Observing Class in Lenoir Schools - Tennessee

Observing classes in Lenoir City Schools

During our visit in Lenoir City Schools we had a chance to watch classes of elementary and high school levels.  In elementary school, me and my partner watched an ESL class for kids about five to seven years old. The teacher started the class with a video about numbers from 1 to 20. In the first moment they just listened and watched. Second, the kids sang loud the song following the video. They were really excited because they were able to understand the numbers. Afterward, the teacher introduced a previewing book for the kids. She told the story using an English book, and then in Spanish, due the fact that the kids mother tongue is Spanish. To finish the class, the teacher asked the kids to make a draw about any element from the story they had listened to. It was a good way to help students show their learning.

After that, we went to high schools and we observed two different classes; one of drama and the other of English. In the drama class, the teacher asked some students to represent a scene using   techniques like mime, taken pictures. It might seem that they were playing “Simon says”. One student   had to introduce a scene from whatever he wanted and then he had to say “Click”. From this point, the others students were able to follow the instructions, add some new information through their movements and freezing their bodies while the story is told. The students loved this class and we have to agree that dynamic classes are always welcome.  In the English class, the teacher asked students to make their self-assessment concerning the essays they had done days ago. After that, they explained the structure of an essay that consists in introduction, development and conclusion.

Observing those classes we could note some significant differences from our reality in Brazil such as the students’ behavior, motivation and participation. Moreover, the number of students in classes, mainly in elementary schools, is very low than we have in Brazil. The school’s structure represents also a big difference considering Brazilian’s schools. Regarding the similarities, the methods and techniques are close of what we are able to use in our classes. The things we found interesting was that in high school they put in the entrance the pictures of the top ten students what we understand being a good motivation for them. Also, they put pictures of the graduated ones and the best at sports. Besides, we were surprised about the students` behave. They raise their hands when they want to ask something being respectful with the teachers.