TA #2 Dana

    During my second classroom observation with Felicia, I noticed a jump from the last class I viewed. When I took a seat, I glanced at the Bell Ringer for the day. “Take out a sheet of paper and prepare to write!” it read. Felicia greeted everyone with a warm smile and began the class at 10:00 a.m. on the dot.

   She drew a circle on the board and wrote, “Health,” in the middle. In clear and modified speech, Felicia announced to the class, “I would like you to brainstorm this topic. You have three minutes!” She wandered around the room as the students scribbled out their webs. Once the timer went off, Felicia spoke again.

    “Now that you have brainstormed. Choose one topic and write a topic sentence. But first, what is a topic sentence?” After the class discussed the definition and purpose of a topic sentence, Felicia gave the class two minutes to write. Errors were corrected, and then we moved onto the next section, the thesis statement.

     I noticed that Felicia explains the writing concepts very clearly, always modeling as well as asking the students for their ideas. The class is also extremely comfortable with Felicia. They do not feel nervous when receiving her corrections, actually handing her their papers as she walks by. It was nice. I remember despising French corrections while I was in class.

    Soon I was pulled into correct sentences and paragraphs. I was very slow, spending time as I thoroughly combed the sentences, asking questions, and hoping to get the right answers. I have since then noticed that I spent too long with each student. I have to remember not to nit-pick beginner’s writings.