Coming from a math background, reading was never a subject that I was enthusiastic about teaching. However, I realized that my attitude towards a subject greatly impacted my young learners. For the past few years, I made it my mission to become a better reading teacher. I attended as many professional developments that targeted reading instruction as possible. I took the curriculum home over the summer and met with my co-teacher to reflect on which lessons went well and which were challenging. We then made a curriculum map reorganizing the reading lessons in a way that was more developmentally appropriate. I teamed up with my school’s reading coach for support. She agreed to come into my classroom and observe lessons and give constructive …show more content…
Student A caused the most disruptions during independent reading. I adjusted her learning goals by differentiating her assignments and pairing her with another student to help her remain on task. I implemented a behavioral plan with Student B by using a point system. If he remains on task and in his seat, he will receive daily and weekly incentives Ex: 10 extra minutes on the computer, lunch with the teacher or a special prize from the treasure chest. I will also send home a weekly communication log that will allow his parents to know about his day at school. Student C has continue to be a disruption in my classroom. She continues to make noises, refuses to remain in her seat, and needs constant redirection. I will like to schedule a meeting with her parents to see if she displays similar behaviors at home and learn more about her home life. I will also like to recommend her for an evaluation to get her any extra support/services she might …show more content…
To accomplish this, I will seek the constructive feedback from my administrators and coaches. I welcome classroom observations as a time to refine my techniques and practices. I will also continue ongoing professional development by reading professional texts and attending workshops. Implementing researched based techniques during instruction would be key in raising student achievement. One way to address these skills would be during guided reading and guided math groups. During these times, groups are smaller and more intimate. I will assess my student’s progress weekly by using assessments, classroom observations and end of unit performance task to guide my instruction. I will also create a monthly incentives for attendance. If other classroom teachers agree, we could make it a competition between classes, where the class who has the highest attendance each month gets a reward. Ex: a popcorn or pizza party. I will also reach out to my student’s parents so that they are aware of school expectations in a creative way. I plan on creating a classroom Facebook account where I can post classroom information. I also have a text system that sends out reminders to the parents. I’ve also created monthly parent workshops to break down the expectations in parent friendly
Fountas, I., C., & Pinnel, G. S., (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
On October 10th, 2017 at Springhurst Elementary School, I conducted a “Reading Interest Survey” and the “Elementary Reading Attitude Survey.” These surveys were conducted on a 1st grade student, Jax, to determine what his feelings are towards reading in different settings, what genres he prefers to read, and interests. It was found that Jax doesn’t mind reading, but prefers a few different topics. This was evident through his raw score of 30 on recreational reading, and a raw score of 31 on academic reading.
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned, and in turn, the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success.
The class was filled with loud, inattentive children. When the school-children became disruptive, the teacher would just continue to teach like nothing happened; she mentioned to me on the side that, “It is their loss if they are not paying attention to the lesson…I am not going to stop the lesson just because of two or three of the children.” Those scholars are an interruption to the other students who are actually paying attention and trying to learn; Ms. Stone could have sent them to the hall for distractions. If the school-children were verbally being preoccupied, they were technologically sidetracked. Some pupils were playing games on their iPads, and diverting the attention from some of the other students. The grades were so bad that Ms. Stone had to throw away the quizzes and prompt the class for “pop quiz” with the same material on it for the next day. My anticipation for the class lessons were also incorrect; homework was submitted online, course notes were given and completed to the pupils via the teacher, and the assignment was online to complete and submit online. The learners accessed the homework AND the required textbook online with the iPad the school provided. Only a handful of the scholars were accepting the mathematical challenge in that classroom, and those scholars were the sophomores of the
color to be their support (Chapman 319). Since there is such a need for more teachers for students of color to relate to, one would think that the White teachers would try to cross their own cultural barrier to connect with students of color. However, they instead apply the colorblind approach. In Henfield and Washington’s study, they wanted to explore how white teachers navigate their own diverse classroom. One common theme that was interesting was that white teachers would defend themselves when disciplining students of color. The student would tell the teacher that they are being singled out because of their race. The teachers would defend themselves by saying things such as “ [I’m] certainly treating them the same way as the others, but
Going into this course, I felt that the reading and writing skills I learned in high school were very beneficial in preparing me for an English college course. In high school, I was enrolled in GATE and AP English courses. In these classes, I was assigned several readings and was taught to actively read by doing annotations. I was to summarize the writer 's main points, to write down my own opinions, or to connect it to any personal experiences. These annotations helped me understand the writer 's message better because I was able to break down the things the writer said and only focused on the important points. Then, I was also able to form my own opinion on that topic by deciding whether I agreed or disagreed with the author’s opinion. Moreover, I used evidence from the text to support my argument.
Woodward, M., & Johnson, C. T. (2009, November). Reading Intervention Models: Challenges of Classroom Support and Separated Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 63(3).
My teacher, Ms. Peshca, came to a conclusion to that she didn’t know what to do or how to explain to me what’s the importance of reading. Ms. Peshca would send me to another reading teacher, and she would try to explain things better than her. Ms. Bell would sit me down and go through different books with me. I wasn’t interested in books that were my age appropriate. I started reading books that were not friendly with age group.
As a teacher, you need to encourage all attempts at reading, writing, speaking, and allowing children to experience the different functions and use of literacy activity (The Access Center, n.d.). Moreover, it is crucial for educators to understand phonological awareness and phonics; know what constitutes good children’s literature and how to use it; know children who need additional assistance with beginning reading and writing (Cunningham et al, 2004 as cited in McLachlan et al, 2013, p. 112). Educators also need to plan effective activities to assist children experience reading aloud, listening to other children read aloud, listening to tape recordings, and videotapes so children have opportunities to integrate and extend their literacy knowledge (The Access Center, n.d.). Morrow (1990 as cited in The Access Center, n.d.) notes that classroom with greater teacher facilitation promote literacy behaviours, so it is educators’ role to provide literacy rich
Reading goals must be realistic. Students will not engage if the reading is not authentic. I want to encourage my students in reading and give them the tools they need to succeed while allowing them to choose what they read. I also want to implement different reading assessments that are creative rather than just textbook responses. Genuine reading experiences will help my students find their own passion for reading. These experiences may come from allowing students to pick their own books, having parent involvement, giving specific feedback, or alternative ways of assessment. I believe the more options I give my readers the more realistic my chances of connecting with them are.
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.
Becky Pursley, a passionate first grade teacher at Barton Hills Elementary, uses differentiation while teaching reading in her classroom. By using differentiation, Ms. Pursley is allowing students to be taught at their appropriate level. This allows for students to build upwards and motivates them to strive to grow out of their level. Students are engaged in activities that are enriching to their individual minds. Some students may be involved in buddy reading, some may listen to a book on tape, and some may even read chapter books. All these various activities can occur in one classroom with one teacher. The teacher’s job during a differentiated reading lesson is to circulate through the classroom and tend to students needs. A teacher should take a step back and become a guide for students. During a differentiated reading lesson, the classroom may appear to be lacking control, when in fact, as long as each student is engaged in something that is enriching to them, that is the perfect