Assessment,+Standards,+Professional+Collaborations

As a teacher of early literacy, I will always link my lessons and work back to the Common Core Standards. It is important for teachers to always be thinking of the standards and linking their lessons back to them will ensure that the objectives are met. The link for them is: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards

Assessment is extremely important in supporting early literacy development. There are many different ways to assess students, and I believe that assessment drives instruction. As a teacher of elementary grade literacy, I value many things, including independent reading during the school day, literacy circles as well as one-on-one conferencing with students.

This semester, I have partaken in a few professional development experiences. In the ELD 308 class, I read __The Book Whisperer__ by Donalyn Miller, __English Language Learners__ by Freeman and Freeman, and __Guiding Readers and Writers__ by Fountas and Pinnell. In addition to these professional development books, the class participated in literacy circles. My group read __The Hunger Games__ by Suzanne Collins. I enjoyed this experience because it gave us an insight on the process that students participate in during literacy circles. Since I am also in the National Education Honors Society (Kappa Delta Pi - KDP), I attended a Workshop day which offered many different speakers, including topics of differentiated instruction, first year teaching experiences, as well as different types of technology used in the classroom.

Collaboration with colleagues and parents will help student success inside and outside of the classroom. Different professional development techniques, such as workshops, conventions, and books, can only help the teacher and student learn together.