SEI Classroom Observation
1
SEI Classroom Observations: TLS 416
Haley A. Robling
Your name: Haley Robling
School: Drachman Montesorri Magnet
School District: TUSD
Grade(s): first and second
Program type (SEI or ELD?): SEI
Subject being taught: Circle time
Teacher: Ms. Marie
Years teaching:
Bilingual: YEs
Trained in SEI/SIOP/Sheltered strategies:
___X__YES
______NO
Degree in ESL, 20 years experience, SEI
trained and trained the Drachman staff
Number of students in the class: 10
Number of ELLs in the class: 10
Their home countries: Mexico, Tanzania,
Somalia
Language background(s): Spanish, Mai Mai,
Swahilli
Date of observation: 9/21/15
Day of the week: Monday
Time: from 8:40-10:00
SEI Classroom Observation
2
When planning my observation Ms. Marie told me she thought it would be best
for me to come during circle time. Circle time happens right after the first bell rings and
is a part of their everyday routine. I met Ms. Marie at the line up pole for her class and
walked with them into their classroom. When I walked in I saw that the students knew
the routine and put their belongings in their cubby and then took a seat on the rug. Ms.
Marie was asking about their weekend in both Spanish and English.
In the classroom there are tables on the left hand side of the room and a rug in the
front right side of the room. There is one computer in the back of the room on a desk. On
the walls there is a number chart, the alphabet, days of the week, the seasons, colors,
shapes, months, the schedule of their day, children’s work, the classroom helpers, a word
wall, and the long and short vowels. The teacher’s desk is in the far right corner of the
room. All of the charts make the room bright and welcoming and are also a resource for
them to use when working in groups or on their own.
Ms. Marie is Hispanic and is in her 50’s. She has a degree in English as a Second
Language and has worked in ELD classes for over 20 years. She is also SEI trained and
has trained the staff at Drachman. While observing her classroom she had 10 students
present. They are all ELL students and there were 6 boys and 4 girls. The languages in
her class include Spanish, Swhahelli, and Mai Mai. Some of her students were born in the
United States while others were born in Mexico, Tanzania, and Somalia. Some of the
students in her class wore a burqa and dresses covered their entire body. The class
worked as a group during circle time and when they were dismissed to work on their
thank you letters they were put in pairs to help one another.
SEI Classroom Observation
3
During circle time one child was the leader and she pointed to the different signs
around the room and together as a class they would read what she was pointing to. The
class first started with the sounds of the alphabet. They would say the sound, then the
letter, and then the picture that the chart provided. At the end of the chart there was a th
and ch sound that the student has to recite. Ms. Marie had them try those sounds again
since she thought they sounded the same the first time. They then moved on to the
number chart where they counted from 1-100 out loud as a class with the leader pointing
and the class using their fingers as a visual. While they were counting Ms. Marie said,
“Stop, you have to make sure you are following along with the pointer, and not go so
fast.” After they counted to 100 they counted by 10’s and then by 5’s. Ms. Marie said
they just added on counting by 5’s to their morning routine. After the numbers they
moved on to the shapes on the wall. They would say the name of the shape being pointed
at, then spell the shape out, and then say the name of the shape again. They then named
all of the different types of Monday and Ms. Marie asked them, “How many pennies are
in a dollar?” and “How many half dollars are in a dollar?” After the money they then
moved on to the color chart. They would say the color, spell it out, and then say the color
again just like they did with the shapes. They then practiced their long vowels and short
vowels. For the end of their circle routine they sang the alphabet one time and then they
said the alphabet once using the pointer. At the end Ms. Marie pointed to three different
letters and had them say them. She said this was a new addition to their morning routine.
Ms. Marie then had the leader of the day sit down and she went to the front of the
classroom. She explained to them how all parents came to parent teacher conferences and
that they were going to write them a thank you letter. She told them that the reason their
SEI Classroom Observation
4
parents come to these meetings is because they want each and every one of them to
succeed. She then had the student’s raise their hand if they did not know what the word
succeed meant. She said it, “meant that their parents want them to learn, to go to college,
to do well in school, they want you to succeed.”
Before they got started on thank you cards they had to write in their journals. The
journal prompt of the day was, “Tell me how you feel about writing letters.” She told
them not to give up on looking up words in the dictionary. If you cannot find it in the
dictionary ask a friend to help you, then ask another friend, and if you still can’t find it
ask me. In their journals they have to underline any spelling words that they have been
working on.
Before they start work on their journals Ms. Marie had them look at the word
families. They practiced the sounds and she said, “Look at how I am using my tongue for
each sound.” Sound they practiced as a group were, -ate for late, -ole for mole, pole, and
hole, and then –one for phone, zone, stone, and bone. They then read over there spelling
words by pointing to each word and saying them aloud and then had them spell each
word. They then counted how many syllables were in each spelling word. Together as a
class they talked about sentence structure. Ms. Marie asked them, “The beginning of a
sentence always has what?” “What’s at the end of a sentence?” “Do we put capital letters
in the middle of a sentence?” She then wrote on the board an example of sentences where
you can use capital words in the sentence. She wrote, I go to school and then wrote I go
to Drachman.
During the instruction she used English when addressing the whole class. When
they broke up into pairs and the students asked her questions she would repeat the
SEI Classroom Observation
5
instruction in English but then again in Spanish if that was their first language and they
still needed help. When she wasn’t teaching she would address some of the students in
Spanish to ask them about their weekend, how they were doing, and other personal
questions. The intercom is only in English but she would tell the students what is for
lunch in Spanish if they did not understand what options they were able to choose from.
One sheltered content strategies that I observed in the classroom was repetition.
By observing their morning routine I was able to see that they did the same thing every
morning with a few additions every now and then to further their understanding. The
class knew what the next chart was going to be, when they were supposed to say the
words, when they were supposed to spell the words, and when they were supposed to
make the sound.
Another strategy that I saw was slower and clearly enunciated speech. She would
also have them slow down their speech when talking to make sure they were making the
correct sounds. She also has them slow down so their classmates have an easier time
understanding them. When she asks questions she allows an appropriate wait time for the
students to answer her back before telling them the answer. When she was explaining the
journals and letters she also frequently checked for understanding from all of the
students. The classroom also has all of the visuals that I described earlier.
The students participated in circle time 100 percent they also went right to work
on the journals and helping one another look up words in the dictionary. When Ms. Marie
saw one boy off task she sat down with him and helped him get started on the journal.
She talked to him in Spanish during this time and he stayed on task the rest of the time I
observed.
SEI Classroom Observation
6
I really enjoyed observing this ELD classroom. The teacher was very nice and
welcoming to myself and to all of her students. You can tell through her body language,
the way she engages with her students, and the way she asks her students about their
weekend and how they are doing that she really cares for all of her students. While she
isn’t able to talk to all of them in their first language she does talk try to talk the students
that know Spanish in their first language. She is able to help them a little more with their
work and check for understanding. I hope I am able to observe in her classroom again to
see the progress these students will make through out the school year.
I could see myself teaching in her classroom. I liked how all of the students were
engaged and excited to be back at school after the weekend. I would be unable to
communicate with them the way she does in their first language. I think using their first
language shows that you care about their identity and where they come from. I all the
students were able to have that type of help.