1 b.  Demonstrating Knowledge of Students 

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I place high value on getting to know students as individuals. Every student is unique and brings worth to the classroom. By playing to these strengths, I hope to create a welcoming and diverse learning environment.

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When substitute teaching, I found it useful to get to know students names even if I was only in the classroom temporarily. I would do my best to introduce myself as students walked in for the day. Giving students a smile and listening to their names shows them that you view them as an individual.When working one-on-one I use desk name tags to call students by their name and ask about their individual interests.

Throughout my experiences, I have always made it a priority to get to know both the academic and personal needs of my students. During student teaching, I had the chance to get to know all of the students interests very well. By watching how they interact at snack break and talking to them about the types of books they like to read, I was able to learn their interests and incorporate them into my teaching.

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For example, my fourth grade class was very artistic as a whole. During our poetry unit, we had a bracket of different poems we would vote on to see which made it to the final two. As we listened to poems, students were invited to draw images that came to mind. We would link these pictures with keywords that stood out to them, such as “blazed, embarked,scrambled, breezy, and muddy”  With these poetry examples, I lead a lesson on the importance of using strong verbs and adjectives in our own writing.

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                                                                         Another way I incorporated student interests into my lessons was by providing different choices

                                                                         which highlighted their interests. During our Language Arts block students were divided into

                                                                         different book clubs. Each student was given the options to

                                                                         pick from a menu of tasks demonstrating comprehension

                                                                         of their books. I included tasks that would interest different

                                                                         students. There were tasks that included speaking in front of

                                                                         the class, drawing, creating and tasks that included getting to

                                                                          type their assignments instead of hand write them. I knew

                                                                          ahead of time which tasks would draw the attention of

                                                                          certain students and it was fun to give them the chance to

                                                                          gravitate towards their strengths.

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As well as including interests into my teaching I also strive to include students academic needs.

Following the example of my cooperating teacher I used a series of test to check in with their

reading progress. By doing running records, FRY tests, and star tests I was able to create a picture

of their reading needs. We kept all this information accessible in a binder with a tab for each

student. By having their records in one place we could easily see when it was time to check in

again and retest for progress. I would keep this information in mind when providing scaffolding,

reading suggestions and assignment. 

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 1 d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources

 

Throughout my education, I have continually compiled a toolbox of resources to use in my teaching. Below is a brief description of some of the resources that have been especially helpful for me.

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My cooperating teacher: From day one of my student teaching placement my cooperating teacher served as my biggest resource in the classroom. From showing me how to use the printers to sharing with me how she was communicating with parents she provided insight on her activities. There are a lot of small procedures that you don’t learn in method courses and having a mentor to explain these processes was so helpful to me. She was a great resource for me because she always allowed me to try for myself any new skill she taught. For example, she would grade a reading log for our fourth grade class and explain where each point was coming from. Directly after, she would give me a pile to begin grading. She always welcomed questions which helped me grow in my understanding. I found that asking questions was the best ways to get additional information. I really benefited from observing her teaching and watching how she interacted with the students as she taught a specific lesson. Then the next day I would teach a similar lesson keeping in mind different techniques that she used.

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Books and Curriculum: Father Marquette Elementary School provides the teacher with many different text resources to use in the classroom. They have a specific writing curriculum that they use called Institute for Excellence in Writing. Included in this curriculum is a binder with example lessons, scope and sequence and worksheets as well as an online site that you can access with additional resources. They even have podcasts that you can listen to. I was able to use these resources and then expand on them with other outside sources.  For Social Studies we used a resource from the State of Michigan called Oakland Schools. Lessons for each unit are laid out with supplemental material. I found this to be an extremely useful resource because every lesson was directly tied to the Michigan Standards. Before planning a unit, I always started by looking at ideas from this curriculum. Next, I would adapt them to my student’s interests and needs. They also had helpful resources for testing reading levels. We used the A-Z program for running records. I learned how to use this resource and found it successful for checking in with student’s comprehension and fluency progress. The school also used The Renaissance Place for students to take accelerated reader tests. These tests focused on comprehension. Students were encouraged and excited to take these tests after finishing a book they read independently or as a group.

 

Conferences and Seminars:  Throughout my education, I have been reminded that it is vital for

teachers to continue learning. One way you can do this is by attending different conferences.

I was able to attend the Upper Peninsula Reading Association Conference in 2015. This was a

valuable experience for me. Being part of a community made me excited to be an educator. I

was able to learn, chat and make connections with other professionals from around the area.

This spring, I was also honored to be selected for Michigan Teacher of Promise award. As part

of this experience, I will get to go to Lansing to attend the Governor's Education & Talent

Summit. I look forward to this experience as a way to continue to grow in the profession.

During student teaching, we have monthly seminars that we attend with other Northern

Michigan student teachers. I found these to be a great resource. Talking with other educators

is one way to share ideas and experiences.

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Online sources: Utilizing online sources is a most in the classroom today. By sharing resources

teachers don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day. Through sites like Pinterest,

teachers-pay-teachers and other blogs you can find a plethora of resources that are useful in the

classroom. I like to pick and choose from a multitude of sources to create something that will

work for my individual classroom and learners. I also use the internet to create my own lesson

plans by looking up different free clip art and photos to use in Visual Thinking Strategy lessons.

    Education Classmates: Sharing lessons with my education classmates has been one way to

double the amount of lessons I have to draw from. During a lot of my earlier classes we were

given the opportunity to share and keep each other's lessons. I have organized these lessons into

folders on my google drive by subjects so that I can easily access them wherever I am. For

example, during my methods math course we each presented mini lessons that focused on using

math manipulatives. Now, I have copies of each of these lessons as well as the memory of seeing

these lessons being taught.

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