When choosing a focus area for my Masters of Education, I was immediately drawn to the literacy concentration. Having taught All-Day Kindergarten for the past two years, I realized the importance of a strong foundation in all areas of literacy. My goal as an early elementary teacher was to provide my young students with not only the valuable skills associated with literacy instruction, but help them develop a passion for reading and writing that will continue throughout their lives. Now, as a fourth grade teacher, I still believe in the value of a strong foundation in literacy, but I am also able to use the basics (especially phonics) as I conduct lessons to an older range of students who might still need additional instruction and further learning experiences.
A balanced approach to literacy is the key. Keeping all components of reading, writing, listening, and speaking involved in the literacy curriculum is something I aim to do on a daily basis in my classroom, despite my students' ages. This Masters of Education program focusing on literacy has provided me many opportunities for growth and affirmation of skills and techniques I use in my classroom each day, the two classes in which I learned a majority of this information are TE 842 "Elementary Reading Assessment and Instruction" and TE 846 "Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners." Included below are some of my final projects, term papers, and research opportunities to provide you a glimpse into the growth I have had in the area of literacy education!
A balanced approach to literacy is the key. Keeping all components of reading, writing, listening, and speaking involved in the literacy curriculum is something I aim to do on a daily basis in my classroom, despite my students' ages. This Masters of Education program focusing on literacy has provided me many opportunities for growth and affirmation of skills and techniques I use in my classroom each day, the two classes in which I learned a majority of this information are TE 842 "Elementary Reading Assessment and Instruction" and TE 846 "Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners." Included below are some of my final projects, term papers, and research opportunities to provide you a glimpse into the growth I have had in the area of literacy education!
Writing Instruction in KindergartenWriting is a key component of any balanced literacy education. No matter the grade level, my students are exposed to a variety of writing opportunities throughout the day, all across the curriculum.
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Phonemic Awareness in KindergartenDuring TE 846 we studied the "Five Pillars of Reading." One of these pillars is phonemic awareness. The ability for students to hear and manipulate the individual sounds (phonemes) in a given word is a very important skill. One of the students in my classroom was having a difficult time segmenting phonemes, this term project is designed to create additional instruction and practice for this given student. Please see the project descriptions, sample lesson plans (including rational and reflection,) as well as my conclusion to better understand the importance of phonemic awareness!
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Promote Reading Success: Choosing "Just Right Books"Planning and implementing a Reader's Workshop approach in my classroom has been a professional goal of mine over the past year. Organizing and preparing for this new process can take a great deal of time and energy. A unique component to the Reader's Workshop approach is that all students in the classroom are reading books that are at their "just right" reading level. Allowing students to read books at their ability level gives all learners a chance to grow and learn at their own pace and based on their individual needs. For my Focus Project during TE 842 I decided to create a lesson plan and rationale which will help students understand the importance of reading at their own level.
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