Reading Philosophy

I plan to have a print rich environment for my students with plenty of books, and things to read on my classroom walls. I will use all the strategies I have learned so far. I will make sure to give my students time for independent reading as well as shared, and read aloud sessions. It is my goal that every child will leave my class a fluent reader. Reading is so important, and not only is it important, but it is also a lot of fun.

Assessment Section

Assessment is a very important part of teaching, and one that I am continuing to learn about. There are all types of assessment, listening to the students, tests, homework, and projects. We had to work with a struggling reader this semester, and we had to assess his grade level, strengths and weaknesses, and how we might help him. It was a challenging and rewarding experience. Here is a link to my assessment profile.

Five Essential Components of Reading

There are five essential components to reading, comprehension, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and fluency. It is important to develop proficiency in each one. I wrote a paper for another class explaining these five components. Here is a link to that paper. Click here.

Read Aloud Section

Reading out loud to the students is a great way to model fluent reading. I always enjoyed when my teachers read a story to me. I think kids really enjoy this activity. I plan on doing plenty of reading to my students, and hope they will enjoy it as much as I did when I was read to. I taught a read aloud lesson at my school that incorporated a social studies aspect to it. The kids seemed to really like the story, and it was one that all of us can relate to. Here is the link to my read aloud.

Shared Reading

I taught a lesson on shared reading when I was at the school. I read a poem that was humorous, and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. I made them all a copy, and had them echo read after me and also read the poem as a group. Shared reading is important, because it allows the struggling reader to read along with the good readers. It also models what good reading sounds like, and gives the kids a chance to practice right after hearing it done correctly. Here is a link to my shared reading lesson.

Guided Reading/ Small Groups

Out of everything I did this semester, teaching the small group reading lessons was my favorite. I was fortunate in that I got to teach the small group reading every day I was at the school. I really enjoyed the personal interaction with the children. We read stories from the Reading Street program mostly, and some from their leveled readers. I like being able to ask each child in the group for their responses to what was being taught. It was really fun to interact with the children on a smaller, and more up close and personal level than when teaching the whole group.

Using Reading Programs Effectively

It is important to understand and use reading programs. Currently the reading program in the schools is Reading Street. I think the book is good, but can be confusing with all the side notes and different pages. I think to use this program effectively it should be reviewed before you teach it, so you can get the maximum benefit from it. Here is a link to my reading block plans.

Independent Reading

It is very important that children are given time to do independent reading. Children need to be given time to read in school and at home. It is important that they be allowed to choose reading materials that are of interest to them, and that are also on the right level. I have already started a collection of reading materials for my classroom. I hope to have a classroom that is print rich with lots of different, and interesting materials for the children to read.

Parental Involvement

Parental involvement is extremely important. It is important that parents show interest and concern in their children's learning. If a child sees that their parents are interested in their work, they will strive to do better. At the beginning of the school year I plan on trying to involve the parents as much as possible in their child's work. I will create a website that the parents can log into to easily see what their child is working on, and their progress. They will have work sent home that will also need to be signed by the parent. I will also have an email and phone number that parents can reach me on. I plan on inviting the parents to the school to help with activities that their child might be involved in, and will let them know that they are welcome in my class at any time.

Mathematics Philosophy

Math was always a hard subject for me. The older I have gotten though the more I enjoy working on math problems. I want to incorporate as many different strategies and manipulatives into my teaching as possible. Math does not have to be as hard as it seems, and I want to unlock my students potential in this area with clear and interesting teaching. Here is a link to my mathematics autobiography.

Working with Struggling Mathematicians

During the semester we worked with a student who was struggling with math. Math was always a class that I struggled with too. With today's technology though, teaching math is getting easier, and there are so many great resources available now through the internet. I hope to make my math lessons interactive and fun for my students. I plan on doing this through the many great resources available on the internet, and as many manipulative math kits as I can get my hands on. Here is a link to my math assessment profile on my struggling math student. Link to assessment profile.

Teaching with Manipulatives

Teaching with manipulatives is a great way to increase the learning of your students. It helps children to learn when they can see, feel, touch, and manipulate objects. I taught a math lesson using ten-blocks as a manipulative in the classroom. The children were able to group these blocks in an array system to solve for the correct answer. I think using manipulatives also makes a lesson more fun for the students. Here is a link to my lesson plan where I used the ten-blocks. Link to lesson plan.

Teaching with Technology

Today with the use of computers it is very easy to incorporate technology into ones teaching. There are many great websites that have interactive games, and other learning tools. The children love going to these websites, because it makes learning fun. As teachers it is very important that we keep up with the latest technologies, so that we can use this information to help us become better teachers. Most classrooms are now outfitted with smart boards which allow for a lot of different opportunities to use technology in our lessons. With these smart boards we can now pull up these interactive websites easily, and incorporate them into our lessons. Here is a link to good interactive math web site.

Teaching with Children's Literature

Teaching with children's literature is a great and interesting way to develop a math lesson. Children love stories, so it really helps get their attention. I have done several bulletin boards on children's literature, and this is a great way to display this type of activity in class. Here is a link to my weekly math lesson plans, and on Friday is a lesson incorporating children's literature. Link to math lesson plans.

Science Philosophy

Science is the most interesting and fun class for me. I still remember many of the science experiments that I did back when I was in school. I want to try and incorporate as much science into my classroom as possible. I plan on buying and keeping as many science kits as possible in my classroom, so that the children will have a wide variety of experiences to explore. One of the things I like about science is that it is a very hands on type of learning. I plan to have posters and bulletin boards around my room with a rich display of scientific information to hopefully create life long learners out of my students in the area of science. Here is a link to my science autobiography.

Science Experiment

Science experiments are so much fun. We had to do an in class science experiment, and I did mine with play dough. My experiment was a sink or float experiment. The play dough that is in the shape of a ball will sink to the bottom of a glass of water, but when you form it into the shape of a boat it will float. This is an easy and simple experiment to do with your class. Here is a link to my science experiment lesson. Link to science experiment.

Teaching with Manipulatives

Teaching with manipulatives is very important. Children often learn better by actually doing, touching, and manipulating something. It is very important to incorporate this type of learning into the classroom. It is also a lot more fun to learn this way than just memorizing facts, and doing worksheets from a book. We did a really fun AMSTI lesson in our class, and here is a link to my reflection on it. AMSTI reflection link.

Teaching with Technology

Teaching with technology is easier than ever now with the use of computers. For one of my lessons I used an interactive website that the students could use to learn about animals, and their food chains. The children seem to really love using these websites that have interactive games, and other activities that the children can manipulate. It is important for us as teachers to keep up with and be aware of the latest technologies to help us in our teaching. Here is link to my lesson plan which also has a link to the website I used. Link to lesson plan.

Teaching with Childrens Literature

Children's literature is a great way to incorporate social studies lessons. It is an intersesting and effective way to get, and keep the students attention while at the same time teaching them important social studies concepts. At the same time as your teaching them social studies concepts you are also modeling fluent reading for the children. Here is a link to my lesson plan that incorporates children' literature. Link to lesson plan.

Teaching with Art

I love art, and want to try and incorporate more of it into my teaching. Studies have shown that children who participate in art also do better in other academic areas. One of my classes at South was an art class, and that is where I got the idea for this art activity lesson. Its a great lesson for teaching about the early Indians, and the early pilgrims when our country was just starting out. Here is a link to the lesson plan.

Teaching with Manipulatives

I taught a lesson about geography, that focused on volcanoes. I used an interactive website that the kids could come up and change certain conditions to change and view the type of volcano those adjustments would make. They really had a lot of fun with this, and then we also went out on the playground to do an experiment. I had the kids build a mountain in the sand, and then I filled it with baking soda, vinegar, and food color to make it erupt simulating a real volcano. The kids really loved this lesson. Here is a link to my lesson plan.

Social Studies Philosophy of Teaching

I have always enjoyed social studies, and learning about history and other cultures. I want to create a classroom that is rich in social studies learning. I want globes and maps, bulletin boards, and other items that will teach the kids about social studies. My philosophy will be to use interactive websites and projects to facilitate learning social studies topics. There is so much to learn from history, and he we have to teach our children the value of diversity.