Goals

·         To learn about ways/methods I can teach language arts

·         To teach more lessons (outside of those assigned) in my classroom to gain more experience

·         To continue to see my mentor teacher teach reading/writing

·         Have in depth and valuable class discussions that will get me thinking or challenge me to implement something into my lessons

·         To become a more confident writer

I have never been confident in language arts. It takes me a long time to write a paper and I am very judgmental of my work. However, I know the importance of LA so I will strive to learn as much as I can this semester to become more confident in teaching this subject!

            School

·         Early Elementary (K-2)

·         Diversity

·         Support from administration and colleagues

·         Safe area

·         Not sure about parochial/suburban/rural

What I want to learn about literacy instruction to help me reach my goals

·         How to balance all types of learners during literacy lessons (i.e struggling reader, advanced reader, ect.)

·         Effective writing techniques to show young children

·         How to get parents to be active and involved in their children’s literacy skills

·         Strategies to get students motivated, but keeping standards/content

Jig saw readings

·         From the Diller article

·         I know that I want to be a teacher that gets to know their students on a personal level

·         Read books in the classroom that reflect the life of the students/ones they can connect to

·         I learned an effective way for handling the “race card” situation. Specifically I will acknowledge difference and say that I am here to teach all students.

·         If the culture of the students is unfamiliar to us get it from children’s literature or even colleagues and even children and parents!

·         From the Hettinger/Knapp article

·         I learned that I don’t ever want to label a child in their ability to read, but help them out as best I can

·         I want to be a teacher that pulls out all the stops for a struggling reader (i.e parent- child book clubs, buddy reading, older/younger child reading, ect)

·         Even with many different abilities in literacy I want my classroom to have a positive “classroom reading community”

·         From the Tompkin Reading

·         I want to be a teacher that incorporates a good balance of the four different learning theories

·         I want to include technology into my classroom

·         I like Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

·         I want to again build bridges between home and school

·         Even at a young age literacy can challenge injustices and inequalities

·         I want to instill a classroom community that has the characteristics of responsibility, opportunities, engagement, demonstration, risk taking, instruction, response, choice, time, and assessment.

·         Set up my classroom community within the first two weeks