Today, I completed an observation of Mica’s Year 5 English session from 6-7pm, where she worked closely with her student on expanding sentences and engaging with reading tasks relevant to their skill level and ability. The session was highly effective, blending interactive strategies to enhance the student’s confidence in English. Mica’s dynamic and tailored approach ensured that the student remained engaged and focused throughout the session, making significant progress in key areas of writing.
Mica began by introducing sentence expansion exercises, guiding the student to add descriptive details and extend simple sentences into more complex ones. She demonstrated how to use adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions to create broader, more detailed sentences. Through this activity, she helped the student see how expanding sentences adds depth and clarity to their writing, both analytically and creatively.
Mica also encouraged the student to think critically about word choice, helping them to expand their vocabulary by defining key words they encountered during the exercise. As the student worked through these tasks, she introduced new adjectives and phrases, breaking them down into simpler terms to ensure understanding. When the student stumbled over spelling or struggled to find the right words, Mica offered thoughtful clues to help them, enabling the student to find their own correct answers in an independent way. This approach not only improved their spelling but also made the student feel accomplished and confident.
The session also incorporated reading tasks that were aligned with the student’s reading level. Mica selected texts that were engaging and age-appropriate, to minimise the student from becoming distracted by texts which they didn’t enjoy. She asked him questions when he felt unsure. This not only improved comprehension but also demonstrated how vocabulary and sentence structure from the text could be applied in the student’s writing.
Throughout the session, Mica’s enthusiasm and patience stood out. By the end of the hour, the student had gained practical tools for writing more detailed sentences, a broader vocabulary, and a deeper understanding of how to approach reading tasks with depth.
Mica’s ability to foster a supportive teaching style made this session both enjoyable and informative for the student. It was inspiring to see her motivate her student to embrace learning with enthusiasm when it comes to English.
Eleni Nicholas
