Personal Statement : Elementary School Teachers

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

As an early childhood educator I believe each child is an exceptional unique individual that needs to be provided a secure and loving environment in which they are able to grow emotionally, physically, socially and intellectually. My longing is to help each and every one of my students explore their creativity, understand their emotions and learn self-regulation along with social skills and the best of academics that I can possibly provide. The role I have as an educator is to guide my students while allowing them to explore their curiosities about the world around them and academics to blossom while teaching respect and caring for others.

(Counselors Affecting Reading Everyday). My plan would involve developing one-on-one counseling sessions where the students would start off by taking a learning style inventory as well as a reading interest inventory. The purpose of the learning style inventory would be to help the students as well as their teachers to understand how each individual child learns and processes information. The reading interest inventory would serve the purpose of helping the students to find a particular type of text that they may enjoy reading. Upon completion of the learning style inventory and reading interest inventory, the students would begin meeting with the counselor to receive one-on-one reading opportunities using books that students self-select based on their interest. This one-on-one meeting will serve to meet the needs of those students who stated that they did not have anyone at home to read with. The students will utilize the school’s Accelerated Reading program to take quizzes on the books they read with the counselor. After earning their first five Accelerated Reading points, a book will be purchased for the student based on their interest. This incentive plan will serve as a means to provide personal books for those students that do not own any as well as attempting to help them to get over the fear or taking reading tests. During these weekly meetings, the counselor will provide a variety of reading text (based on student

Literacy is a vital part of all later learning. Because of this, the children will engage in hands on activities that relates to what they have read and give them opportunities to make up their own versions, as well as make up their own stories. They will have a large group story time and a partner reading time. An ample variety of books will be available at all times. Signs with words and pictures will be posted around the classroom showing, daily activities, objects that are used daily, and the placement of toys and

I was home on leave after serving 15 months in Iraq, spending time with my family and connecting with people I haven’t seen in a while. My mother arranged for me to speak to my brother’s 3rd-grade class since they had written letters to me while I was deployed. It was something I felt that I owed since the letters were cheerful and really helped when I was over there. I was a bit nervous because I have never done something like this before, public speaking was not a strong suit of mine. While visiting with the students and answering questions I fell in love with being in the classroom. After finishing my commitment to the military, I continued my education and got my degree in Elementary Education. I am currently finishing up my 3rd year in teaching 2nd grade and love every minute of it.

Students work independently or within groups during center time which allows teachers to differentiate instruction according to student’s needs. Literacy centers give students control of their literacy tasks while providing the teacher time to work in small groups and focus on specific skills. “Choice is an important feature in making literacy work stations successful” (Diller 2003). Using Big Book’s as a literacy work station in the classroom provides students a place where they can practice reading new text and reread familiar text previously taught.

My decision to be a teacher did not come easily to me. This choice was dependent on a reflection about what I was passionate about and how I could make a difference. I have chosen to become a teacher, as I believe teachers have the ability to provide future generations the stimulation for one of the most significant roles in life; to become a lifelong learner. Many teachers that I have had during my education have had a positive impact on my decision to grow and develop the skills that are fundamental to pursue a successful teaching career. My aim is to be a part of an honorable profession with the optimism that one day I will become an efficacious teacher who can provide future teachers with inspiration, as my teachers have provided for me. Through personal educational experiences and peer-reviewed academic literature, I am able to shape my approach to my pre-service teaching, as it will influence my future practice. As a teacher, there is not just one singular approach to educating students; there is a need for flexibility, diversity, adaptation and reflection.

One of the most important foundational skills in the primary grades is learning how to read proficiently. This skill is a key indicator for student’s success for the rest of their educational careers (Wigfield, Guthrie, Perencevich, Taboada, Klauda, Mcrae, & Barbosa, 2008). The teacher researcher believes that the students in her class are not motivated to read paper bound books, and that by implementing an online reading program it will increase her students motivation to complete their nightly reading homework. She also believes that when students complete their nightly reading homework on a regular basis this will help improve the students reading comprehension and fluency scores. It will also have an important impact on the overall academic functioning of students according to (DioGuardi , Theodore, Hughes, Aloiso, Eccles, & Eccles,

This chapter opened my eyes to a variety of things to consider when students are learning to read and write. I never heard of these eight principles that lay the foundation for literacy instruction prior to reading this chapter. One prevalent theme in these principles is the idea of giving students some control over their learning through collaborative or independent assignments. I’m in favor of this because a classroom where the teacher is the central focus for instruction is boring.

Most of the other students in her 2nd grade classroom are able to read classroom text and complete work independently. They also read books for enjoyment on their own. The reading time in her classroom consists of a block during which the teacher works with small groups and the children are expected to work quite independently when they are not working directly with the teacher. The class uses a trade book format and this is utilized across the curriculum. Students are provided with short skills building lessons in large and small groups. Most of the time spent during explicit reading instruction is targeted to helping students develop reading fluency.

During the week of “Launching Independent Reading”, the activities that I participated in during class helped convey and persuade me how reading gives a person so many benefits. For example, when I wrote my childhood book list during class, I had an epiphany. I realized that the books that I read like The Magic Tree House during my childhood created some of the happiest memories that I could remember. These books helped relieve me of my stress and gave me a sense of imagination during my childhood. Those memories made me remember one of the most important and forgotten benefits of reading: entertainment. Another epiphany popped up when I was writing “My Reading Life” essay. While I wrote my essay, I thought, “Wow. I can’t believe how much one

Over the years there have been many different types or ways to deliver reading instruction in the classroom setting. Teachers struggle to find the best thing for their students and what will benefit their students the most. Teachers have a hard time trying to figure out to make sure all their learners are met, they are working one on one with students who need and be able to manage classroom behavior. Two sisters Joan and Gail decided to come up with a framework that gives students choice and benefits their learning. Joan and Gail’s framework is The Daily Five and Café. Another popular framework is Literacy Centers. Researched in depth, the two frameworks have a lot in common but still some differences.

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be

Reading is fundamental to function in the society. It is important because it develops the mind. Reading develops language skills and comprehension needed to meet the demands of everyday life. In the U.S., there are 45 million people functionally illiterate and reads below 5th grade level (Literacy Project Foundation, n.d.). Books, magazines, comics, newspapers, and resources from the internet are reading outlets wherein they are required the capacity to read and comprehend the content. Teachers are on a quest to find ways to motivate and inspire students to embrace the love of literacy. Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) sometimes known as Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) works so that students who read independently may show significant growth in their vocabulary development and reading comprehension (Cho & Krashen, 2001).

During this day, I did a lot of snooping around Mrs. Charipar’s room and desk (with permission I promise). I loved that she had a “Daily Purpose Statement” on the board for all of the students to know what to expect out of the day, and in her planner for herself, these purposes were connected to Core Standards and overarching themes that the students were most likely not aware of. I also was very excited when she told me that at the beginning of each class, although only 47 minutes long, they spend the first ten minutes reading and then briefly journalling over their free reading book. Mrs. Charipar explained that each entry needed to have the title, current page number, and two or more sentences about what was currently going on in the book and the students reaction. This was used to assess not only that the student was actually reading, but that they were able to stick to one book as well. Many students switched books without finishing quite frequently.