Week Two Reflection

Examples of thesis assessment.

This week was a really good one.  The students were great and I feel like we made some substantial progress in writing ideas that are very complex.  I got to teach writing, to both the morning and afternoon classes, today.  It was really beneficial for me to teach the lesson twice in one day because I was able to see where my instruction was lacking with the morning class and make modifications/deepen my instruction in the afternoon so the lesson was even more effective.  I taught the class about developing a thesis, searching for evidence to support and test the thesis, and revising the thesis if there was not sufficient evidence to support it.  The afternoon class got so invested in the lesson and developing theses from their fiction texts, we spent the entire class working on the lesson.  I felt really pleased that they had grasped the content well enough to want to invest in it.  It was interesting for me to see how impactful changing a few things from the morning lesson that were not clear enough improved the students’ understanding.  I also got really positive feedback from the co-teachers in the classroom.  When I asked for feedback on the lesson, one said, “it felt good”.  That was so affirming for me to know that I am on the right track.

Observed Diversity

My internship classroom is full of diversity.  I have students from various cultural, racial, religious, ability, and socio-economic backgrounds.  Working in a classroom with such a broad spectrum of diversity is both a really challenging and enriching experience.  I love having the opportunity to work with students who are different on so many levels.  I also believe these differences bring a richness my class would lack if it was more homogenous.  In a rough estimate, there are at least seven different racial groups represented in my classroom (and many more cultures), at least three major religions, and there are various students who have different levels of abilities/disabilities.  I think the area where my class is the least diverse is within the realm of socio-economic status—the majority of my class qualifies for free/reduced lunch so on a socio-economic status all of the students are fairly similar.  Although working in a classroom with such a diverse population presents difficulties, because lessons need to be differentiated in multiple aspects, I feel my students gain so much from the differentiation it is not a negative at all.  My students are growing and learning in ways that students in a less diverse class cannot.  I have also attached a classroom characteristics chart to give a more mathematical break down of the classroom makeup.

Students performing in a Lunar New Year assembly.

classroom_and_student_characteristics_template_000

What Will You Do?

As a teacher, and especially because I am going to be a Language Arts teacher, I know that reading will have a very prominent role in my classroom. My students will be reading every single day. They will be exposed to all different types of texts—including poetry, which is hard to convince students that it is “interesting”. I will push them to comprehend and analyze what we read on a deeper level than they ever have before. By constantly having students read and talk about what they are reading I hope to foster a class of students who love, or at least appreciate reading. My curriculum will be focused on exposure, appreciation, and comprehension.
I will also have all types of texts available to students (graphic novels, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, poetry) so that they have a greater chance of discovering something they enjoy reading. I will try to model the behavior I expect of my students. My classroom will be progress based—focusing more on individual improvement than standardized testing. By creating an environment where students feel comfortable taking risks I know they will grow immensely. Varied instruction will also help me reach as many students as possible because it will keep the class interesting and engaging. I hope that by conveying how truly important I believe reading is I can encourage my students to develop into readers.

What is Reading?

Reading has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I grew up in a household where reading was the preferred fun activity of choice (we didn’t own a t.v. for a long time), and weekly trips to the library were the norm.  Because of this foundation I have a really, for lack of a better word, intimate relationship with reading and it will have an integral place in my classroom.  If my students walk away, after a year in my classroom, with nothing more than an increased appreciation for reading—I have made a positive impact on their life.

If my students ask, “what is reading?” my answer will be:  “reading is the cheapest ticket you can ever buy.  You can learn about places and grow from people’s experiences without sacrificing anything but your time.  Reading is how you learn”.

Not to be cliché, but I feel that reading is the key to everything.  And I mean that literally.  Reading allows you to experience things you never have before (cultures, ideas, words), it shows you the beauty of the world (the imagery found in literature is breathtaking—think Dickenson’s poetry), it provides information (directions between point a and point b, how to use the quadratic equation, or put together a vacuum), it’s a form of communication (when someone wants to tell a story it is done through the avenue of print), it’s an enjoyable activity (reading has the ability to transport you from chaos), and it builds analytical skills (reading helps make connections—from text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world).  I believe reading is the most important foundational tool you can give a student because it can be funneled into all areas of learning.