For this assignment, I chose to visit the elementary school from which I graduated and sat through a fifth-grade reading and writing session, making observations. My primary focus was on the teacher and how she was conducting the class as well as the response she was getting from her students. Before attending the class, I met with the teacher and sought to know a few things about her background in the school.
Currently pregnant, the teacher joined the school seven years ago, and she spent three of her initial years teaching the first grade. She was later promoted to teach in the fifth grade, where she has been for the past four years. According to her, teaching in the fifth grade is more interesting and less taxing than the first grade because the former, unlike the latter, has its classes departmentalized. In this regard, she only specializes in reading and writing, a unit which she teaches to multiple fifth-grade classes.
After this brief chat, I took a position in the classroom and waited for the session to start. The class had approximately 40 students and each had his/her desk, with the desks being arranged in neat rows, across the classroom. The students came into the room in small groups-boys together and girls together, happily chatting and/or arguing with each other. Naturally, being a stranger in the class, my presence generated a buzz for a while.
Some of the bolder students approached me and sought to know who I was and what I was doing in their class. I explained my mission, and my attention gradually shifted away from me. When the teacher entered the class, all the students who had not assumed a position at their desks hurriedly moved to their seats and took out the books for the unit. However, some did not appear to notice her presence and to capture their attention she clapped a unique beat.
In response, everyone in the class joined her in making the tune as an indication that they were now giving her their full attention. The teacher formally introduced me to the class and let everyone know that I was there observing my class project. She then introduced the day’s topic which was a non-fiction narrative and asked the students to take out the book Cactus Hotel, which was to serve as the guide for the day.
The first 15 minutes of the one and a half hour class was dedicated to independent reading, and each student was to read the book from start to finish while taking note of its unique features and elements. Each student had his/her reading posture, which from an observer’s perspective was quite interesting to look at. Some slumped back in their seats with the books held high up covering their faces, while others placed the book flat on the desk, and with the head cupped between both hands, they peered over the writing, only shifting position when they wanted to turn the pages. After the 15 minutes elapsed, the teacher asked if there was any student who could explain what the narrative was about.
Several students raised their hands, with some verbally calling out for her attention. She chose one student who gave a summary of the story as per his understanding. Most of the other students seemed to agree with her because after she was finished, only one student raised his hand, to add some minor details that the other student had left out. The teacher then went on to affirm the summary provided by the two students as a correct account of what the book was all about. Using specific examples from the story, the teacher went on to explain the different elements of non-fiction narrative and showed the students how they could use them to improve their writing.
As the lecture went on, a musical note played from the back of the class. Attention was drawn to two boys sitting next to each other in the last row, and the guilt on their faces told that they were the cause of the disturbance. The teacher called them to the front of the class and asked them to bring along the gadget that made the noise. Hesitantly, they walked over and handed her an expensive mobile phone. One of the students had been given the phone as a present by his elder brother, and he decided to bring it to school, even though it was against policy. The teacher asked the duo to go and sit back but asked them to remain behind after school for detention.
He also informed the owner of the mobile phone that it would be taken to the principal’s office and that the boy would have to come with his guardian the following day to collect it. The teacher appeared a little bit angered, but she did not let this show. However, the students were able to pick out her fury and maintained pin-drop silence. Everybody in the class now focused on the books on their desks, avoiding the temptation to glance at their neighbor just in case the teacher found it offensive.
With the distraction dealt with, the teacher went on giving practical examples of the usage of various elements of writing in coming up with non-fiction work. For homework, the teacher asked the students to each write their books, which would include everything a published book would have, including the cover pages, table of contents, and author’s biography. The books would be presented during the week.
The teacher specifically indicated that the books needed to be typed and printed on regular printing paper. She also confirmed that grades would be issued for the work. The lesson ended on time, and as the bell rang, the students closed their books and rushed out. However, the two boys who were to be served with detention remained behind and were given extra academic work to tackle. While supervising the detention, the teacher took me through her arrangement on the bookshelf in the room. With the learning process being gradual, the teacher had arranged the books in a particular sequence, such that at any particular moment, the students could tell which book(s) they needed to pay attention to.
She also had a reward scheme, where she would give students who read at least two books in a quarter received a gift. I later went back to my seat and sat quietly through the detention exercise, allowing everyone to do their work uninterrupted. The two students appeared disappointed by their actions and in a bid to make amends they diligently went through the work given. The teacher, on the other hand, sat at her desk preparing notes for the next class. She had some resource books open on her desk, and from time to time, she would rise to collect another book from the shelf before going back to her seat and continuing with her work.
After the one-hour detention came to an end, the students waited for the teacher to prompt them to hand in the work they had been working on. In an unexpected turn of events, the students heartily expressed their apologies for disturbing the class and promised to never do it again. They indicated that they had learned their lesson and that they would maintain discipline at all times. Exercising leniency, the teacher handed back the mobile phone to the owner and asked him to never carry it to school again, lest she is forced to report him to the principal. She, however, asked the duo to write a short apology letter for interrupting the lecture, which would be read out to their classmates in the next session.
The students thanked her and scampered away before she changed her mind. After their exit, the teacher closed her books and returned them to the shelf while tucking away her notes in her handbag. She then went around the classroom closing all the windows before walking out to join other teachers in the staff room. This was the end of my observation exercise, and I also packed my things and left.