Student Engagement Strategies

My field experience lasted from Sept. 12, 2016 to Nov. 14, 2016; every Monday I had the incredible opportunity to come into the lives of about fifty students – one class of seventh grade English Language Arts (ELA) students that I spent most of the class period with, and one class of eighth grade ELA students that I spent the whole class period with. During my time with them, I assisted students during their tests and quizzes, helped their teacher with lessons on grammar and the English language, and together their teacher and I created a “Reading Club” for three male students in the eighth grade class who were reading at a first grade level.

Children have different characteristics and different interests that attract them. A well-designed literacy environment should engage and attract children on at least two different modalities (Edwards & Willis, 2000). This is so because, as the authors note, "it is natural for young children to seek to master and use many alternative 'literacies,' or avenues of symbolic representation offered by

As a future teacher of a fast-changing generation that searches restlessly for new interests, I believe that old and new must meet to keep the basic values of a balanced literacy. Focusing on prior knowledge, collaborating with colleagues, peers, families, and community, creating connections with our surrounding, and empowering students’ learning style throughout the process of gaining knowledge of reading and writing. Foremost, my personal philosophy of teaching literacy is based on constructivism and sociolinguistic, where hands on experience and guidance are priority in an informational world. To facilitate a child’s acquisition of literacy skills , as I plan for literacy instruction for my future classroom, I will take into consideration

Introduction to reading comes through phonetic reading boxes. The reading boxes are cleverly organized, going from simple to the complex. Reading does not follow the same process of writing, which is taking our own thoughts and symbolizing. When we read, it is not our language with which we are working with, it is the author’s language. Reading is the analysis of the language followed by a synthesis. Story telling and socio-dramatic play in the environment can help the child develop an imagination that fosters a higher capability to understand what is being read to them.

Engaging students in the classroom can be a difficult task. Understanding the process of how students learn can help a teacher adapt the lesson to meet the needs of all students. I will encounter students that are not intrinsically motivated so I will need to find different ways to motivate each and every student. Understanding how my students learn can provide me with insights as to how to help each student learn which will minimize classroom management problems.

[ ] In order to build on the children’s understanding and content knowledge, lesson one’s purpose is to engage the children through making a prediction based on the text, pictures, and title. Lesson two builds on the language and literacy by continuing with using the mentor text, “Fancy Nancy” and using the rich academic language associated with the central focus of predictions. For example, each lesson has a distinct objective in which the activities are built on but all three lessons build on each other by incorporating similar academic language and literacy. The children start out in a whole group setting and are actively engaged through discussions and sharing activities. The children are then scaffolded into independent reading and activities to assess their understanding of the content objectives. They then use their prior knowledge and rich vocabulary to successfully complete the objective of each lesson through verbal discussions, independent work, and physical movement. In lesson one, the children are actively engaged through participating in a gallery walk. This gallery walk is done with the children’s table groups and encourages community and social interactions. During this activity, the children will work together to activate their prior knowledge of predictions and record through writing what they

Book-sharing experiences expose children to new concepts and vocabulary that they may not encounter in informal conversations. Children may use this new knowledge in their creative writing, “trying out” the words they have heard used in the books. When storybooks containing figurative language are shared and discusses, children are able to develop an understanding of the similes and metaphors.

Astonishing, stunning, remarkable, spectacular, phenomenal: All words to describe my experience attending agriculture and biology related activities on college campus this past month. When I was assigned this assignment, I thought there would only be a few events to choose from, but after looking at the potential activities I could attend, I was awestruck by how many events that were held on campus. Little did I know that there so many opportunities for me to get involved in college. This engagement assignment helped me become more comfortable on campus and more familiarized with what is happening on campus. Three events I would like to highlight in my experience are the Ag. and Bio Ice Cream Social, SDSU

According to the Common Core State Standards, third graders should demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings (CCSS L.3.5). The purpose of the word study lesson is to introduce students to figurative language. More specifically, we wanted students to be able to distinguish the figurative and literal meanings of idioms. They will use More Parts by Tedd Arnold to create a poster distinguishing the figurative and literal meanings of idioms used in the book. By using the context of the book along with its illustrations, students will have an easier time deciphering the idioms and will become more familiar with the phrases being used. The main goal of this lesson is to not only introduce students

This Literacy Development Profile will be updated throughout the course of the school year to show the progression of students’ literary

Educators are charged with not only teaching the content of their subject, but also responsible for creating a learning environments that fosters communication, engagement, and reflection so that the students will be prepared for their future careers and learning. Creating a classroom that fosters reading and writing is one way to engage students while promoting that they reflect on the material and communicate their understanding or misconceptions of the content. In order to form a literacy-rich classroom educators need to increase the amount of time students interact with all forms of print and literacy and the classroom environment is an essential key to setting the precedent and model behaviors that will make students more successful and capable of high level learning. (Tyson, 2013)

Successful college experiences revolve around three major areas: the transition, being successful in classes/schoolwork, and involvement. These three areas have been determined from my work in the Housing and Residential Programs Department for the past three years, as this is my first lass focusing on student development theories. The three areas are must all be present in some way, shape, or form in order for success. The first step is the transition from high school to college. This is inclusive of moving away from home, and entering into an entirely different miniature society. Incoming students need to learn to adapt to their new surroundings, develop relationships, and a find their support system. Adaptation is important, for many

Engagement, interaction, and communication are the things that connect people together in society. Also, it are ways that help children learn. In the U.S., schools are promoting engagement in teaching for helping students to improve. There are many methods that the teachers are using to create a strong engagement relationship between teachers and students.

Literacy is the cornerstone to all learning; it is imperative to future academic success. (Tracey and Morrow, 2012). Due to the significance of literacy instruction, there are a myriad of ways to teach literacy. Literacy is a complex subject, honing in on balancing reading, writing, speaking, and listening. As a result of the complexity of literacy instruction, we arrive at the age-old debate of what is the best literacy instruction. My philosophy of literacy instruction centralizes around the Whole Language Theory and Balanced Literacy; however, I also blend in additional theories/approaches to teach effective literacy.

Poetry serves as a powerful literary tool to foster students' individual identities and creativity. As Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2002) argue, there are countless possibilities for educators to jump outside of the box and create more powerful connections with traditional academic text. Poetry can provide language practice in a context that is relaxing and comfortable for the students, a context that is different to their everyday classroom routines. The process of creating a poem also provides the students with opportunities to challenge beliefs about literacy and poetry-making (Smith, 2010). Literary tools such as writing provide an opportunity for cultural groups to relabel their own experiences and support in the multicultural understanding of literature. Moreover, poetry acts as a unique vehicle for practice in oral language skill development, especially for English Language learners (ELLs) (Hanauer, 2011). Poetry provides a safe space for students, challenges their traditional academic practices, and allows them to explore and narrate their multicultural identities.