Letter+to+Dr.+McKool

April 28, 2011 Dr. McKool,

Having class with you this semester has been a wonderful learning opportunity. I learned more throughout this semester than I have in previous years combined. The way you format class by modeling how activities should be done helps me fully understand the way I should run my classroom. I also enjoy learning through conversations rather than learning through lecture. I feel that I learn more by listening to my classmates discuss their experiences. Then I can learn how to better my teaching by listening what not to do. The information I learned in this class will help me become a better teacher.

The books we were required to read were informational and provided many examples of effective teaching practices. Fountas and Pinnell’s book was extremely helpful throughout the semester. Reading this book was beneficial to me because I understood the material through the examples they used and seeing their practice, or a similar one, used in the classroom. I found their material easier to comprehend than some educational material I have read in the past. Fountas and Pinnell’s three block framework for literacy makes sense to me since it can flow right into one another. At first I was not sure if I agreed with how they wanted us to set up the literacy periods in our day, but now I feel very strongly about the way the literacy framework works.

Donalyn Miller’s book, //The Book Whisperer//, was also extremely beneficial to me. I feel that I connected to this book since I have a middle school/language arts minor and will need to learn ways to teach middle school students. The freedom she presents to her students astounds me. She gives them large expectations but does not hold all students accountable for the same goals. I feel this is extremely important because if you have a student in class who is a slower learner, he may not read as many books as another student but may make more progress than the other student. Donalyn Miller made me understand that it’s not necessarily about setting goals for classes as a whole to obtain, but making sure that each student is advancing by the time they leave your classroom. While reading //The Book Whisperer// I learned many new beneficial techniques that can be converted to be used in an elementary school setting.

The last book you had us read, //English Language Learners: The Essential Guide// by David and Yvonne Freeman helped me understand the diversity I will soon face in the classroom. I never thought that diversity would be as big of an issue as it is today and feel that I am not thoroughly prepared to teach students whose primary language is not English. This book not only helped me understand what it will be like to have English language learners in my class, but it has helped me understand how I can better my teaching in general. The book comes with examples that portray exactly what they book is helping me understand and contains book lists of the books used in units or lessons. These book lists are extremely helpful to me since I know now books that are used in other classrooms to help all students learn and grow. //English Language Learners// is a book that at first I thought would not be too helpful but I found that I learned a lot from.

My field experience has strengthened the ideas brought about in these books and has shown me how important it is to know all your students and include them in everything that is done in the classroom. Being placed in Mrs. Hyer’s fourth grade classroom has allowed me to see the strength of a community between teacher and students and how effective teachers strive to make their students succeed. In the beginning of the semester, Mrs. Hyer used the Columbia reading and writing system to teach her students. Since this is similar to Fountas and Pinnell’s three block framework, I more fully understood what Fountas and Pinnell’s framework looks like. Mrs. Hyer provided me with valuable information on classroom management skills and general teaching tips. She allowed me to implement the skills and strategies I learned in our education class into her fourth grade classroom. Throughout the semester, Mrs. Hyer taught me more than I thought I could learn about how to be a better teacher and what is needed to be successful.

Throughout the semester, my beliefs and teaching philosophy have become clearer. I believe:

· Students should have choice in the classroom. Teachers can give student’s choice by allowing them the opportunity to choose books they would like to read, giving them freedom to decide how they would like to fulfill certain writing requirements, and also because choice motivates students to succeed. I would give my students choice by allowing them to choose their writing assignment topics and not forcing them to complete an assignment they do not feel strongly about. Instead, students could complete an alternate assignment.

· All children need to have opportunities to work in groups. Group work allows students to share ideas, reflect, create new ideas, and learn to work with people that have opposite personalities. One way I would incorporate groups into my classroom is through literature circles. Students will discuss different books and what they liked about the book but also what they did not like about the book. Working in groups gives students individual voices and makes their classmates listen to their thoughts. Another way students can work in groups is through guided reading. Although this is a teacher led group, students can support one another.

· Students should have a voice in the classroom. By having a voice, students will feel that their opinions matter. Students should never feel uncomfortable in a classroom setting and giving them a voice allows students to feel that they are welcomed as part of the community. Students will be more open to constructive criticism and sharing ideas in class if they are given opportunities to be heard by the teacher and other classmates. Giving students a voice in the classroom also boosts their confidence levels. I would give my students a voice by asking their opinion on several topics and also by getting to know them personally.

· All students should enjoy writing. Many students do not enjoy writing because it is a tedious task and they have to write on mundane topics. If students have the freedom to choose what they would like to write about, students will be motivated to write and enjoy it more. If students enjoy writing, they will produce better pieces of literature and be proud of their work. They will want to show it off to family and be more willing to share it in front of the class or a group of people. I will make my students enthusiastic about writing by letting my love for writing come through in the classroom. I will sometimes write narratives with the class and share them to the class. This will show students that I am interested in writing not only as a teacher but also as an individual.

· Teachers should listen to students’ wants and needs. To make the classroom feel more like a community, the teacher should respect and understand her students on a still-professional personal level. To learn of students’ wants and needs, teachers must listen to their students and ask questions to get to know them better. Understanding students’ wants and needs will set the tone for the school year and also give students the voice they desire. I will get to know my students’ wants and needs by asking questions about them in the beginning of the year pertaining to sports, home life, activities in and out of school, etc. I will also continue to have personal conversations with my students throughout the year I spend with them.

· Teachers should be enthusiastic about all subject matter. Teachers sometimes fear teaching a subject since they are not comfortable with and do not fully understand the material. If teachers hide their uncomfortable feelings and are excited about teaching all subjects, students will be more willing to learn. The students feed off of the teacher’s enthusiasm and become more motivated to understand the subject matter. I will be enthusiastic about all subject matter by acting like I know what I’m teaching and that the material does not scare me. I will have students complete many inquiry based activities in which they can learn through discovery.

· Students should be presented with real life scenarios and see the point to everything they learn in school. Most times, if students do not see the value in a lesson, they will not commit the facts to memory. This causes problems because students then only retain the information until they are assessed on it. If students are presented with real life scenarios, they will understand the value of the lesson more thoroughly. Students will also see how that particular subject is important in their everyday lives. I will try to connect everything I teach in my classroom to a significant life event. The more students understand how often particular subjects are used, the more they will believe that everything taught in school is educational and relevant.

· Students should get the opportunity to work individually with the teacher at least once a week, if not two or three times per week. Working with the teaching individually will let the teacher get to know her students more but also let the students feel comfortable around the teacher. It is important for students to trust their teacher in order to learn the most. Individual conferences with the teacher are also good for students because they give students the attention they crave during school. I will try to incorporate individual conferences into my school day during both independent reading and independent writing. During independent reading, I can then learn more about what my students like to read and how well they are reading. During independent writing. I can learn about my students are writers and focus on their strengths and elements they should focus on.

Literacy is a time for students to reflect on their lives through writing while also learning about other cultures through reading. Reading and writing are the foundations to learning any subject matter and therefore must be taught on a daily basis. Through reading students can enhance their vocabulary, comprehension, summarizing skills, etc. These skills students will use their entire lives. Through writing students can learn how to add detail to text, create well written stories and essays, reflect on their pasts, etc. Literacy instruction will aid students in growing as human beings and hopefully give them an appreciation of the two topics.

Sincerely, Kathleen O’Neill

2 Day Literacy Block

Monday 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Language/Word Study 9:00 - 9:15 – Current Events 9:15 - 9:30 – Interactive Read Aloud Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Reader’s Workshop 9:30 – 9:45 – Reading Mini-Lesson: Teacher book share 9:45 – 9:50 – Choose literature circle books 9:50 – 10:00 – Meet with literature circle groups to discuss what they will focus on, if the members of the group will have different roles, and where they will read up to

Writer’s Workshop 10:00 – 10:15 – Writing Mini-Lesson: Summarizing mini-lesson 10:15 – 10:45 – Independent Writing Teacher Conferences 10:45 – 11:00 – Group Share and Evaluation

Tuesday 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Reader’s Workshop 9:00 – 9:15 – Reading Mini-lesson How to use a dictionary 9:15 – 9:45 – Independent Reading Guided Reading Groups 9:45 – 10:00 – Group Share

Writer’s Workshop 10:00 – 10:10 – Writing mini-lesson Using a Thesaurus 10:10 – 10:11 – Status of the class 10:11 – 10:45 – Independent Writing Peer editing Teacher conferences 10:45 – 11:00 – Group Share