Update: Not happy with Teaching Outside the Box

I started reading Teaching Outside the Box by LouAnne Johnson and I am not impressed so far. Johnson is a high school English teacher and author. Many of her “Outside of the Box” ideas seem inappropriate and not easily adaptable to teaching younger grades. One section that amazed me (and not in the good way) is titled “Create Assignments for Rude People.” Basically, Johnson advises teachers to prepare extra work in a folder labeled “Assignments for Rude People.” When a student is rude in class, the idea is for the teacher to simply hand the student the whole folder, label and all. The teacher would then send the student to the library to complete the rude person assignment. How on earth does this solve the problem the teacher and student may be facing? It doesn’t. It simply gets the student out of the teacher’s hair and makes the librarian have to deal with another person’s problem. I was appalled by this idea and can’t believe it works, even in a high school classroom.

I don’t think I am going to finish this book. I have a new book from my cooperating teacher that will probably be much more helpful.

8. Guidelines for The Responsive Classroom by Charney, Clayton, & Wood

This summer I borrowed several books from my cooperating teacher for student teaching to help  prepare myself for the upcoming experience. Guidelines for The Responsive Classroom was one of them. Recently I have been learning more about the Responsive Classroom Approach to teaching. This book, currently out of print, is a good resource for everything you need to know about this specific approach.

There are six key components to the Responsive Classroom approach.

1. Classroom Organization
2. Morning Meeting
3. Rules and Logical Consequences
4. Academic Choice
5. Guided Discovery
6. Assessment and Reporting

Morning Meeting (See The Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete) is a teaching approach used in Responsive classrooms where the social curriculum and the academic curriculum are integrated. Morning meeting creates a sense of classroom community. It fosters the sharing, listening, inclusion, and participation of all children. Simply, morning meeting helps teach social skills. There are four parts of morning meeting: 1) Greetings 2) Sharing 3) Group Activity 4) News and Announcements. Morning meeting usually takes 15-30 minutes per day for any grade or age group.

Rules and Logical Consequences are based on several valuable premises. They state the teacher’s vision for the classroom in clear, concise language. They engage children with positive guidelines. Children can contribute their own ideas with the guidance of a teacher. Rules should always be stated in the positive. (Instead of saying “Don’t run” use “Please walk inside.”) It is important to remember not to overwhelm students with too many rules. A few good rules are all you need. To teach the rules, model and role play with the students. Provide them with an opportunity to practice the expected behaviors. When posting the rules, be sure they are at eye level. Responsive classrooms contain teachers who provides orderly, consistent, and predictable approaches to discipline while nurturing empowerment, self-respect, and social skills (cooperation, assertion, empathy, and self-control).

Remember the three R’s of Rules and Logical Consequences:

• Respectful
• Relevant
• Realistic/Reasonable

The book mentions three types of logical consequences. The first is described as “You break it, you fix it.” This teaches children to take responsibility for their own actions. The second type of consequence is your typical loss of privilege. The last type of consequence, time out, can be slightly controversial in modern education. Sometimes children who are being disruptive or hurtful to themselves or others may need “time away” but personally, I am not a supporter of the traditional “time out.” Some other strategies for consequences include social conferences on an individual basis, conflict resolution for a small group, class meetings, or behavior contracts.

It is essential to plan opportunities for students to make choices about their own education. There are six main points for teachers to keep in mind when planning time for academic choice. Teachers absolutely must understand the connection between how children really learn and the opportunity to make choices in their learning. According to Piaget, children are always learning and understanding the world. The ability to make decisions is an important element of critical thinking. Academic choice also allows children to explore their own interests. Children should have choice about their work every day. Teachers should not direct academic choice other than providing the materials. Academic choice is not a scheduling tool. What does this mean? Children should not have pre-set groups, they should not simply rotate through centers, and they should not be assigned to academic choice areas.  Academic choice should not be used as a reward. Teachers must show their students that their choices are valued and respected. Each day, there should be a careful balance of teacher directed activities and child initiated activities in the Responsive classroom. Finally, the role of the teacher during academic choice is simply that of an observer. To have a successful academic choice time, the teacher may interact with children but should not use academic choice time to catch up or correct work.

Guided Discovery is a teaching technique used to introduce materials, working areas, or learning processes in a classroom. It specifically helps children make good choices, use materials appropriately and successfully, as well as take better care of themselves, each other, and the classroom. There is a five step format for Guided Discovery:

1. Introduction- naming
2. Active and Participatory Modeling – Generating Ideas for use and Rules for Care
3. Exploratory Play
4. Tell One Thing- Representing
5. Clean Up- Care of Materials

Guided Discovery is meant to excite and motivate children to explore areas and materials with imagination, invention, and creativity. This process can help children make choices during academic choice time. Children will develop cooperative skills, build classroom vocabulary, and establish rules and expectations for taking care of the classroom.

For now, I am not going to talk about assessment and reporting. Rather, I would like to skip to the section of Guidelines for the Responsive Classroom that discusses the first six weeks of school. The first days and weeks of school is a very important time. Being a new student teacher/soon to be certified teacher, advice about the first weeks of school particularly interests me. The Responsive Classroom outlines six main goals for the first six weeks of school. They are:

1. Build a foundation of trust
2. Provide opportunities to model, role-play, and practice expected behaviors
3. Create an environment were it is safe to take risks and make mistakes
4. Nurture the students’ sense of belonging to the group
5. Nurture independence and responsibility in each child
6. Motive the students to learn

Overall, I like what I have been learning about the Responsive Classroom Approach. It seems very much founded in the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. I believe children learn through a social context and are constantly constructing new knowledge with each new experience they have. Bringing social theory into the elementary classroom, especially, is critical to supporting children’s natural growth and development. The information I have learned about the six main components of the Responsive classroom will certainly come in handy when I am student teaching.

7. How To Be An Effective Teacher The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong

Wow!  This book covers it all.  How To Be An Effective Teacher The First Days of School is a comprehensive manual for new teachers and seasoned teachers alike, with advice about how to be successful within the first days of school. The book discusses three main characteristics of  a successful teacher: positive expectations, classroom management, lesson mastery. The book ends with a helpful unit for the professional, a teacher who constantly learns and grows as an educator.

“What you can do on the first days of school will determine your success or failure for the rest of the school year. You will either win or lose your class on the first days of school” (Wong &Wong, 3).

In life, first impressions are critical. The impression that a teacher or student teacher gives during the first days of school will have a major impact on the rest of the year. Very few teachers receive instruction on what to do on the first day of school and therefore the first day of school can be a scary event for a new, inexperienced teacher. According to Wong & Wong, the effective teacher must establish a good sense of control in the first weeks of school, does the right thing consistently, and affects the lives of his or her students. Teachers can make the first day of school a welcoming experience for his or her students.

The effective teacher has positive expectations for student success. An expectation is what you believe what will or will not happen. An optimistic belief that whatever you do will result in success or achievement is a positive expectation.  It is important to note that expectations should not be confused with standards. Standards are levels of achievement. Positive expectations are meant to help students reach standards. “Give your students more than they expect, and you will get back more than you ever expected” (38). It seems like common sense that teachers should be warm, caring, and inviting people. Effective teachers are just that. It’s so simple. By addressing students by their names and saying “please” and “thank you,” teachers are showing children the respect and proving to them that even children are important individuals. Smile. By showing the students that you care you will be successful.

“Ineffective teachers have classrooms that are not ready. Confusion leads to problems, problems lead to misbehavior, and misbehavior leads to constant tangling between the teacher and students. The ineffective teachers, each day, become more and more stressed out, burned out, negative, cynical, and angry” (91).

So, you don’t want to be an ineffective teacher. Part of being an effective teacher is having a well-managed classroom. Students must know what they should be doing, students should be working on task, and the classroom should have little confusion and wasted time. The successful teacher needs to be ready for his or her students. The work needs to be prepared, the room needs to be organized and work-oriented, and the teacher needs to be ready with a warm, positive attitude. The physical organization of the classroom is a major part of its functionality. Wong and Wong go through every detail of classroom management you could possibly imagine from arranging the room, to taking attendance, and planning assigned seats.

Of course, a major part of classroom management that many new teachers can be uncomfortable with is the question of rules and discipline. A safe and secure classroom needs a set of rules that students are expected to follow. The rules provide consistency for the day to day classroom life. They state expectations for student behavior. It is important to introduce rules and a discipline plan on the first day of school. Students can be involved in forming the rules, but their role needs to be somewhat limited according to school wide policies and classroom policies that are essential. Whenever you have rules, there will be positive and negative consequences. Consequences are not punishments. They are what results when students either follow or break rules. It is important to mention that teachers should not stop a lesson to penalize a student. Have a system where you can keep track of consequences without stopping instruction (such as checks on a board).

There would not be any well-managed classrooms without classroom procedures. Procedures are simply a part of life.

“Procedures demonstrate how people are to function in an acceptable and organized manner. When we say that someone is ill-mannered, it is because that person doesn’t know or doesn’t care what the local customs, culture, or procedures are. To function successfully with classmates and other people, the best guideline is the old saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do” (172).

During the first days of school, Wong & Wong suggest that you only teach the procedures that are necessary for the smooth opening of class. The other procedures can be taught when the appropriate activity occurs. Students need to know procedures for the start of the day,  quieting the class,  seeking help, moving to other areas or moving papers, and for dismissal to start. There is a three step approach for teaching procedures: 1) Explain 2) Rehearse and 3) Reinforce.

The final characteristic of an effective teacher is lesson mastery. In order to be a successful teacher with students who meet expectations and standards of achievement, teachers must be able to design effective lessons. Any college student in an education program should have extensive practice developing lesson plans. Lesson plans are a critical part of helping students achieve. After all, we are hired as teachers to help students achieve. Students must have adequate amounts of time to work in order to be successful learners. “The role of a teacher is not to cover. The role of the teacher is to uncover” (210). There are four steps to creating an effective assignment: 1) Determine what you want the students to accomplish 2) Write each accomplishment as a single sentence 3) Send these sentences home with students 4) Give the students a copy of the same sentences.

“…Good classroom assignments specify what the students are to do or learn. The finished product is what the teacher wants produced as evidence of having completed the assignment” (211).

The purpose for giving a test is to determine if the students have accomplished the objectives of the assignment. Tests should not be designed to “trick” the students. They should be based on the criteria of the objectives that tell them what the have been responsible for accomplishing.

The first days of school are a critical period of time for both new teachers and experienced teachers. For new teachers, expecially, this time can determine the success of his or her school year and career. Teaching is not an easy profession. To be successful, teachers must be leaders who wish to enrich their lives and the lives of others. How To Be An Effective Teacher The First Days of School is a book all new teachers should own.

 

6. Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom by Thomas Armstrong

 

“Gardner sought to broaden the scope of human potential beyond the confines of the IQ system” (Armstrong, 1). Howard Gardner developed the Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory based on the assumption that there is more to intelligence than verbal and mathematical abilities. Gardner defines 8 intelligences as: 1) Linguistic Intelligence 2) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence 3) Spatial Intelligence 4) Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence 5) Musical Intelligence 6) Interpersonal Intelligence 7) Intrapersonal Intelligence and Naturalist Intelligence. “MI theory is not a type face for determining the one intelligence that fits” (Armstrong, 8). Rather, all people have the potential to develop each of the eight intelligences to a high level of capability. Before I read “Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom” I was under the assumption that people usually demonstrated strengths only in one intelligence. Now, I know that belief is not necessarily true.

Children, however, often demonstrate what Gardner calls “proclivities” or inclinations in certain intelligences from a young age. Primarily through observation, teachers can assess their students to determine which intelligences the students are more inclined to possess at high levels. Teachers can also include their students as early as grade 2 in their assessment by teaching them about MI theory. Studies have shown that “children benefit from instructional approaches that help them reflect on their own learning processes” (Armstrong, 31). By teaching students about Multiple Intelligences in a kid-friendly way, teachers are helping their students reflect on themselves as individuals and as learners. A variety of techniques can be used to teach MI theory, such as the MI Pizza, which uses a pie chart to list each intelligence in simplified terms. When I am a teacher, I will consider using the MI Pizza as one way to introduce students to Multiple Intelligences and help students learn that being smart involves much more than the traditional IQ dictates.

“MI theory essentially encompasses what good teachers have always done in their teaching: reaching beyond the text and the blackboard to awaken students’ minds” (Armstrong, 39). One way that teachers can be sure to incorporate all 8 intelligences into their teaching is to develop lesson plans based on the curriculum that presents the material in 8 different ways. Time may not allow for all lesson plans to always be presented in 8 different ways, but it is critical for teachers to take their students’ specific intelligences into account when preparing and presenting lessons. Before reading Armstrong’s “Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom,” I had never imagined MI theory could help in nonacademic areas of teaching.” MI theory can greatly affect students’ behavior in the classroom simply by creating an environment where individual needs are recognized and attended to throughout the school day” (Armstrong, 80). I learned that Multiple Intelligences can help classroom management when teachers use strategies for gaining attention, transitions, utilizing class rules, forming groups, and individual behavior problems, which encompass many different intelligences. The goal of all teachers, myself included, must be to make their students feel safe, respected, and secure in the fact that their needs will be met.

Multiple Intelligence Theory can also translate to assessment strategies. Traditionally, student assessment has been limited to Linguistic and Logical-Mathematical Intelligences. MI theory aligns itself with many other modern teaching theories that believe in the importance of authentic assessment as a way to measure what students have learned in context. Authentic assessment assesses student learning much more thoroughly than standardized assessment. One technique described in the book allows students to choose their own method of assessment. The students are given a sign up sheet with a list of possible assessments covering each of the intelligences for any given assignment. The students chooses which assessment he or she wishes to complete and the teacher assesses it. I like this method of assessment for older students since it shows them that the teacher truly trusts and respects the students. Students are also provided with a sense of autonomy and take responsibility for their own learning as a result of this MI authentic assessment strategy.

 

5. Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is an extraordinary woman. She is an extremely talented animal scientist with degrees not only in animal science but also in psychology. She has been successful in her career and has designed 1/3 of the livestock handling facilities used in the United States. She is an adult who has lived her entire life with Autism yet has never let her disability stand in her way. She thinks, feels, and experiences life in a way that is sometimes difficult for typically developing, verbal thinkers to understand. Temple Grandin is a visual thinker and views her thoughts as pictures in her mind rather than words. Learning language was more difficult for Temple, since she had to translate words into the images she was familiar with, like translating a foreign language. Despite all the difficulties living with Autism has brought Temple Grandin, she has lead a remarkable, successful, and happy life proving that Autism is not the fatal disease it is often made out to be. She was once quoted saying, “If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not. Autism is part of what I am” (Grandin, 50).

 

Most importantly, I believe, Temple Grandin perceives herself as a visual thinker. She is a logical person, not ruled by her emotions like most people are. Rather, she explains that her actions are guided by intellect. Temple Grandin, like many people with Autism, experience sensory problems. Temple explains that since she was a young child, she never liked being hugged. The sensation was simply too overwhelming for her to handle yet she is comforted by pressure. Loud noises cause her pain and high-pitch sounds, like a cell phone ringing, are especially distracting. Although Temple thinks in pictures, often face recognition is difficult when she hasn’t seen the person enough. In regards to smell and taste, as a child Temple never liked foods with a slimy texture, like Jell-O. In her adult life, anti-depressant medication has calmed her nerves and lessened her reactions to stimuli. Temple Grandin, a highly educated adult, realizes that her emotions are more like those of a child. “My emotions are simpler than those of most people. I don’t know what complex emotion in a human relationship is” (Grandin, 91). Temple experiences the four basic emotions: fear, anger, happiness, and sadness. She has difficulty lying since deception requires complex emotions. Temple Grandin explains that people with Autism are capable of creating strong emotional bonds, but her strongest emotional bonds are tied to places instead of people. An extremely important part of Temple Grandin’s life is her connection to animals. Her visual brain allows her to see what life is like from the perspective of a cow or a pig, and having Autism has helped her understand how animals feel. Her unique connection to animals is directly related to her ultimate success as an animal scientist.

 

One of the most important lessons I learned, as a teacher, from reading Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism is the amazing way the mind of a person with autism works. People with autism are primarily visual thinkers. Generally, autism is identified after children experience a speech delay. The children have difficulty producing oral language because they do not think verbally. To help children learn language, teachers can label the physical objects in the classroom. When a picture or object is associated with the written word, children with autism can learn to associate the word with the object. Nouns and verbs can easily be visualized, but other words are more difficult for children with autism to understand. In addition to labeling the environment, flash cards with a picture and a word on the same side can help children learn new words. Spelling words can be learned with the aid of plastic, magnetic letters that can be felt by the students. Abstract concepts are difficult for the concrete, visual thinkers with autism. Temple Grandin uses physical symbols to help her understand abstract ideas such as peace or honesty. Teachers need to know the strengths and weaknesses of their students in order to use the best techniques and methods for teaching children with autism. It is important to remember that every person with autism is unique, and something that works for one person may not work for another.   

 

 

Another important lesson I learned from Temple Grandin is that people with autism need caring and trustworthy teachers to support their sometimes awkward social and emotional development. “Some people believe that people with autism do not have emotions”(Grandin, 89). Temple Grandin has emotions, but they are basic. Children with autism in a classroom may have temper tantrums out of frustration and over stimulation. Teachers need to be aware of the child’s emotions and help them to be appropriate. Children will also need support socially. “I do not read subtle emotional cues. I have had to learn by trial and error what certain gestures and facial expressions mean” (Grandin, 156). Teachers can help their students make friends, understand each other, and prevent them from being taken advantage of. It is important for teachers to remember that although social skills can be taught, becoming more emotional may not be possible for a child with autism.

 

4. The Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete

Most education programs for young children have some type of morning meeting, group time, or circle time as a part of their daily routine. Walk into any preschool, Kindergarten, or early elementary classroom in the morning and you will most likely see children singing, greeting each other, or playing a game together. This time allows the whole group a chance to interact with each other in a kind and respectful way. They are learning in a social context.

“Teachers have long known ad researchers are now confirming that social skills are not just something to be taught so that children behave well enough to get on with the real business of schooling. Rather, they are inextricably intertwined with cognitive growth and intellectual progress” (Kriete, 9).

The Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete outlines a typical morning meeting according to the Responsive Classroom Approach to teaching. This book is a guide for teachers of K-8 children which teaches them how they can build community and trust in the first 30 minutes of the day.

The Responsive Classroom approach to learning is characterized by seven basic concepts (Kriete, 4).

1.  The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
2.  How children learn is as important as what they learn.
3. The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
4. There is a set of social skills children need to learn and practice to be successful.
5. We must know our children individually, culturally, and developmentally.
6. All parents want what’s best for the children and we must work with them.
7. These principles must be practiced with each other, with children, and with parents.

With these principles in mind, the Northeast Foundation for Children developed the Morning Meeting Format described in The Morning Meeting Book. The Morning Meeting described in the book has four parts: Greeting, Sharing, Group Activity, and News and Announcements. The book also includes several appendices full of different types of greetings, group activities, methods for sharing, and templates for news and annoucement messages. Overall, this is a useful guide to developing a critical morning routine for  a variety of grade and age levels.

3. 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done

“I know when a child does not understand. I know when a child is not telling the truth. I know when a child was up too late last night. I know when I child needs help finding a friend. I am a teacher.” (Done, 4).

32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done is a light-hearted, realistic, comedic yet sometimes pessimistic account of one year in the life of a veteran third grade teacher. With each turn of the page I found myself laughing with Phillip Done as he tells stories from his classroom such as the time when the pet snake is lost and shows up a week later at a whole school assembly. At times, however, I also found myself wondering if Phillip Done even likes being a teacher.  Done’s honesty about teaching and humor certainly makes 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny entertaining. His story is realistic. It describes the best moments in teaching and the worst.

Let’s face it: no one decides to become a teacher for the money. Teachers are underpaid and overworked. Men and women become teachers because of they want to make a difference in the lives of children. We are teachers because we want to impart wisdom on the next generation. We are caretakers, nurses, storytellers, friends, and sometimes we are the surrogate mother or father for the child who has no one. Done says, “I answer to both ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. I am a teacher” (Done, 3).  As sarcastic as Done can be at parts of the book, he is real.  I believe the underlying message Done is trying to relate is that teaching will never be easy but as long as there are still people who love children, there will still be dedicated teachers. Phillip Done is one of those teachers. I hope that I will be one of those teachers too.

2. Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire by Rafe Esquith

There is only one word to describe Rafe Esquith and his fifth grade class: “Wow.”  Rafe Esquith is a teacher in Los Angeles at Hobart Elementary school. His students live in a rough neighborhood and almost all of them are immigrants or children of immigrants. He is the definition of a dedicated teacher.

“For almost twelve hours a day, six days a week, forty-eight weeks a year, my fifth-graders and I are crowded into our woefully insufficient space, immersed in a world of Shakespeare, algebra, and rock ‘n’ roll.” (Esquith, x)

First and foremost, Rafe Esquith believes in creating a comfortable classroom environment that provides his students with a safe haven that is necessary when all they know are the streets of L.A. Instead of building a classroom in which the students live in fear of their teacher, he bases everything he does in trust. He also states that regarding discipline, “the punishment must fit the crime.”  Esquith outlines Lawrence Kohlberg’s Six Levels of Moral Development, which he uses everyday in his classroom. They are:

1. I don’t want to get in trouble.
2. I want a reward
3. I want to please somebody
4. I follow the rules
5. I am considerate of other people
6. I have a personal code of behavior and I follow it

Rafe strives for each child in his classroom to reach level VI. In order to teach children about developing a personal code of ethics, Rafe uses literature as examples.

In the book, Rafe discusses his ideas for each area of the curriculum: reading, writing, math, history, science, art, and physical education. I was most impressed, however, by his “classroom economy.” At the beginning of the year, the children in his class take a classroom job. The job is paid for with Room 56’s very own classroom currency. The children, then, pay rent to sit in their desks. Throughout the year, children who take on extra work, earn more money. They can eventually own their own desks and even own other children’s desks. Through this creative “classroom economy,” the children learn the value of a dollar. They discover that working hard really does pay off. It’s an incredible lesson at such an early age.

“By helping the kids learn to save money, the economic system teaches another important principle: delayed gratification. In our fast-food society, young people are encouraged to want everything and to want it now. But Room 56’s program teaches students that those who save money and spend prudently almost always wind up in better financial situations…” (Esquith, 139)

Rafe Esquith is an amazing, dedicated, passionate teacher. Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fireis the incredible account of one mans quest to help children growing up in tough conditions become the best they can be. He genuinely cares about each and every student and does everything in his power to help them be successful. His books is a quick read and believe me, you will not want to put it down. I think any teacher or parent should read this book. Rafe Esquith is inspirational. I hope I can be a role model to my own students like Rafe Esquith has been for his students for the past twenty-something years. Seriously, read this book!

http://hobartshakespeareans.org/

1. Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann

“Something was missing. It was, we came to believe, the study of literature in a workshop setting combined with deep, focused comprehension instruction- instruction that targeted the thinking that occurs during reading, thinking that determines how deeply the text is understood.” (Keene & Zimmerman, 19).  

Mosiac of Thought by Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann discusses the importance of including explicit comprehension instruction in teaching at all ages and grade levels. Keene and Zimmermann’s “Mosiac”  focuses on teaching children strategies to develop reading comprehension when so often teachers merely focus on teaching children reading fluency. Oral reading fluency is important, yes, but is meaningless if the children do not understand what they are reading. Good readers learn that in order to comprehend their reading they must  monitor their reading, use  schema to understand and remember, question, make inferences, use imagery, determine importance, and synthesize sucessfully. Keene and Zimmermann suggest the use of “crafting sessions”  in which teachers model, think aloud, and/or demonstrate individual techniques of comprehension study before children apply the techniques independently.

Mosaic of Thought is written in clear, consise language.  Each chapter is introduced with a piece of literature which the authors use to demonstrate how they apply the specific strategy in question. Keene and Zimmermann provide the reader with many real-life examples from their many experiences in a variety of different classrooms to clearly describe their “mosiac” of comprehension strategy instruction. I enjoyed reading this book and would reccommend it to teachers of all grade levels.

Jump into Blogging

Hello, everyone.

So, this is my first attempt at blogging. I am currently a college student studying early childhood education. I knew I wanted to teach young children my junior year of high school. I had enrolled in a child development class and partcipated in running a preschool. Interacting with the children while watching them grow and flourish over the course of only 12 weeks was a life changing experience. Since then I have volunteered through an Americorps  program called Jumpstart by reading to children in a local preschool. Currently I work in a child care program and have learned so much, not only about teaching, but about myself as an individual as well. In my quest to become the best teacher I can possibly be as I get ready to embark on the last leg of my undergraduate journey, I have decided to start this blog. It will be a means through which I can express ideas I have learned from the amazing teachers I have worked with over the past 2 or 3 years as well as my own ideas about some of the educational books I have been reading.

Jump into teaching with me!