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Each student would use a notebook that they keep year-long to record assignments and activities inside. Would be their go-to resource.

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Ideally, I would love to teach language arts through the lens of a theme that can transfer students' learning right back to the larger world that surrounds all of us. Incorporating environmental concerns, such as the treatment of animals and of Earth's natural environment into a language arts curriculum is something that can engage students while also promoting interdisciplinary skills found between language arts and science courses. A theme-based curriculum would also prepare students for high school, when the focus on subject matter becomes more geared towards specific topics.

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Letter grades are another aspect of traditional education that has come under fire lately, and one that I personally wouldn't mind getting rid of completely in the near future. To me, a de-emphasis on grading enables teachers to transform classrooms into a place where students matter more about the process of learning (their labor) rather than the superficial reward that supposedly comes with it (grades). Learning should be the reward.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-grades-dont-really-ma_b_2682922

https://crimsonnews.org/1917/opinion/youre-not-stupid-grades-dont-define-you/

https://asaobinoue.blogspot.com/2015/12/compassion-and-circulation-of-grade.html

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Writing is all about expectation. When in the process of writing something, we as writers have to consider who are audience is. Writing for a specific audience comes with specific expectations for what that writing should be like, whether the expectations be dictated by yourself or by someone else. Writing itself is also a collaborative effort, which can  influence the process and expectations through peer-editing or other forms of student and teacher feedback. The best way, in my opinion, to help students better understand how certain expectations beget certain forms of writing, is to frame common rules and conventions of writing in an interdisciplinary manner. Genre as it is defined through composition and pedagogical studies, can help people understand what is exactly expected of them when writing between something complex like an argumentative essay or simple like an e-mail or text message.

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Probably one of the biggest discussions that have consumed school districts around the U.S. for the past few years now is whether homework really does anything to engage students outside of a classroom. Critics have come to consider it as mere busywork, and I happen to share that opinion. However, I still believe it is important for students to be actively learning and to think meta-cognitively about their learning outside of class as much as inside of it. Instead of conventional homework assignments, it would be much more fruitful for students to learn about the communities that surround them or to practically assign acquired skills for students to try out outside of class.

https://www.thecut.com/2015/03/that-grade-school-was-right-to-dump-homework.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/down-homework/

https://www.alfiekohn.org/dwh/

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One of the teachers that I observed showed me this resource. Newsela is a platform for educators that provides reading material for current events and topics for different classroom subject matter. It will probably serve as a good resource for finding content-related material to supplement the assignments at hand.

https://newsela.com

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Sometimes it is good to show students that you have a sense of humor. Humor is a quick way to relate to others, and one of the greatest potential resources for humor nowadays are memes. To let students know that you can crack a joke every once in a while makes you much more personable as an educator.

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ISTE as an organization offers standards for both students and teachers in regards to using technology for educational purposes.

https://www.iste.org/standards

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As a teacher, it is important to have enough resources available for whatever activity or lesson you plan on doing within a classroom. I'm someone who likes to keep things well-stocked, whether that be plenty of writing utensils, books, printed copies of class assignments, or functioning devices like a projector screen. Whether due to a student's own financial insecurity or forgetfulness, I want my class to act as a resource for other resources besides just being a learning resource.

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One of my personal core beliefs is that a person should find ways to give back to a community or communities that they've decided to reside in, and I believe that anyone can do this effectively as a teacher. With the skills that I've acquired from my years as a student, and continue to accumulate going forward as a teaching candidate, I hope to make a difference in students' lives that enables them to think about their own communities in meaningful ways that also betters their understanding of the larger world that surrounds us all.

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Engaging students in circled classroom discussions enables opportunities for students to think of audience expectations from a wider scope beyond what the teacher thinks or what one says to their peers. It also has the potential to defuse issues occurring within the classroom.

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Teaching is one of the most direct ways to make an impact on people both inside and outside of a school environment. It can occur at any time and anywhere, and anyone can be a teacher. You don't have to be a professional to teach someone, most people aren't and yet we find ourselves in teaching positions all the time, whether it involves relaying pertinent information to a friend or complete stranger, or offering our own perspectives about certain issues through physical or digital contact. More often than not, though, employed teachers are the ones who get the ball rolling, especially when it comes to important fields of knowledge such as reading and writing. I want my students to see how reading and writing, skills that are commonly associated with language arts, are also firmly established in every other course that they'll take throughout their years of learning, some being more obvious in their use than others.

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Instead of just merely reading to students the codes of conduct for the school district, I want them to feel like they have a personal stake in maintaining appropriate classroom behavior. Building a student contract around what students themselves feel to be important in having an effective learning experience is a great first-week activity that builds solidarity within the classroom. It can also lead to an implicit critique of what school codes say or don't say when it comes to student conduct, something that can possibly result in a discussion about Common Core standards further along in the school year.

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How the environment of your classroom is arranged aesthetically can go a long way in influencing student motivation. For my class, I would want to reserve spaces on the walls for student assignments and other things like inspirational posters or folders containing important resources. I would also want some of my own personal belongings hanging in the class, such as favorite author or movie posters, memorabilia from previous school years, anything that can help students identify the kind of personality I have. I want students to come into my classroom, see what's on the walls, and come to the conclusion that I'm a teacher who values student work and is striving to make the class environment more hospitable.

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One of the classrooms I observed was language arts, where the seating arrangement was designed as different group "islands" rather than the traditional desks in rows. The teacher was able to walk around the classroom with ease and did so several times in one class period, interacting with students by giving them explicit instruction on the activities for the day, or helping out people individually with personal questions and concerns. This "island" seating arrangement was something that I never fully appreciated until recently, in that it serves greater potential for sparking discussion between students and their peers. I want my class environment to be an intimate one, where I'm physically encountering and being right next to students rather than standing near my desk as I lecture to them for the entire class period.

http://geiendorsed.com/blog/learning-environment/rethinking-desks-in-rows/