| Home | About Me | Resume | Teaching Philosophy | Content Knowledge | INTASC Standards | NCTE Standards |
|---|
2.1 Create an inclusive and supportive learning environment in which all students can engage in learning.
As stated in my teaching philosophy, I believe that students are only able to learn when they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas and feel respected by their teacher and their peers. It is my number one goal to promote self-respect, as well as respect for one another in my classroom and to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment in which all students can learn. Teaching Philosophy
2.2 Use ELA to help students become familiar with their own and others' cultures.
As stated in my teaching philosophy, I believe that exposing my students to culturally diverse literature will instill in them a better understanding of the world that they live in. Connecting literature to different cultures motivates students to broaden their ideas about people different than them. In a time and in an area where diversity is very much a part of everyday life, students should be encouraged to explore ideas and experiences different than their own. By studying diverse literature, students will garnish a deeper appreciation for diversity and what can be gained from it. I believe that it is imperative in our ever changing world not only to celebrate diversity but to encourage students to be proud of their personal diverseness. Teaching Philosophy
2.4 Use practices designed to assist students in developing habits of critical thinking and judgement.
Students completed a character analysis on a character from To Kill a Mockingbird by examining a major character and forming judgments about that character based on support from the text. Character Analysis
2.5 Make meaningful connections between the ELA curriculum and developments in culture, society, and education.
Students were shown how to use a class wiki for the purpose of discussing literature in an online discussion board format, something that is becoming increasingly popular as access to technology and the internet in classrooms increases. I think it is very important for students to see the ways in which culture, society, and education are changing and where we are headed in terms of technology. Although the class wiki was never able to take off, students gained an understanding of the purpose and uses of a wiki and how it works.
3.1 Demonstrate knowledge of, and skills in the use of, the English language.
It was important to me that my students strengthen their grammar skills, but do so without feeling pressure to be perfect grammarians, so I had students complete a Grammar WebQuest for extra credit so that they could work on strengthening their grammar in a fun and exploratory way. Grammar WebQuest
3.2 Demonstrate knowledge of the practices of oral, visual, and written literacy.
During the American Romanticism unit, students examined images from the American Romantic Period in order make predictions about characterstics of the period.
3.3 Demonstrate knowledge of the reading process.
I feel that it is important for students to actively engage in the reading process. So often students sit down to read a novel or a piece of literature and get lost because they are not taking the time to process what it is they are reading. To aide students in the reading process, I had students work in groups to create a plot diagram of a section of chapters so that they could draw what was happening and create a visual representation that helped them understand the events in the novel more clearly. I encouraged students to do this while reading at home as well to help them organize on paper what was happening in the novel. Plot Diagram
3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of different composing processes.
Throughout my student teaching, students performed various writing tasks in order to strengthen their writing skills and become more familiar with the composing process and its various components. Students completed free-writes, wrote several journal responses, created found poems, and wrote a formal paper in MLA format. It was important to me that my students wrote as much as possible in order to become more comfortable with the writing process as well as understand the various uses for writing.
3.5 Demonstrate knowledge of, and uses for, an extensive range of literature.
I believe that students should be exposed to a wide range of literature that contain universal themes in order to gain a better understanding of themselves and of the world around them. Students studied To Kill a Mockingbird for six weeks in order to examine its universal themes and messages that are still relevant today so that they may understand the importance of studying a wide range of literature and will see just how pertinent literature, even literature written decades before they were born, can still be relevant today. Unit Plan
3.6 Demonstrate knowledge of the range and influence of print and nonprint media and technology in contemporary culture.
3.6.1 Understand how media can influence constructions of a text's meaning, and how experiencing various media can enhance students' composing process, communication and learning.
Students had access to the Grammar WebQuest for when they felt they needed extra practice with grammar. Grammar WebQuest
3.6.2 Show an ability to construct meaning from media and nonprint texts, and to assist students in learning these processes.
Students examined images from the Romantic Period in order to construct meaning about characteristics of the period.
3.6.3 Incorporate technology and print/nonprint media into instruction.
Students used the internet to determine how to find legitimate web resources for their research papers. Before researching their artists, students received a web-source credibility handout and used the internet to practice locating legitimate web resources. Web Source Credibility Handout
4.1 Examine and select resources for instruction such as textbooks, other print materials, videos, films, records, and software appropriate for supporting the teaching of English language arts.
While planning my unit on To Kill a Mockingbird, I examined a wide variety or resources in order to choose the materials that would best support the novel. I chose to include the 1962 film version of the novel, as well as several online resources on historical context, and an online newspaper article written about Harper Lee's biography. Students also worked in the media center to research information about Harper Lee's biography. Sun Chronicle Article on Harper Lee
4.2 Create literate classroom communities by presenting varied structures and techniques for interactions by employing effective classroom management strategies and by providing students with opportunities for feedback and reflection.
Students filled out several exit slips that asked for feedback. Students also became reflective writers through journal responses, and received feedback from me on all of their writing tasks informally or through a rubric.
4.3 Integrate interdisciplinary teaching strategies and materials into the teaching and learning process for students.
Students examined the historical context of To Kill a Mockingbird by reviewing the Great Depression, segregation, and the Jim Crow Era by examining several websites on the historical background of the novel. Website on Historical Background
4.4 Create and sustain learning environments that promote respect for, and support of, individual differences of ethnicity, race, language, culture, gender and ability.
As stated in my teaching philosophy, I believe that helping students to develop respect for themselves and others occurs through an open sharing of ideas. When the voice of each student is heard, an environment is created in which students feel free to express themselves. Only when students respect themselves and others will they feel comfortable enough to share their opinions and beliefs without fear of judgment or disrespect. It is my goal as an educator not only to stress the importance of respect, but to exemplify it in my teaching and classroom leadership as well. As an educator I must show respect in order to receive it and before I can expect students to practice it. Teaching Philosophy
4.5 Engage students often in meaningful discussions for the purposes of interpreting and evaluating ideas presented through oral, written and/or visual forms.
Students were shown how to use a wiki for the purpose of creating an "online book club" in which they could answer discussion questions and communicate with one another about To Kill a Mockingbird in an online format. Students also participated in class and group discussions almost daily in which they answered discussion questions or discussed quotations or excerpts from a text like they did when they discussed several excerpts Harper Lee used to employ setting. Mockingbird Setting Discussion Questions
4.6 Engage students in critical analysis of different media and communication technologies.
Students began the research process for their research papers that would be completed at the end of the school year by exploring the media center and discovering the print and nonprint resources available there, in addition to learning how to create a source card. Sample Source Card Handout
4.7 Engage students in learning experiences that consistently emphasize varied uses and purposes for language in communication.
Students were shown how to use a wiki for the purpose of creating an "online book club" in which they could answer discussion questions and communicate with one another about To Kill a Mockingbird in an online format.
4.8 Engage students in making meaning of texts through personal response.
In order to make different aspects of the ELA subject matter meaningful to students I often had students relate whatever we were learning about back to their own lives. During our study of the Romantic Period, students wrote a quick-write about their favorite natural place in order to get a sense of the "romantic lens" that Romantic authors often wrote from. While studying To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, students examined setting by first writing a quick-write that described the setting of their own lives, Salem, Virginia. Salem Free-Write Overhead
4.9 Demonstrate that their students can select appropriate reading strategies that permit access to, and understanding of, a wide range of print and nonprint texts.
While reading To Kill a Mockingbird with the pre-IB students, and Romeo and Juliet with the general 9 class, I often allowed students to choose which reading strategy they wanted to employ. I allowed students to choose between reading independently or reading along with a tape or CD in order to assist students in the reading process, create variety and keep students as engaged as possible.
4.10a Integrate assessment consistently into instruction by using a variety of formal and informal assessment activities and instruments to evaluate processes and products.
Students used the "fist-to-five" method frequently to demonstrate whether they were understanding a concept and to what degree they were comprehending it. When students were asked to show "fist-to-five" how well they understood something, they would hold up a fist if they understood nothing, or 1-5 fingers to deomonstrate their level of understanding. Students also filled out exit slips often to give feedback about what they were comprehending and what they needed more help with. Sample Exit Slips
4.10b Integrate assessment consistently into instruction by creating opportunities to use a variety of ways to interpret and report assessment methods and results to students, parents, administratiors and other audiences.
I tried to vary my assessment practices and allow for a variety of assessment measures such as journal responses, and writing activities like found poetry in addition to formal assessments like tests and formal papers. By varying my assessment measures, I was better able to reach a variety of learners who are all successful in different ways. For example, a student who isn't a strong test taker benefitted from the found poem assignment on "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe in which students were able to creatively demonstrate their understanding of the story.
