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Adviser Observation of a Lesson

As a part of student teaching, it is required to be observed by an adviser at least three different times at the elementary level and three at the secondary level.  The adviser acts as a second mentor, your first being the cooperating teacher you work with.  During these observations, you are given feedback on the strengths and weaknesses in you lesson, delivery, and classroom management.
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Camouflage Collagraph Lesson Day One

On the first day of our four day lesson, the students were introduced to the concept of camouflage and the art technique of collagraphing.

Collagraph is a print-making process where various materials are glued to a piece of cardboard (recycled cereal boxes) to create a raised texture.

In this particular lesson, the students were first asked to identify animals in pictures using camouflage as a method to blend into their environment.  During this activity, students were asked:

What is camouflage?

What makes the skin camouflaged or what is helping the animal blend into their environment?

What is the camouflage used for?

During this activity I found that the students were very engaged and loved learning about various animals that used camouflage. Some great examples are the leaf-tailed gecko, the great grey owl, and the speckled sanddab fish.

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During this lesson, I was fortunate to use the Mimio Technology that is available at my school.  Mimio is a brand name for educational technology that is able to capture your computer screen on the whiteboard of the classroom. Part of the Mimio is a great software program called Mimio Studio Notebook. Essentially it combines paint and powerpoint in one, allowing the teacher to create pages like a slideshow and draw using the various tools.

In my particular lesson, after finding the camouflage animals in pictures, the students were lead through a step-by-step drawing of a lizard on their card board plates. The best aspect of the Mimio program is that if you have drawn out the steps on different slides then: 1) it leaves you to walk around and assist students, and 2) it also allows all students to see the steps in a large, easy to view format. Two words…LOVE THIS!