•I would like to know what reading is like across the different grades levels. How students read differently, how lessons differ, etc
•I would like to learn about more strategies and ways to motivate struggling readers.
•I would like to learn more about building confidence in young readers
•I want to learn how to create lessons that incorporate different subject areas (cross curriculum).
•I want to learn how to create a positive learning environment for my students
•I want to learn how to write better, more effective reading lesson plans
•I want to learn the best way to teach a child from a different culture to read

WHAT I LEARNED:
•So much time can be wasted during a school day if you do not prepare enough material for the day, you are not organized, and if you do not have any authority over your classroom
•Rewards for good behavior or good grades on tests will not necessarily motivate students for the long run. Rewards take away from real learning for students. If you have a powerful lesson that is motivating for your students, you should not need rewards in order for them to complete the assignment
•It is important to have access to the books that children are interested in. Frequent trips to the library, a wide variety of books in your classroom, books on tape, cd, DVD, speakers coming to read
•I learned how to deliver effective guided reading lessons through creating a goal, using background knowledge, a purpose, reading/listening, a follow up activity, and an assessment. I learned that the book will be a lot more meaningful to them, and that the students and myself enjoy guided reading lessons
•Scribbles, shapes, letter like forms, copying, prephonemic spelling, and invented spelling, are forms of reading and writing
•I learned how to write an effective big word lesson that will help children develop their spelling and vocabulary
•I learned how to give a QIWK spelling assessment which will help in the future when I need to evaluate my students abilities
•I learned a lot about my pen pal, and the difficulties she has with reading and writing


I thought this was a great assignment. I did not realize how much I had learned in my Re-3030 class until I sat down to really think about it. I am really looking forward to being able to take all of these reading strategies and lessons, and implement them into my very own reading lessons one day in my classroom. I hope that as I continue on into block two and student teaching, I am able to use what I have learned in RE-3030 and create meaningful lessons for my students.

A reflection through poems

The important thing about practicum is that it helped prepare me to become a better teacher
It is an opportunity to teach for the first time in a real classroom setting
It is like teaching in your own classroom, but with people there to support you on your way.
It has students and teachers that are welcoming and thankful
You do lessons and get to know a variety of students
It has helped me feel more comfortable and more confident as a teacher
It’s not as scary as I thought it was going to be
It does prepare me for next semester when I will be doing my internship
But the important thing about practicum is that it helped prepare me to become a better teacher.



The important thing about guided reading is that it is meaningful to the readers.
It is important to use background knowledge prior to reading your book
It is like reading, but with activities incorporated in the text
It has no beginning, middle, and end to the stories you read
You do KWL charts with guided reading lessons
It has a choral reading, echo reading, shared reading, and among many others
It’s not a direct instruction lesson
It does involve interaction and it is a lesson that challenges students
But the important thing about guided reading is that it is meaningful to the readers.



The important things about my classmates are the friendships we share
It is a common bond that we share in block
It is like a family who share their days with each other
It has been wonderful getting to know them and I know we will never lose touch
You do group work, stress about assignments, and watch movies on the way down the mountain
It has been a wonderful semester getting to know these girls and sharing one common interest, becoming future educators
It’s not comforting to know that I will be leaving these girls in block I
It does seem like just yesterday that I first met them and it is sadly enough the end of our semester
But the important things about classmates are the friendships we share




The important thing about Block I is that it prepares you to become successful educators.
It is taught by educators/supporters, Dr. Koppenhaver, Dr. Goodson Espy, and Dr. Clark
It is like a home away from home
It has helped prepare me for Block II, and student teaching
You do lessons, assignments, and have discussions with it.
It has been an educational experience
It’s not direct lecturing
It does help you learn how to teach reading, math, and become more aware of diversity within a classroom
But the important thing about Block I is that it prepares you to become a successful educator.


The important thing about struggling readers is to keep them motivated through engaging books and lessons
It is essential to have a wide variety of books in your classroom that will benefit all struggling readers
It is like learning to ride a bike when your legs are too short
It has been a struggle to motivate struggling readers
You do guided reading lessons using books that interest them.
It has been rewarding to see struggling readers take their next step
It’s not easy to read books that do not interest struggling readers
It does take time and patience
But the important thing about struggling readers is to keep them motivated through engaging books and lessons.


Through creating these poems, I was really able to reflect on the semester. I formed so many relationships through my experience in my Block I classes and Practicum. I became close with professors, my peers, my third grade students, and my cooperating teachers at W.A. Young Elementary. Each person has taught me a little something to help prepare me as a future teacher, and for that, I am eternally greatful. My professors have taught me effective teaching strategies, engaging lessons, how to incorporate diversity into my classroom and lessons, etc. My peers have provided me with their own personal experiences through teaching at W.A. Young, the sharing of ideas, and their passion towards becoming an educator. My cooperating teacher has taught me the appropriate ways to direct a parent teacher conference, personal teaching experiences of his own, strategies for teaching effective lessons to children with behvioral problems, to laugh and not sweat the small stuff, and to appreciate the oppurtunity I have been given. Block I and practicum has been an enlightening experience that I will never forget. I am appreciative to be able to take that I have learned in Block I and practicum, and carry it with me into my teaching career.

Last Day/ Math Lessons Continued

My last day at W.A. Young Elementary was definitly a day to remember. Kathryn and I brought goodies and treats for all of Mr. Rader's classes, and a special gift for Mr. Rader as a way of appreciation. Since we had completed all of our assignments for block, we were able to simply enjoy the short time we had left with our students. The students of Mr. Rader's homeroom wrote us cards that were hillarious, but also very personal.

That day, Mr. Rader did a math lesson using succotash for all three of his math classes. The students were so motivated by this lesson because it was a real life problem that they could relate to. Through practicum, I have learned that manipulatives are key in all of your lessons. While doing my math lessons for practicum, I realized how much more beneficial a lesson can be for students when manipulatives are used. Students seem more engaged in the lesson, and understand the mathematical concepts as a whole.

For one of my math lessons, I taught a measurement and estimation lesson to a low math class. I chose to use this lesson for the low math class because it used a wide variety of manipulatives which can be very effective for students who have behavioral problems. I had students use different objects as forms of measurement. Prior to measuring each item, I had students estimate before finding their actual measurement. Estimation is highly motivating for students. Students love estimating because it is somewhat of a game for them. For one of the acticities, I had my students take a piece of yarn, and measure the length of their smile from one end to the other. I encouraged them to see how long they could make their smile. My students then took the length of their smile, and measured the yarn with a ruler. Rather than working out of their math book, students were able to move around the room, measuring different items, ie: the length of their desk using paperclips, the height of their desk using pencils, the length of the classroom using their own footsteps.

In my other math lesson, we passed out ice cream menus and gave them challenging problems to work out. We also passed out money manipulatives for them to use to represent the different items they were "buying" in the ice cream shop. Through using the money manipulatives and the ice cream menus, children were able to escape reality, and place themselves in their very own ice cream shop, where they had control of what they wanted to buy.

Through giving students power, they are more likely to be engaged in the lesson being taught. Students that are able to relate math to real life contextual problems will be able to appreciate math a lot more. When I become a teacher, I hope to continue to use hands on, interactive acitivies like these in my own classroom. All too often, I see teachers that get tired of creating lessons, and turn to math worksheets and books to teach mathematical concepts. I want my students to understand and experience learning in a positive and enlightening setting. I hope for my classroom to be filled with manipulatives that reinforce learning in my classroom. Whether that be math manipulatives to reinforce learning, or meaningful books that encourage readingin young learners. I hope for my classroom to be a positive, inviting, learning environment for my students.

Math lesson

Last Wednesday, I gave my mini-math lesson to my third grade class at W.A. Young Elementary. This was the last lesson that we were required to teach. We had planned to teach our measurement and estimation lesson to the average math class as soon as we arrived. However, due to the car accident on the way to school that morning, we did not arrive at W.A. Young Elementary until the very end of the average math class. Since this did not leave us any time to teach our lesson to the average math class, we had to make arrangements to teach it in another class. We had already taught a lesson to the high math class, so we decided to teach the lower ability math class.

One of the first things that Mr. Rader told us when we first arrived in his classroom was that he did not advise us to teach to the lower math class. From speaking with Mr. Rader and observing this class, we have learned that this class contains a wide variety of learning disabilities. Most of the class had been diagnosed with severe A.D.D. This causes problems for Mr. Rader because their medicine has usually worn off be the end of the day, creating stress in classroom management. Katherine and I were a little apprehensive as to whether we should teach this class or not. However, we felt that the worksheet and the amount of manipulatives we were going to use would be very beneficial for them. I also looked at this as a challenge. When I become a teacher, I know that there will be students like the ones in the low math class that I will teach. Teaching these students can be stressful a lot of the time. However, when these students begin understanding what is being taught, a teachable moment occurs. I was not expecting to teach this lesson, and for it to go perfectly. There is always room for improvement.

We split the class into two groups. I took one group, and Kathryn took the other group. We each had between five and six students, which was enough considering their learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Students used different objects as measuring tools to measure the length of the objects/manipulatives that were provided. Students used paperclips to measure the length of their desk, pencils to measure the height of their desk, string to measure the length of their smile, and their shoes to measure the length of the room from one side to the other. While one student read the directions to a problem, other students were cutting up, and talking with one another. I had to stop what I was doing to deal with these individual students, which took away from valuable learning time. Mr. Rader warned me before my lesson that I had two students that had the worst behavioral problems in the class. Throughout the lesson, he kept a close eye to make sure they were behaving. As they worked on the individual problems, I noticed that the students worked better together in partners. The two boys with the behavioral problems worked in partners and with Mr. Rader. Both boys were very respectable towards me throughout the activity. I could really tell that they were eager to solve the problems, and eager to impress me. Another boy worked by himself, and tended to be the last person to finish the problem each time. Rather than answering the problem right away, he played with the manipulatives at his desk. I spent a lot of time with this student since he did not have a partner, which took away from help I could have been giving other students. When we did the problem where they had to count the number of steps it took to cross the room, I had them go one at a time. I felt that if they were to tall walk across the room at the same time, I could not effectively asses each student. Before I let them walk across the room, I modeled the proper way to walk with one foot in front of another (the heel of one foot touching the toe of the other foot). I felt that this was very beneficial rather than explaining what they were supposed to do verbally. To maintain class management, I had them stand on the back wall shoulder width apart, to ensure that they would not be touching eachother. While one student walked across the room, we counted how many steps he/she was taking together as a class. This also helped maintain classroom management because they did not have the opportunity to talk with one another. Although most of the group counted together, the two boys with the extreme behavioral problems were messing with manipulatives on the side. From observing this, I now understand how much attention these students need. If you are not talking to them directly, or giving them one task after another, they will act out inappropriately. After I took notice of that, I pulled them aside and made them aware of what they were supposed to be doing. With each boy, I walked across the room with them to make sure they were performing the task correctly. With one boy, he performed the task correctly at first, but the closer he got to the other end of the class, the farther his strides became. I reminded him of the correct way to walk, and we tried one more time. Again, he formed larger strides the closer we got to the other end of the room. I could tell that he was trying hard. He was counting softly to himself, and staring at his feet as he walked across the room, but he just could not do it. I did not want to push him any more and congratulated, and sent him back to his seat to record his result.

The outcome of this activity was successful in my mind. This lesson ended with a smile on my student’s faces and my own. I learned a lot from these students, and I believe that they learned a lot about measurement and estimation based on the assessment that I gained from observing. It is so important to incorporate a lot of manipulatives in math activities, especially for younger elementary students, and students with disabilities and behavioral problems such as A.D.D. Students are more likely to stay on task, and interested in an activity with manipulatives rather than a worksheet that only requires your pencil. Using manipulatives also helped me teach a more effective lesson. I found it a lot easier to use these manipulatives to explain a concept, rather than just verbally explaining it. Prior to teaching our two math lessons, I was pretty intimidated. I understood math, but I did not feel confident in myself to teach math to students. However, after teaching these lessons, I am eager to continue with math lessons, and get gratifying results from my class.

Guided Reading Lesson :)

Last week, I was finally given the opportunity to teach my guided reading lesson to my third grade students. Out of all the lessons we were required to teach, I was the most excited about teaching my guided reading lesson. I taught my lesson during homeroom, close to the end of the day. At first, I was worried that my group of students would be tired and drained from all of their classes. However, when they came into the room excitedly, and sat down in front of me, all of my worries had disappeared.

I began my lesson by asking my group of students to raise their hands and tell me what they think of when they hear the word “trust”. Immediately, hands shot up to the sky, and they all shared their answers with me and their peers. While some students gave their own personal definition of trust, others told personal stories that reminded them of the word. We discussed who we trust, who we don’t trust, and why.

I then introduced the two characters in our book, Never Trust a Squirrel. I drew a chart on the board, and in one column I wrote “squirrel” and in the other column I wrote “guinea pig”. I asked my students what they knew about these animals. We first made a list of what we knew about the squirrel, and then the guinea pig. I asked my group leading questions to help motivate their critical thinking skills. For example, I asked them, “what living environment do these animals live in?” “How are they similar?” “How are they different?” “What sounds do these animals make?” “How do they travel?” We discussed how there are different types of squirrels. One boy discussed the flying squirrel, and how even though they are called flying squirrels, they can’t really fly. He then continued to explain that flying squirrels have stretchy skin under their arms which helps them to jump farther than other squirrels. His knowledge in squirrels really impressed me for a third grader. I asked him where he learned about squirrels, and he explained to me that he read a book on squirrels for A.R. points. I later looked in the A.R. bin, where books are kept, and discovered that there were in fact a large amount of science books.

I then continued with my lesson and introduced new vocabulary that they would need to be familiar with when reading the book, Never Trust a Squirrel. I wanted to make sure that they would remember the vocabulary, so I wrote each word on a large note card: scampered, chitter/chatter, hutch, catch. One at a time, I introduced a word, asked them what they thought it meant, and gave my own definition. For each word, some of the kids repeated the word back to me, said it to themselves, or came up to the note card, put their finger on it, and said it out loud. I was surprised by some of their vocabulary skills. I did not expect them to know what the word “hutch” meant, but to my surprise, one of the children explained that it was an outdoor cage for an animal or pet. To make sure that they were listening while I was reading the book, I assigned actions to each vocabulary word. When my group would hear a vocabulary word, they would have to act out the appropriate action. For the word, “scattered” I instructed them to pat their hands on their legs. For the word, “chitter” or “chattered” I instructed them to giggle, make squirrel noises, or any other noise they think of when they hear this word. For the word, “hutch” I instructed them to put their arms above their head in the shape of a triangle. For the word, “catch” I asked them to create their own motion. As a group, they decided to pretend like they were opening up a door or pulling down a lever.

Before I began reading, I asked my group of students to read so that they could tell me why William the guinea pig should have never trusted Stella the squirrel.
While I read the book, I asked questions, had them predict what was going to happen, and watched to see if they were paying attention to the vocabulary. On one page, I overlooked a vocabulary word, and they quickly pointed it out to me, and did the appropriate motion. This was very reaffirming to know how close they were paying attention. I also could tell that they were paying attention by their positions. All the kids in my group were facing me, looking at the pages. Some of them sat Indian style with their hands in their laps, while others sat on their knees, leaning forward.

After reading, I asked them the same question I asked them prior to reading, “why should William the guinea pig never have trusted Stella the squirrel?” My group answered this question by referring to the different events that happened within the story. By asking this question, I was testing how well they were paying attention, and how well they understood the story, and the concept of trust.

I then asked them to think of someone that they trusted (mom, dad, teacher, friend, pet) and write about the environment that they share with this person or pet. The responses were delightful to read. Based on their responses, I was able to once again check for their level of understanding of the concept of trust, check their spelling and grammar skills, and even learn more about them. Most of the students in my group understood the directions. They told me who they trusted, why, and the environment they shared with them. Some of them even included a personal story which explained why they trusted this person. One boy, who has severe A.D.D., had a more difficult time. I could tell that he was motivated by the story, because he wrote about his own guinea pig. However, he could not explain why he trusted his guinea pig, or the environment he shares with his guinea pig. He was the last one to complete the assignment because it was so difficult keeping him in his seat. This was definitely a challenge for me. I tried to pay him a lot of attention, and help him work on his paper. I asked him questions that helped him think of what he could write about, and even encouraged him to draw a picture at the end.
I learned a lot from teaching my guided reading lesson. It was really neat to teach what I learned in class, and see how my kids responded to it. I learned how effective reading a book can be to children, if you read it in an effective way. Just from teaching my lesson, I was able to observe how much my group was learning about trust, animals, environments, new vocabulary, etc. When I become a teacher, I plan to use guided reading lessons for all the books that I read in my class. Through using visual images, audio, movement, and guided questions, my students will be more motivated and eager to read. I also think it is important to read books that interest them. At the beginning of the year, I think it is important for students to write down their interests. This way, teachers can take that into consideration when purchasing books for their classroom, and in their guided reading lessons. Before leaving W.A. Young Elementary, I hope to be able to teach one more guided reading lesson to my third graders, and hopefully learn more about its effectiveness on children.

Big Word Lesson

Last Wednesday, I was given the oppurtunity to teach my big word lesson to Mrs. Weathers third grade, average language arts class. My big word lesson was on alliteration, which defined by Webster is the "repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables" (www.webster.com). I thought that a great way to introduce alliteration to my third graders would be a tounge twister lesson. Mrs. Weathers picked out five students to join me at the table in the back of the room. All of them looked thrilled to be able to do a learning activity with me. I introduced myself to my third graders, and then asked them to say "toy boat, toy boat, toy boat" slowly. I clapped my hands to show the rhythm, and we said it together on my count. I asked them if that was easy, and they replied "yes". I then asked them if they thought they could say it even faster. Again, we repeated the tongue twister, but at a faster pace. This time, they giggled with one another. I told them that "toy boat, toy boat, toy boat" was a tonuge twister. I then asked them if they knew what a tonuge twister was, and most of them responded "yes" excitedly. The girl to my left continued to explain what a tonuge twister was. I then asked if any of them knew a tonuge twister. We shared a few with one another, and then I introduced my book, Timid Timothy's Tongue Twisters. Prior to reading I asked my students to look for rhyming words, and homphones (I explained to them what homophones were). Every few pages, I would ask questions to keep their interest. After reading the book, we talked about the different rhyming words and the homophones that were in the book, and looked back on the pages they were found in. I asked them if Mrs. Weathers had ever talked to them about alliteration. There was no reply, so I explained to them that alliteration is the repeated sound at the beginning of two or more words in a sentence. I provided examples and asked them what the alliteration was in each of them. We then produced our own tonuge twisters. This is when the lesson took a slight turn. I asked them to make five columns. Some of them has no problem making five columns, where others drew lines that were too close together, overlapping, or they didn't draw enough lines. I had to take a step back in my lesson and help out those individual students. I then told them to label the columns appropriatly (adj1, noun1, verbs, adj2, noun2). Before I let them create their own, we did one together. They seemed to have a good idea of what was required of them. When they began working on their own, I began to notice a little struggle with some of the students. One girl created six tongue twisters, while others struggled on one. Prior to letting them create their own tongue twisters, we went over what an adjective, noun, and verb was. they all seemed very familiar with each of them. However, when they were working on their own tongue twisters, some of them were getting verbs and adjectives confused, and nouns and verbs confused. another girl was writing non-sense words. My lesson was not supposed to take as long as it did, but I did not want to give up. I then decided to take a step back, and work with each student individually. We worked on coming up with adjectives, nouns, and verbs that all started with the same letter, and spelling the words correctly. Rather than telling them how to spell the word, I helped them sound it out, and then even shortened the word to a smaller word that they were familiar with (stair and air). Finally, each student had created a tongue twister sucessfully. We went over the repeated sound in each of their tongue twisters, and went over the definition of allitleration again. Since we were out of time, I suggested that they take their favorite tongue twister and draw a picture to go along with it.

Looking back on my lesson, I know that there were ceratin parts that went really well, and other parts that did not go as planned. Regardless, this was a great learning experience for me. After the lesson, I approached Mrs. Weathers and discussed what went really well with the lesson, andwhat did not go so well. I told her that the lesson probably should've been taught to her advanced class rather than her average reading class. I wonder how the students would react differently to the lesson in my average class. Would they struggle the same way the average class did with coming up with adjectives, verbs, and nouns. Would their tongue twisters make sense. I hope that if I have time in practicum, I will be able to teach my big word lesson again in the upper level reading class. This would be a great way to analyze how students of different abililties would react to my lesson.

I'm really excited about the rest of block I, and continuing into Block II, and student teaching. I've realized that not all of my lessons are going to go as planned, or as smooth as I would like. I think that is the purpose of Block I, II, and Student Teaching. It is all about gaining experience. The more experience I get in teaching lessons, the more effective my teaching will be.

First Week of Practicum

My experience during my first week of practicum was very enlightening. I am with Mr. Rader, who is a third grade math teacher. There are three different levels that he teaches. There is the advanced math class, the average math class, and the low math class. This is the first year that Mr. Rader has only taught math, but he seems to be enjoying it.

The first day, was mainly an observation day. We observed a couple of Mr. Rader's math classes, and his homeroom class throughout the day. The third graders were so welcoming, and seemed as excited as we were to be at W.A. Young Elementary. Mr. Rader and his students really seemed to connect. Mr Rader was not only their teacher, but someone they could go to for advice. During lunch and recess, he did not socialize with other teachers. Instead, he sat down at lunch and talked with his students, and did cheers with the girls at recess. I hope that when I teach, I can have that personal relationship with my students. I want my students to be able to come talk to me when there is a problem at home, or if they are just having a bad day.

On Monday, after eating lunch with Mr. Rader's third grade class, we went to Mrs. Weathers english/reading class so we could observe her lesson. At first, she seemed hesitant about us coming to observe. She later explained to us that she had originally planned to finish up the book they had been reading, but that she would do something different today so that it would be beneficial for us to watch. She began with multiple mini vocabulary lessons. This involved a spelling assessment, a synonym lesson where Mrs Weathers called out a word and its meaning, and the students had to provide a meaning as well, drawings to help describe the vocabulary words, a glossary race, etc. All of these mini lessons were used as background information so that the students could effectively read their new story, Balto. Mrs. Weathers used the method of popcorn reading while reading Balto. As I observed, I noticed a lot of what we talked about in class. A lot of the kids were not paying attention, kids were falling out of their chairs, staring off into space, etc. I can see why this is not an effective way for children to read.

Despite the popcorn reading, my overall impression of the lesson was positive. Considering Mrs. Weathers was not planning on doing a vocabulary lesson and starting on a new story, she was extremely organized. No time was wasted within the hour and fifteen minutes we observed. Based on my observations, I was able to take a lot from Mrs. Weathers teaching methods. When I begin teaching, I want my lessons to be successful and meaningful to not only me, but the students. In order to teach successful lessons, it is going to be vital to keep organized. So much of the students time is wasted when teachers are not organized. It is also going to be important as a teacher to be flexible. Things are not always going to go as planned. I am going to need to be prepared to make adjustments throughout the day. The one thing that I do not want to take from Mrs. Weathers teaching style, is her overall persona that she sends to her students. Throughout the entire lesson, she did not seem happy to be teaching. I want to be the type of teacher that is excited to teach my students new ideas. I hope that my excitement and love for learning spreads throughout the classroom, and reaches each student. I am so excited to continue to observe classes at W.A. Young Elementary, get to know the students, and of course teach!

Guided Reading: Part II

Today's class was extremely helpful. After watching Dr. Dave's impressive guided reading lesson,I was excited, but at the same time a little intimidated. Today, we continued discussing guided reading and what it entails. We began by reviewing the Apt 3 lesson and went over the importance of having a beginning, during, and after in your guided reading lesson. One of the most important parts of a guided reading lesson is the review/background activity that you have your class do before reading the story. Dr. Dave really stressed to us the importance of teaching and reviewing content in order to find out what they already know, or what they need to know. This part of the lesson is essential in order for students to understand the story that they will be reading. Reviewing and going over the background information is also important in order for students to gain mental images and sounds in their heads. This way, students are prepared to read the story. Then, during the story, they are able to visually see images in their heads that will help them follow along with the story.
A lot of classroom teachers feel that it is easier to read the entire story to a class. When this happens, students are more than likely zone out, and not pay as much attention. As a teacher, I plan to do things differently. I will take turns with my students in reading out loud, with partners, and silently. This way, my students will be more likely to comprehend the story, and the overall message.
As important as it is to read the story, it is just as important to set a purpose. Rather than asking questions after reading the story, I will ask my students to look for something in particular. This way, while we are reading, they will be paying close attention to the content and the pictures, and it will give us something to discuss afterwards.
The idea of using different types of genres never occurred to me. Before, I had always thought to use story books when doing reading and language arts lessons. Why restrict my students with story books, when there is so much more to offer? Dr. Dave introduced us to other genres that are great to use during guided reading lessons, and that will reach across all of your students interests. These genres include: non-fiction, fiction, poetry, directions, and plays. When I was in elementary school, one of the most interesting and fun experiences I can remember was a directions lesson. In this lesson we were asked to create a receipt with specific directions for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We quickly learned how important it was to be specific when we had to make our own sandwiches using our directions that lacked important detail.
As a teacher, I want to be able to meet all of my student's needs. Not all of my students are going to be interested in fiction or poetry. It is going to be important for me to have a variety of books in my classroom that will cover a wide spread of genres. I want my students to be motivated to read a variety of books, and not feel limited to a particular genre that does not interest them.

Guided Reading Lessons

This past monday we were introduced to Guided Reading Lessons. Watching Dr. Koppenhaver teach us his guided reading lesson opened me up to so many possibilities. In elementary school, I remember my teachers giving guided reading lessons that were boring, vague, and lacked variety. We would simply read the story, and answer the questions to make sure we comprehended the story. To me, this wasn't a guided reading lesson, but a test. Looking back on these experiences, I have come to realize why my interest in reading decreased dramatically throughout my school career. Before Dr. Koppenhaver introduced us to his lesson, I could only assume that all guided reading lessons were like this. After watching his lesson, I was so motivated to take what I had learned from his lesson, and be able to use it in one of my own. The idea of integrating different subject areas into one lesson fascinates me. In Dr. Koppenhaver's lesson, he incorporated several subject areas: the five senses, disabilities, music, and even architecture. Before we even knew what we were going to read, Dr. Dave provided us with a review of these subject areas. It is important to have a review prior to reading the story to find out what your students know and don't know. Without some kind of review, many students will not be able to comprehend the story. A review of background information also allows students to create mental images in their heads while the story is being read. All of these different subject areas that Dr. Dave introduced to us came from the book, Apt 3. As a teacher, it is going to be so important for me to choose good, quality books for my students. A great book can lead to a successful lesson. As a teacher, I want to choose books, and create lessons that will have great influence on my students. I want them to believe that reading is not a burden, (the way I did) but that it can be a fun, and enjoyable learning experience. Through integrated lessons like Dr. Koppenhaver's, I believe that I will be able to cover a lot more material, that will be effective, and enjoyable for the learner.

For the past couple weeks, we have been discussing the topic of emergent literacy. After taking my own individual notes from the NCREL website, taking notes in class, and from discussing Daniel's pictures, I was able to get a pretty good grasp on what emergent literacy really is. I believe that emergent literacy is the BUILDING process towards reading and writing, through exposure to ones surroundings, and the different events that may take place. Many teachers of today believe that there are certain stages that take place as a child makes his way up the literacy ladder. However, things are beginning to change. Children do not have to exceed in one area before they can move on to the next. No child is alike. Each child learns differently, and at a different speed. The process of reading and learning is interactive. I believe that children work best while engaging in reading, writing, and listening simultaneously. In class we also talked about the different stages and forms of emergent writing, and looked at several examples to support these forms. I looked at childrens drawings before this class, and in their many attempts to write. The scribbles that I once looked at as squiggly lines, mean so much more now after looking at the examples shown in class. I've learned that writing does not have to be in the form of the letters of the alphabet. I hope to make this transfer into my classroom as a teacher. Without the knowledge that I have gained from these lectures, I probably would have pushed these scribbles and drawings aside. However, now I can look at them as stories, and something to build off of. As a teacher, I will now know the next step a child should take as an emergent reader without pushing them too hard or far.