3/8/10

Today I observed at Notre Dame for guided reading. I was in Mr. Six's classroom, he is a 2nd grade teacher and their are 15 children in his classroom. But I observed what the other children were doing while the guided reading group was up with the teacher. He takes about 3 or 4 kids at a time for the guided reading group for 15 minutes. The other children are supposed to be working on something quietly or playing a game with a partner quietly. I observed two children playing hang mouse on the smart board. They were very engaged in the game. Hang mouse is just like hang man. They had to guess the letters to figure out the word but they only get so many guesses before their turn is over. The two girls who were playing the game seemed excited and assisted each other in figuring out the word by using problem solving skills. This type of play would not be structured because they were free to choose their own activity as long as they were quiet. The game made spelling fun and exciting for the girls, versus using pencil and paper to write words. I believe that this interactive game was a great way for children to explore with technology and improve their problem solving and spelling skills.