Lucy CO-3

Reading with Felicia Ciappetta.

Stay on it, but not so on it that you can't get off it.

I really loved that Ms. Ciappetta drew a Venn diagram on the board (graphic organizer, say hay!) to show what she was asking students to discuss...Fast food...American version---Your country's version.

It also helped remind students what to talk about, and was a strong nod to any visual learners in the room. 

She also spoke very clearly and got the attention of the group easily. She played soft music while students talked and set a timer for 7 minutes. That timer kept an excellent pace in the classroom. Ding,ding...A good trick to remember.

After the class discussion, the students read a piece on why South L.A. officials want to slow fast food establishments from coming in to the city (Citizens are having health issues from a lack of healthy options...sources say). The atmosphere of the class was thoughtful and all the students seemed on-task. 

Students were asked to read a few paragraphs, take notes, then the class discussed the passage. It was a good move to tell the students to take notes. And the note-taking was "active" learning. Nice to see. Later, when students were asked to pair up, it seemed many of them went straight to their notes for their talking-points. 

When it came time for class discussions, Ciappetta knew everyone by name and invited input from every single person in the class at least once. In this way, she can come across as a tad abrasive and a bit controlling as a teacher- but you can also see that she is invested.

I liked it. I got a little bored, but not terribly. I mean, this is still school here. Well done.