Blog 6

     The teacher that I observe does an excellent job at actively engaging students.  He has the desks set up in tables so the children can collaborate with each other about answers and share ideas with each other.  He often uses the think pair share strategy allowing each child to have an opportunity to think about and elaborate on his or her answers.  He then puts them in pairs and lets them share their findings or ideas.  Another thing he does is bring all of the students together sitting on the carpet.  He says this gets them more engaged in the learning rather than sitting in their desks with distractions. 
      I noticed some of the vocabulary we learned are words he has taught me about.  One that he uses most is wait time.  He will ask a question and will not let students raise their hand until everyone has had a chance to think.  He says when students raise their hands right after a question is given it makes the other children not want to try to think because they will let someone else answer.  It also gives them an opportunity to put all of their ideas together in an effective answer.
      Aside from wait time he uses many other of the vocabulary words we learned.  He never says them but constantly portrays them.  I see him using scaffolding many times when he is helping a student one on one with a question.  He is also very good at overlapping.  He uses many of these strategies and he is a very effective teacher.