to the floor. After looking around to see if anyone had noticed Charlie turned back to his blocks and picked them up off the floor and put them back as they belonged.

As I was the only person in the room who was not a part of the classroom activities I had expected I might cause a bit of a distraction. My concern was unfounded as Charlie and the rest of the class were remarkably focused on the teacher and what she was saying during their first lesson. Most of the children payed little attention to me as I observed and interacted with their teacher instead of paying attention to my presence.

I watched as the teacher called on students to answer her questions. I appreciated how she addressed them by their first name every time and gave positive feedback after each answer. Charlie raised his hand often and got many answers correct, I noticed that when his answers were unclear or if he seemed to be confused that the teacher responded by rephrasing the questions in order to help those students who were having difficulties understanding. She would break down the question and clearly explain the answers to help develop effective communication. I noticed that when Charlie, or any other student, would answer correctly she would ask the student to be more specific with their answers and then have that student explain the answer to another student who was having difficulties grasping the lesson. This was known as tiny teacher time and Charlie especially seemed to enjoy sharing his knowledge.

Observing Charlie during recess was entertaining. He seems to be very high energy and spent much of his time running about the playground with a group of other children playing a made up game combining hide and seek and tag. Many of the other children seemed to follow his direction and they all were enjoying themselves.

I am thankful for the opportunity to observe this child in a classroom setting and a social setting. It appears that Charlie is a bright child who is engaged in learning while the teacher is giving the lesson, and is also developing well socially according to his behavior on the playground.