CO #2 Madison

My second class observation was with Ryan Fleming again; however, this time I was observing one of his lower level reading classes rather than his level four listening class. As soon as class started Mr. Fleming called roll. He reduced students' affective filters by trying to engage in friendly classroom chat with the students. He began by going over the agenda, and greeted each student as they entered into the classroom. The class was reading Apollo 13- which is a great book for American culture because it talks about space, astronauts, and Neil Armstrong. Ryan even gave me a book so that I could read along with the class. I noticed that he mentioned that he assigns the class a weekly reading log, which is also what my third grade tutee must complete daily. I remember back in elementary school when I was just beginning my English studies, and I had to do reading logs too. The class plans to watch a movie about Apollo 13 once they finish reading the book to review everything that they've read. Mr. Fleming asked the students before they started reading, "why are we reading this book?" and also, "why do I read aloud, instead of you?" To answer these questions he called on students directly, I noticed that when he was asking the students these questions he was explaining the rationale behind the assignments- why are we doing this? He used the board to write down key ideas, and vocab words found in the reading like parachute. He also went over the chapter that they read in the previous class to build a schema. Ryan once again asked specific students questions about what they already read. While he was reading Ryan maintained a slow, even, and clear pace. He stopped several times throughout the reading to ask students questions to make sure they were comprehending as he read aloud. He also stopped in between chapters, and asked each student in the class a question about the reading. He even drew a picture on the board to help better illustrate his points, and the vocabulary words that they were talking about. Then he asked other students to draw pictures on the board if they felt that they could correctly explain a vocabulary word. I noticed while he was writing on the board he described a speed in Km/h. This is very uncommon with American students, and is just a reminder that we are working with foreign students. He then gave the students a timed activity; however, afterwards he asked if they needed more time and then proceeded to give them an extra five minutes in order to continue their work. Ryan read out loud to the students- which is extensive reading- and I noticed that both the book as well as the chapters were very short. Lastly, he had the students answer TEFL style questions, and then they went over the answers together as a class. He encouraged students to write notes about what was being discussed. Overall, I thought he did a wonderful job!