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Mini-lessons will be used to address skills that I think my class needs more work on. I will decide to have one if I find my students are struggling with a specific literacy skill. They will involve me teaching and modeling with the students then students having time to demonstrate the knowledge.  Because the mini-lessons will only occur when I determine students need more help, they will likely not happen everyday. When mini-lessons do not occur I will allow for independent reading time. During this time I will talk around my students and ask them questions about the books they are reading. I will also preform assessments during this time.

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-Open with our Basal Reading for 25 minutes
-Work on literature circle for 25 minutes
-Work on phonics/ spelling for 10 minutes
-Work on a mini-lesson for 15 minutes OR Independent reading depending if I think the class needs a mini-lesson
-Work on stations for 15 minutes. Groups will do one station each day that helps to work on a literacy skill.
-I also plan to use projects. When I want my class to work on a project I will replace the Basal Reading time with independent project time. This will allow students to ask me questions and will let me ensure everyone is on the right track.

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The teachers role is to instruct and offer support to my students regardless of their reading levels. The teacher should be willing to help students struggling in certain aspects of reading and plan extra activities to help these students.
Because I plan on using a literature circle in my classroom it will be the students responsibility to try their hardest, and to follow instructions. Literature circles allow students more independence, but then again also require them to follow their assigned jobs and require more responsibility.

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ELL students need to be offered differentiated instruction. Many times ELL students are ignored in the classroom because teachers are unsure of what to do with them. Many Basal readers offer books/stories over the same topic that the rest of the class is reading , but at an understandable reading level for an ELL student. This helps the ELL student feel connected to their class while still providing them with books at their reading level. ELL learners would also have a different literature circle. During this time they would read books that were at their level and practice doing things such as reading aloud, answering questions, and writing responses until they were able to participate in a literature circle with their peers. I would also try to incorporate various books during classroom read alouds that have to do with my ELL students culture.

Special needs students would be offered differentiated instruction based off of their unique needs. Depending on what the students disability was then I would adjust my lesson plans accordingly so that they could participate with the class to the best of their abilities without reaching a frustration level.

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My Students will be assessed in variety of ways. There will be formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments will take place by me watching my students read aloud during stations and during their reading circles. They will also be taken though my students completing worksheets that will be graded.

Summative assessments will occur through spelling/ vocabulary tests as well as reading comprehension and writing tests. I will also test my students by meeting with them individually and listening to them read aloud. These various types of assessments will help me to pinpoint what exact area of reading students are struggling in. If a student is failing reading comprehension tests, but is passing their read aloud then I will know that they can read, but that they need more practice in critically thinking. The various types of assessments will also help to ensure that my students have well rounded literature skills and be prepared for their future classroom.

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How I Will Teach the Essential Elements with Stations

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How I Will Teach the Essential Elements with Stations

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I love the idea of stations. They let all students work on various skills throughout the week without seeming repetitive.
I like the ideas of having the stations being different hands on activities, such as writing vocabulary words in sand, listening to books on tape, and reading independently. I want the stations in my class to be fun, but also educational. I will have students work on stations for 15 minutes everyday. Each day they will go to a new station. Because I want students to do a new station everyday I will need to prep for the entire week the Friday afternoon before the new week starts. Below I have some examples of station ideas.

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I also want my student to experience being authors! I think this would be great regardless of the age. Students could write their own story, illustrate, and even share with the class. This project would probably be done at the start and end of the year. By doing it at the start of the year I would get an idea about what literacy skills my students did and did not have. This would help me plan the curriculum accordingly.  Through doing the project again at the end of the year, I would be able to see how much my students literacy skill had grown.

I also think that projects where students can move around while learning are great, especially for young learners. I want to involve some fun activities. One great one would be playing a version of musical chairs where children sit on chairs that have words on them. But rather than a child picking a random chair they will pick a chair that makes a certain vowel sound that the teacher says such a short or long vowel. This will help students to get excited about reading, and could even be used as a game during Preferred Activity Time.

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Jobs

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The literature circles in my classroom will occur supplementary to a core reading program. At the start of the year I will model how the literature circle will run. I will show my students how to read, how to sit next to their partner, questions they should be asking themselves as they read, and how to accomplish their assigned task during their literature circle.
I will have each student pick from various books that are at their level. I will organize the selection in a way that everyone will have at least one partner. Students will be given reading assigned as homework and will be given time to read in class independently. This will allow me time too meet with each student independently and make sure that they are understanding the books that they are reading.
Students will then be given time to meet with their partner. While meeting with their partner I will have my students choral read a designated passaged together if my students are in a younger grade. My students will then have a work sheet that indicates their role in the literature circle. Each student will be responsible for completing their part during the literature circle time.
During this time I could also preform one on one assessments. I will also be walking around from group to group to ensure that my students are on task and understanding the text they are reading. I will check for understanding by asking comprehension questions.

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How I will teach the essential elements... 

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How I will teach the essential elements... 

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I will be using a mix between a basal reading plan and a literacy circle for a majority of my literacy block. I will also incorporate larger literacy projects that will act as summative assessments. I will also use mini-lessons, stations, and independent reading time to work on and master various literacy skills.

I think that the basal reader will be important to use within my classroom during the first year of teaching, however I do not think that it should take up my entire literacy block. I believe that the basal readers offer many positive attributes such as covering phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, and allowing the entire class to read the same story. I think that Basal readers are a great starting point, but they need to followed up with another literature technique. I believe that a literacy circle would be a perfect addition to using a basal reader.

I think literacy circles are important because they are more individualized per person. They provide students with an opportunity for authentic literacy and literacy analysis.
I believe that though allowing students to pick books that are at their level I am increasing their chances of falling in love with reading. Having a literature circle also will allow my students to learn to think critically because as opposed to the basal reader where there is no exact script to be followed. Students are able to have more freedom in their learning. They also are able to practice positive social skills through working with their peers and will even be required to accomplish a job during their meeting time with their peer, which promotes time management and responsibility.

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Literacy levels are different for every child, especially in early Elementary School. Every child learns to read at a various rates. That being said it's extremely important that teachers remain aware of this. Teachers need to offer differentiated instruction for all of their readers and help them to find books that are on their level. Teachers should use a culturally responsive teaching strategy and try to plan for all students, not only the main group. If a teacher is using a basal reader then the teacher should consider using more than one to meet the needs of their class. Teachers should also try to use reading groups so that students are not stuck reading books that put them on a frustration level, or books that are too easy.

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My classroom will feel safe, and hopefully as cozy as I can make it. Children spend so much time at school that they should feel comfortable. I hope to offer alternative seating such as exercise balls for those who want them. I also hope I can have a reading corner, as well as a "Take Five" area for students to calm down if they are feeling overwhelmed. I loved this classroom I found online. It doesn't feel overwhelming and it has a corner for reading.

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I hope that my students grow to become self-motivators and to push themselves when trying new things. I hope that my students feel empowered and don't set limitations on the things that they accomplish. Finally I hope that my students learn how important education is, and how far it can take you.

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I hope that I am the teacher that my students look back  on with fond memories and that I helped inspire them to love learning.

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Indianapolis, Indiana or a suburb of Indy. Honestly, wherever I find a job.

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During one of my practicums I was blessed with having a teacher who wasn't so great. She didn't smile, didn't encourage her students, and had a knack for yelling. This experience encouraged me to become a teacher so that other children don't have to have a similar experience. It reminded me to leave my troubles behind when I stepped into the classroom. It also made me hyperaware of my body language and facial expressions. It even made me remember to smile at my students.

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Kids are honestly hilarious. They always say whatever it is that is on their mind, even if it's that they don't like your outfit. But, honestly I decided to become a teacher because I want to positively effect children and spark a love for knowledge within them. I want to empower students to accomplish the things they want to in life, and remind them to not set limits on themselves.