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Middletown Area School District
Principal’s Walkthrough Checklist for Language Arts Instruction
Teacher: ______Date: ______Theme: ______
Observer: ______
Goal of Lesson: ______Emphasis of Skill Instruction: ______
Sequence of lesson: / Notes about instruction:
Exemplary Practices: / Recommendations:
Classroom Environment
___ / Space for large group instruction / ___ / Program components
Alpha Friends(K-1): evident ___ used ___
letter-sound cards(K-2): evident ___ used ___
big books (K-1): evident ___ used ___
phonics center (K): evident ___ used ___
Comprehension posters(1-5): evident ___ used ___
other______: evident ___ used ___
___ / Space for small group instruction
___ / Centers clearly defined and labeled
___ / Routines for transitioning are evident
___ / Resources to support writing are evident:
Steps in the writing process are posted
Checklists and Rubrics are evident
Dictionary, Thesaurus available for students
Comments:
Instruction
___ / Teacher’s edition used / ___ / Immediate, corrective feedback
___ / Explicit instruction (I do-We do-You do) / ___ / Tasks differentiated
___ / Students actively engaged (high rate of participation) / ___ / Student understanding is monitored by teacher
___ / Energetic pacing of instruction / ___ / Use of collaborative pairs
___ / Variety of resources are used to engage students / ___ / Differentiated, small group instruction
___ / Evidence of progress monitoring
Comments:
___ / Activities are conducted without print
rhyming
manipulation of words, syllables, and sounds
segmenting and blending of sounds / ___ / Visual aids
Alpha Friends / alphabet cards
letter/sound/spelling cards
word wall that supports reading and spelling
___ / Decoding is linked to spelling
___ / Gr. 3-5: Syllable types, roots, affixes are included in phonics/word study instruction.
Comments:
Fluency / Vocabulary
___ / Students are reading: shared reading, oral reading, choral reading, partner reading, poems, songs, etc. / ___ / Vocabulary words selected for in depth instruction are limited in number
___ / Teacher models fluency (read-aloud, shared reading) / ___ / Student-friendly explanations used
___ / Fluency of skills is stressed (letter names, letter sounds, phoneme segmentation and blending, oral reading, etc.) / ___ / Word walls are clear and organized
___ / Multiple exposures to words
___ / Words are used in multiple contexts
Comments:
Comprehension / Written Expression
___ / Comprehension strategies implemented:
q Summarizing
q Monitoring and clarifying
q Asking questions
q Predicting and inferring
q Making connections
q Visualizing
q Using graphic and semantic organizers / ___ / Instruction includes shared writing, interactive writing and independent writing.
___ / Models/Exemplars of student writing are provided
___ / There is evidence that Reading/Writing Workshop is in use.
___ / Extending thinking through discussions in collaborative pairs or groups.
___ / Think-Alouds used to model comprehension
Comments:
Oral Language
___ / Prior knowledge is activated through discussion and sharing prior to introducing new content. / ___ / Previewing of content and vocabulary is part of whole group instruction.
___ / Opportunities to compose ideas orally is provided daily (group sharing, partner talk, rehearsing, etc.) / ___ / The teacher expands student oral language through corrective feedback, modeling, restating, etc.
Comments:
Additional Observations and Comments:
Middletown Area School District December 2008 Based on Reading First, LFS, Houghton Mifflin Reading