Jordan — C03

On August 2nd, I observed Vicky Ledbetter's Elementary Grammar class. Because this was one of the last days of class for the semester, Vicky gave the students self-evaluations to fill out. These evaluations were a numerical list of everything that had been covered in class (#5 Adjectives, # 8 Questions, etc.). Students were to place a check mark next to items they felt comfortable with, and circle those with which they needed to review. Vicky had an online stop-watch running on the projector screen, counting down the time for both the class and the teacher, ensuring that everyone stayed on schedule. In addition to the timer, she also had written an agenda on the board, clearly visible to everyone. After giving the students some time to fill out their evaluations, Ms. Ledbetter started calling on students to give an item they had circled. One of the students asked about the present continuous, and using a lot of theatrics, Vicky proceeded to "call" each student in class on the "phone" and to ask them what they were doing. It was very funny, but it was also effective and soon, she had cleared up any misunderstanding on that subject and moved on. She continued to review various bits of grammar for the rest of the class, very successfully. I only hope I can have the energy she does when I'm teaching my only classroom; she has this way of connecting with each of her students to make them excited about what they're doing.