Learning Letter Assignment

Reflect on the work you’ve completed in the course (book talks, mini-lessons, unit plans):

I have to admit that this class was harder than I imagined it would be.  In hind sight I wish that I would have done my book talk on the same book that I used for my unit plan; I think that would have made the work load a little easier.  Overall, I can truly say that I felt that I learned from all of these assignments and they have lead me down the road to becoming a better teacher.  It’s hard to describe what assignment I found most useful, because I know that I have learned from them all.

The book talk assignment was amazing.  I love having a small collection of books that are appropriate from Secondary readers without actually having to read every book.  I was the most scared of the mini-lesson assignment.  I’ve never enjoyed teaching in front of my peers, I’ve always felt more comfortable teaching in front of a group of students; I cannot explain why.  But, I really had a lot of fun teaching my lesson and I think that the rest of the class had fun with it too.  Then there was the dreaded unit plan.  As much as I hate writing TPA’s and developing assessment strategies, I really cannot say anything bad about this as an assessment for future teachers.  Each time I complete a TPA I feel that I learn a little more about what it truly means to be a teacher, and I feel that I am more prepared for when it comes to creating meaningful lessons for my students.

Reflect on the theories and concepts we explored in readings and discussions:

There were several difficult texts that we were asked to decode this semester.  Without the group discussion, I’m sure that I’d still be in the dark with some of them.  I think overall, that I really learned from Cris Tovani’s book I Read It, But I Don’t Get It I and the information that was addressed in the Assessment Strategies Hand out.  I have always thought of myself as a strong reader, and for the most part reading and comprehension come hand in hand for me.  So when I encounter students who do not share the same learning style as me, sometimes I become confused and frustrated with myself with not being able to relate/ help my students to understand.  I really liked the Assessment Article because of all the ideas it gave me for different ways of assessing student learning.  I appears that the days of using objective multiple choice tests are slowly beginning to fade away.  I’m not complaining because I hated those myself in school.  This article as explored the use of Double Entry Journals as an assessment strategy that Cris Tovani mentions in the Appendix of her book.

Reflect on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking about yourself as a teacher:

I think that anyone who is considering becoming a teacher should take this course.  Yes it seems to focus primarily on reading and English Language Arts, but really what subject these days doesn’t include reading.  With all the articles and books that we have been exposed to during the course, it has given me a lot to think on in my future classroom.  Participating in the class discussions has also opened my eyes to the many different learning strategies that everyone encompasses.  It’s also taught me that teaching is ever evolving and to be the best teachers we can be for our students we need to keep up on learning these new strategies as they are presented.