Clinical Field Experience A: Questioning Strategies in a Social Studies Classroom
Grand Canyon University
ELM 351: Methods and Strategies for Integrating Social Studies and the Arts
I had the pleasure of observing and collaborating with Ms. Kristi Stephen a 1st grade
teacher of over 20 years. I have had the pleasure to work with her a few times and every time I
work with her I take away something new and useful for my future classroom. I observed her
teaching the class about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln which is always a fun lesson
to observe because the students are always engaged, and they are able to be involved in some fun
activities. She started out her lesson by asking the students to go into their prior knowledge by
asking “Who was George Washington and Who was Abraham Lincoln?” She would then write
everything that they could come up with on a big sheet of paper. To test their knowledge, they
then played a game where she asked that when she was describing Washington that the students
put on their hats and when she was describing Lincoln that they would make a beard motion.
This way she could see which students where meeting lesson objectives. The students loved this
game and by doing this she was able to refresh her student’s memory as well as get them
involved and engaged in learning about the two presidents. She then had them go back to their
desks and complete a Ven diagram where the students would compare and contrast the two
Grand Canyon University
ELM 351: Methods and Strategies for Integrating Social Studies and the Arts
I had the pleasure of observing and collaborating with Ms. Kristi Stephen a 1st grade
teacher of over 20 years. I have had the pleasure to work with her a few times and every time I
work with her I take away something new and useful for my future classroom. I observed her
teaching the class about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln which is always a fun lesson
to observe because the students are always engaged, and they are able to be involved in some fun
activities. She started out her lesson by asking the students to go into their prior knowledge by
asking “Who was George Washington and Who was Abraham Lincoln?” She would then write
everything that they could come up with on a big sheet of paper. To test their knowledge, they
then played a game where she asked that when she was describing Washington that the students
put on their hats and when she was describing Lincoln that they would make a beard motion.
This way she could see which students where meeting lesson objectives. The students loved this
game and by doing this she was able to refresh her student’s memory as well as get them
involved and engaged in learning about the two presidents. She then had them go back to their
desks and complete a Ven diagram where the students would compare and contrast the two
