2020 Walkthroughs / Obs

11 February 2020, 1CA, 11.15am-12.15pm

Mrs Yee

Lesson Prep / Lesson Design

Teacher had designed the lesson where she would conduct the music lesson in class where students are seated in front for the whole lesson. Teacher could have considered using the music room, where students could visibly see instruments and the possibilities of incorporating movements into the lesson
Teacher prepared the E-book and the lesson was anchored on the content in the textbook
Tuning in was done through singing the nursery rhyme “Wheels on the Bus”. The link of the tuning in activity to the lesson development was missing.

Lesson Enactment

Teacher had a rapport with the students and was very approachable. She encouraged responses and affirmed students for their participation. The teacher had a routine that she used “Echo after me please…” and she reinforced the routine consistently.
As a music teacher, she possessed a lovely singing voice and could have demonstrated/ sing along with the students. However, she was using the body-pac mic throughout the lesson and during the singing, the students were accompanied by the singing track
In exploring the types of sound that could be observed from the picture, teacher’s questioning required students to identify the things/ activities that made sounds. Students were identifying the areas and circling them, just as they would in any other subject lessons to complete written work.
Teacher promoted peer support structures where students could help and build on other’s responses. She was able to seize teachable moments, such as listening to the sound of rain (was raining at that time)
Teacher encouraged free expression of the students. When they heard the catchy and upbeat rhythm of the Indian music, they started moving and tapping spontaneously. The teacher encouraged that.

Suggestions for Improvements

Strongly encourage the teacher to explore other routines as the students grew tiresome of the same call and respond routine after numerous times.
Task to task linking could be further strengthen. (lead to better flow of the activities). The connection between the tuning in activity and the lesson development could have been tighter by bring students to be aware that the song was about the sounds heard on the bus. Bringing in the importance of active listening. It would have linked to the textbook activity of being aware of the sounds around us. From there, providing students with a listening experience (could be listening to an ethnic piece of music and talking about it) would have led nicely into the development of listening to ethnic music.
In line with student centric lessons and promoting the motivation to learn, the teacher needs to present herself/ himself as a practitioner in the subject (music/ art/ sports/ science etc). This is important in inspiring the students and motivating them to explore into their own interests.
The flow of the lesson was not very tight and the lesson could be more musical. In exploring the types of sound that could be observed from the textbook picture, the teacher could enhance the musicality of the lesson. The teacher could have gotten students to describe or imitate the sound that was made. (only done with cat “meow” and car “beeps”) In this way, the students would have been exposed to musical vocabulary such as “loud/ soft, low pitch/ high pitch.”

T1W6

29 June 2020, P2 DS, 11.45-12.45 pm

Mdm Farhanah and Mdm Rostinah

Strengths of Lesson:

It was snack break time when I entered. Teacher had put in place good routines for snack break with groups taking turns for hand washing. While pupils were snacking, teacher put up a song entitled mountain man and asked pupils to listen intently and pick up the rhythm. Pupils were observed to be focused on the task even while they were eating. At the end of the break, when teacher asked them to pick on the repeated phrase in the music, pupils were able to.

Teacher facilitated a lesson using blended learning. She made use of pupils’ input on SLS, which was done during HBL. She selected and shared a few HBL submissions where pupils had composed their own rhythm. Pupils were asked to comment and help to correct their peers’ work. Many were eager and able to give their input. The class then played the selected rhythm using musical instruments they had made at home. Teacher got class to play the music progressively. First they just read the beat, then they moved on to reading and playing at same the time. There was very good participation and pupils played well.

There was a positive atmosphere in the class. Pupils knew routines well. Class energy and participation was high. Teacher affirmed pupils often.

Possibilities for Improvement:

Time management can be improved further. Teacher indicated to pupils she was running short of time. Instead of scrolling through several SLS submissions, teacher may want to prepare ahead and just focus on one or two outstanding ones and used them as models for discussion and for playing the tune. To encourage ownership, for pupils who did not bring their own instruments, get them to improvise using their hands or their stationery instead of lending them musical instruments.

Reflection Log

Lesson Plan

PPT Slides

T3W5

T3W2

11 July 2019, P2 HA, 7.45 - 9.15 am (PAL)

Mdm Farhanah

(+) Teacher started her lesson by revisiting PAL SEL domains with the pupils. She was able to break it down into simple terms to cater for the lower primary pupils. Pupils were able to recite the domains with scaffolding.

Lesson focus:

Relationship Management
Responsible Decision Making

(+)There is class orderliness, pupils know expectations from teachers. Routines were seen being set by teacher. Teacher has a very good rapport with pupils.

(+) Teacher explained vocabulary terms related to Strawbees. This is very helpful as pupils were able to familiarize themselves with the terms.

(+) Teacher gave a few examples of how Strawbees are connected and she also shared a video of how Strawbees can be connected to form other shapes.

(AFI) Perhaps, teacher may want to pause in some parts of the video to explain to pupils how Strawbees can for m other shapes/ buildings.

(+) Pupils were seen very excited to explore. Teacher gave pupils timing and even showed the pupils their groupings. This helps in the management of pupils especially for lower primary pupils.

(+) Pupils were eager to toy around with the Strawbees. Some even used the manual handbook to try out to make different objects. Teachers constantly reminded pupils on the amount of time left for them to explore. Pupils were seen able to work very well in their groups of 3. Teacher walked around to check on pupils.

Teacher called pupils back from their small groups to debrief about the exploration. Teacher aroused pupils further by showing them the architecture that they will be building. She showed the different examples and explained the use of bridges.

(AFI) Perhaps, teacher may want to show some examples of Strawbees bridges.

Comments by Observer:

Positive Classroom Culture

*Establishing interaction and rapport
Maintaining positive discipline
*Setting expectations and routines
Building trust
Empowering learner

Teacher has a good rapport with pupils. There is a classroom routine that has been set by the teacher and she was able to manage the class very well. Teacher knows each and every pupil by name and a positive TSR is seen in the classroom. Conducive classroom environment. Teacher has put up posters to remind pupils on the routines and expectations.

Lesson Preparation

*Determining lesson objectives
Considering learners’ profiles
Selecting and sequencing content
Planning key questions
Sequencing learning
*Deciding on instructional strategies

Teacher took learner’s profiles into consideration. She was able to explain the SEL domains very clearly to the pupils and pupils understood the focus of the lesson.

The lesson flow was very well planned as pupils were allowed to explore first before teacher got them to play and build the bridge.

Timing of the lesson was well paced.

Lesson Enactment

*Activating Prior Knowledge
Arousing Interest
*Encouraging Learner Engagement
Exercising flexibility
Providing clear explanation
Pacing and maintaining momentum
*Facilitating Collaborative Learning
*Using Questions to Deepen Learning

Simple language is used and is very appropriate for the class profile.

Pupils were seen to be very happy and were highly engaged during the exploration activity.

Teacher gave various examples of famous bridges around the world. In addition to that, teacher showed bridges that collapsed and got pupils to explain why the bridges collapsed.

Lesson objective was clearly meted out throughout the lesson. – use of toy car to test the strength of the bridge.

Bridge dimension was explicitly explained.

Assessment & Feedback

*Checking for Understanding and Providing Feedback
Supporting self-directed learning
Setting meaningful assignments

During the whole lesson, teachers took time to check on pupils’ understanding. Pupils clarified with teacher when they were unable to understand the instructions.

The tasks and activities were suitable for the class profile and ability.

Lesson Plan

Reflection Log

T3W4

24 July 2019, P1 IN, 10.45 - 11.45 am

Mdm Rostinah

Strengths of Lesson:

Teacher got class to recall previous lesson on types of movement to accompany the selected song. To check if they could do a steady beat, she organised an activity incorporating various movements (suggested eagerly by the pupils). To set them in the mood for the song and the activity, she called the pupils “Adventurers”. Teacher also used different tone of voice to make the activity engaging. Pupils were very enthusiastic and participated eagerly in the activity. They were able to do the activity well.

Teacher also got class to recall long and short sounds. Pupils could demonstrate the 2 sounds well with instruments given.

Today’s Walt was to make a loud and soft sound on bells and tambourines. Pupils were given time to explore making their own loud and soft sounds. They were observed to try various ways of making the sounds. Some pupils showed leadership by organising the activity for their groups. After discussing, each group was invited to demonstrate the sounds using beats given by teacher.

Lesson was fun and engaging. Teacher was firm in managing pupil behaviour while at the same time allowing pupils to give views, explore and enjoy the instruments. She also taught pupils the value of responsibility by reminding them to take care of the instruments. Dontavion had several buddies helping him to be more focussed and was able to also participate in all the activities.

Possibilities for Improvement:

While teacher had to jot down the actions needed next to the lyrics, it meant the screen was not pulled down throughout the song activity resulting in the image being cut at the top.

Teacher also wrote the loud and soft symbols for the instrument activity over the screened picture on the white board. Thus the symbols could not be seen. Better to use the clear white board. Besides, there was no more need for the song image and it could be removed.