- Make sure to complete the assigned readings and do these as soon as possible!
- Take notes to help me remember things discussed in class that I can use in the future.
- I am really interested in learning how to ensure all students especially those who may have special needs, are ELL/ESL, come from different cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, have a wide range of abilities, etc. can all learn from the same lesson. I am currently in a fifth grade classroom in Lansing and there is a wide range abilities in the classroom. One student, a refugee from Africa with only a few years of formal education struggles with both reading and writing while another student actually skipped the fourth grade and excels in this subject area. After knowing all of your students and how they learn I am curious as to how a teacher is able to meet the needs of ALL students in the classroom. Using multiple means of representation, visuals, manipulatives can help and I am hoping to learn how to tailor literacy lessons so the students can understand the content and are engaged as well.
- I’d also like to learn how to motivate students to want to read and write. As a young learner I remember having several bad experiences with this subject area and it resulted in a lack of motivation for reading. All last semester and this semester too I have only observed the students in my classroom silent reading or the teacher reading to the students. Writing is incorporated throughout the other subjects and the students do have a weekly spelling test. I’d really like to learn ways to make reading and writing fun and enjoyable, how to incorporate manipulatives, hands on activities, and also how to get the students up out of their seats and involved in their own learning.
In what type of school and community
context do you hope to teach?
I am a Special Education- Learning Disabilities major and
while I do not necessarily have particular hopes regarding any type of school
or community I have always had an interest in rural education and would love to
work with K-4 students. However, I am currently in a fifth grade room and
absolutely love it. So, as long as I am able to work and teach children I
believe I will be happy!
What do you want to learn about literacy
instruction to help you reach your goals?
As a future Special Education teacher I want to learn how to
specifically ensure all students have an equal opportunity to learn. By this I
mean what can be done to help those who are struggling. In my current classroom
I am concerned as a handful of students are only getting more and more behind. As
Kayla mentioned, I want to learn strategies that will help catch these students
up. In several other classes I have learned ways to make
learning more fun for the students so I am looking for those techniques or
activities that can help foster a child’s education specifically in literacy.
How do the jigsaw articles you read
for today help you think about the kind of teacher you want to be?
I read the article focusing on rural
education. This article talked about place-based education (PBE), which connects
students’ unique knowledge of their community to school curriculum. PBE
provides a learning benefit because standards are taught through an
environment, community or culture that students know. As a teacher it is
important to bring the students together and learn and appreciate one another. Learning
about each other in terms or culture and background and providing the students
with authentic experiences will be very beneficial. This article also talked
about virtual field trips as students and districts in rural districts may be
unable to fund or provide resources for an actual field trip this is an
alternative. Virtual field trips involves exploring places around the world, if
the school has technology the article provided a website (www.field-trips.org)
that can be used which has various curriculum-based topics, objectives,
targeted vocabulary words, associated national standards, and other website
links. Taking students to the zoo virtually and learning about animals and
conservation could be a great starter to a literacy lesson. The students can
use the computer lab, classroom computers if applicable or the teacher can
navigate through the national zoo website in the classroom. Students can then use classroom
books about animals, biomes, or conservation and do some more investigation,
possibly make posters to inform others, create a zoo pamphlet, a diorama, etc. Instead
of just reading a book to the students about the African safari or
lions the students can choose their own animal, place in the world,
biome, etc. and be responsible for learning about that topic.
The article states “statistics reveal that low-education counties have one in
four adults, ranging in age from 25 to 64 years, without a high school degree
and may be affected by resource inequalities and discrepancies” (Lester, 2012).
Although the lack of resources may be difficult to work with I truly think that
it is the teachers that matter. Having a great teacher that is committed to
making a difference and not giving up on the students is a key factor to
success. While using technology is nice and the students love it using the
internet is not neccessarily crucial for success in reading and writing. After reading today's article I just want to be that teacher who makes a difference and makes reading and writing enjoyable in the classroom. 
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