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- Understanding that literacy means adapting to an ever-changing world
- Being open to learning new things and having new experiences
- Discussing literacy with others to widen their view as well

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- Asking questions that are deeper than surface-level - in other words, going out of your way to make an effort to learn about your students
- Organizing activities for students to share things about themselves
- Listening to your students to understand the way they learn and their mindsets regarding school

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- Mentor/mentee relationships with students that entail more than just subject material
- Engaged students with a feeling of increased efficacy
- A safe, comfortable classroom in which every student is recognized for their own identity

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A sunny day represents the last three prompts. The sun is the benefits of getting to know one's students, and when it is given the opportunity to shine, a great classroom environment is created. So, getting to know one's students in practical and applied ways looks like removing the clouds from the sky - this removes the barrier between the classroom and the benefits of getting to know one's students. Finally, the world around us on a sunny day is the widened view of literacy, as we have a new context in which we can interact with that world using the sun that touches the classroom.

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Getting to know one's students does more than making the teacher's life easier and helping the students feel comfortable - it can make an impact that lingers with students for the rest of their lives.

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Literacy refers to more than just reading ability. Although reading comprehension is part of literacy, it does not compose all of literacy.

Literacy is more like understanding different situations and scenarios than it is a skill set.

Literacy involves interpreting how a situation relates to ones beliefs, their history, and their environment.

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Getting to know students involves communication between teacher - student and student - student. Have students interact with each other!

Have engaging and fun activities. Don't make students feel miserable in the classroom.

Have students do most of the talking - listen to what they say. Take notes!

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Students respond and learn much more effectively when they see that their teacher cares about them.

Students can be themselves which likely creates a more relaxed environment. Both teacher and students should look forward to class.

Knowing more about a students identity and culture can make relating the subject matter to students easier.

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I think of family, such as the relationship between grandparent, parent, and child. Grandparents have life experience and often impart their wisdom. Metaphorically, grandparents would understand that maintaining good and positive relationships with people is beneficial. Parents learn from their parents (the grandparents in this case). Knowledge of the benefits of knowing students would be passed on to the parents who could, in turn, enact and create ways of getting to know students. The child (of the parents) can learn from both parents and grandparents and use that knowledge to keep growing. Children have creative and innovative minds and can make an impact. I feel that this links metaphorically with our goal of widening the view of literacy.

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Literacy, like language, is form of communication that can be adaptable into different scenarios for a maximum understanding in context. This can often be found by comparing two different things into one idea or procedure. Widening the view of literacy correlates to expanding our horizons on approach to different forms of language (whether it be linguistic, craft, or procedure).

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On a surface level of meeting your students, preferences are often a great route to go by. This can be seen when teachers talk to them on what their favorite/ preferred activities are. On a deeper level, student values and philosophies are what really define their way of understanding the world around them and their purpose in it. Casual talk (academically accepted!) is often a great method of meeting students on a deeper level rather than asking them directly about their values. Context clues on behaviors such as reactions/ body language often are key points to their personal entity.

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Benefits of getting to know your students revolve on the idea that the educator is able to create an individualistic focused learning environment for each student while stile aiming for collective goals (i.e.National Standards).

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People are sometimes like books. They present a cover to the audience that initially states one idea, however once opened and read, the reader is able to understand (at a deeper level) the intuitions, appreciations, and determinations of that book.

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- Realizing that it's hard for students to share up front. It's better to get them to communicate with the people around them, and then proceed to share with the entire class.
- As teachers, the questions we ask dictate how much the student responds. So, if we ask deeper and fundamental questions about who are students are, we will get a better understanding compared to what we see and hear at the surface. I saw this a lot in the teaching demonstrations, where we were asked thought provoking questions about ourselves.
- Don't have the conversation one sided. As teachers, we should respond, and share aspects of ourselves. It'll start to establish the connection, and shows that we are paying attention to each student's unique voice.

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- Building that trust relationship between ourselves and students. Without this, we cannot have their honest thoughts and opinions.
- Preventing ourselves from falling into making assumptions of our students. In other words, getting to know them makes sure we don't fall into problem of having a single story. Plus, this will give us a way to understand and respect each others cultures and identities.
- Having a full learning environment. The more we know and understand our students, we can create an immersive learning environment. Going back to my first point, if we build that relationship, that gives us more opportunities to engage with the student, and help them learn.

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- Literacy is forever changing. It takes on different shapes and is all about trying to make sense of the world around us. And, as our perspectives of the world change, so does literacy.
- Understanding that literacy is not limited to certain skills. For example, we mostly talk about content literacy and having those skills. But, there is more to it, and that relates to how it is forever changing.
- It's like looking at the world from another point of view. Because one aspect of literacy is communication, and as we talk with others and share our thoughts and ideas, we start to broaden our own view of the world. Further, since we are broadening our perspectives, our view on literacy goes beyond skills, but another way of looking at the world.

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For a moment, let's consider our students as pencils.

Now, we let them write their stories on a piece of paper. These surface-level stories are the first step in getting to know our students, and in fact, this piece of paper represents what they share with us.

Then, over time, consider how pencils have the ability to change what was written. The pencil strokes can always be erased. This represents how we get to know our students. As we get to learn and connect with them, we learn more than what was originally on the surface. This results in how the paper has a ton of eraser marks, but each new part that is added gives us a bigger picture of who they are.

And, when we get to truly know them, the paper shows us their perspectives, thoughts, and their identities. Within that, we can see how they view literacy, as a story of their life. Going back to the first prompt, I talked about how literacy is forever changing. And, so with these pencils, they have the ability to always change what they write.

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I think that as we get to know and appreciate our students, it makes us seem them as more human. And the same is true for how students view their teachers. Instead of always focusing on content, but also getting to know our students, establishes a human connection. We're not only here to learn about a particular subject, but to also communicate and share our experiences.

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Widening the view of literacy means that understanding literacy is about more than just understanding language. Literacy is also the way that students interpret and navigate the world around them. This can including decoding symbols as well as written, spoken, and body language. The concept of literacy is fluid and constantly changes to fit the contemporary trends in communication.

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-Understanding that it is the teacher's responsibility to facilitate an open-minded environment for students. This includes the surface-level idea of respecting students but also being an outspoken advocate for historically disparaged populations.
-Providing opportunities for students to willingly provide information about themselves.
-Asking thought-provoking questions in discussions that utilize students' individual perspectives.
-Incorporating background information that students volunteer into class activities and lessons.

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- A transparent relationship where students feel truly supported.
- An open environment where students are safe in.
- Increased engagement and initiative in lessons.
- Opportunities for deeper, more nuanced conversations that open both students'/teachers' minds.

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A pair of glasses represent the last 3 groups. Without lenses, it is hard to understand the wide reach of literacy is. Along with that, it can also be difficult to realize the identity of our students or why it's important to develop lasting bonds with students, for that matter. When you put the glasses on, these concepts start to come into focus. The perception of what literacy is, what it means for learning, and its effects on how a classroom functions all become more clear. With that, it gives you the perspective to develop nuanced, thoughtful understandings of your students. From this, you can begin to reap the benefits of getting to know your students. I picked this metaphor purely because all of these concepts are tied together, and in order to understand them you have to look at education with a particular mindset, or lens. Once you change your frame of mind, all of these intertwined ideas can start to be realized.

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*Thinking outside the concept of literacy as being only our skill/abilities/knowledge in writing, reading, and counting.
*Understanding and accepting that literacy is part of what forms ones identity which includes but is not limited to our own ways of understanding what surrounds us, how we communicate, and how we interpret what we see.
*Being open-minded and accepting of different perspectives.

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Getting to know your students in practical ways looks like:

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Getting to know your students in practical ways looks like:

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*Ensuring that everyone in the classroom has a voice and everyone is being listened to.
*Being actively caring, meaning building 2-sided relationships that are not dependent on student engagement in class.
*Not making assumptions/stereotypes about any student. We should always challenge our own thinking and look for answers (always ask, don't assume)

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Benefits of getting to know your students are:

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Benefits of getting to know your students are:

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*Students feel like they are part of something (a community) in which they will want to be a part of for as long as they can (they will start participating and engaging in all class activities).
*As teachers we can create better classes based on our students needs, abilities, ways of learning, etc. We will be able to address each one of them in different ways to promote growing and learning.
*Students become trustful of their teachers and let them guide them better (meaning they are more open to try and learn)

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Students are like Spirit the wild horse; untamed, they have trouble trusting others, and are even scare at times. They have their own perspective of the world because they have been running the fields by themselves (meaning everyone has its own ways of discovering/learning new stuff; different literacies). But then, they find Little Creek (teachers). The relationship can be awkward or even hard in the beginning, but Little Creek doesn't give up and earn Spirit's trust. They start to get to know each other by trial and error, and lots of great attitudes; or at least from Little Creek (getting to know your students) until Spirit feels free, it opens up to Little Creek, and they work together as the best team. Spirit is now the happiest and is able to grow at a personal level as the best horse (benefits of knowing your students).

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Teaching is not about delivering steps or giving out a manual to students to learn how to do stuff. The best teachers are the ones that are further away from this concept and go above and beyond to help their students

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Widening the view of literacy means realizing that literacy is more than just the ability to read, but it's the ability to understand the world and our surroundings. Literacy is how we interpret our environment which impacts how we interact with it which requires us to be more open minded about what we come into contact with in day to day life.

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Getting to know your students in practical and applied ways looks like appropriately acknowledging their work, using their funds of knowledge in the classroom, and building trust through a holistic and active sense of caring. We can also get to know our students by letting them get to know us, as we are part of the classroom community as well.

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Some benefits to getting to know your students are creating a community where students feel welcome, a place where their values are seen as important, and avoiding stereotypes and assumptions. Students will be more likely to share half-ideas/partial thinking which can help their peers build their own thinking.

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Students are like a system of lakes, rivers and creeks. Getting to know your students is the lake, it's where the water to supply the next steps is provided. The lake then breaks off into several streams. These streams represent the practical and applied ways to get to know students, these may vary by student which is why there are so many. Lastly, the streams split into multiple smaller creeks. These creeks represent literacy because there are many different ways we each show literacy skills and they reach into all aspects of our lives.

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Looking at students like whole people, seeing and learning about their backgrounds, values, and the unique abilities they bring to the classroom, is how we can help all students to be included and head in the classroom.

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Widening the view of literacy means allowing our surroundings to speak to us be it by language, culture, drawings, or gestures. If we allow ourselves to have an open mind we can grow and expand our knowledge with literacy.

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This looks like taking the time to allow them to open up, by placing them in an environment where they are comfortable they are able to ask questions and open themselves up. This is a two way process as Dr.Wolfe once mentioned if we are not ready to open ourselves up to our students then we cannot expect them to do so. Students live by example they give what they can take and asking questions allows them to open up little by little.

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Some benefits of getting to know your students is we get to know what they like and try to make our lesson somehow relate to the subject at hand. Another is to be able to know their circumstances and offer them help or adjust our plan of teaching for them. Lastly knowing our students allows us to be able to use their knowledge in the classroom and learn while we teach.

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Taking a quote from Forest Gump "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." Our students can be taken like this, when we get a box of chocolates we know it's going to be full of sweets which represents the literacy concept, but it isn't until we take a bite of each chocolate that we know what we really have which represents getting to know the student, and lastly by tasting these things we know what we like and what we don't but what happens is we allow ourselves to adapt and change according to each flavor.

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While procedures are great because they allow us to have a system of assessment, we cannot rely on these things to get to know each student. We need to be flexible to the knowledge we learn and must quickly adapt to lessons that may not go how we plan.

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- First defining what literacy means to everyone to understand how they interpret it and what role they believe it plays on society.

- Understanding the ways that we communicate and interact with each other every day.

-Trying to find new ways to connect with people in different mediums that you might not typically be used to

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Recognizing the type of student they are and adjusting the way you interact with them accordingly

Understanding that students have a life outside of the classroom that can sometimes be affecting the work they are doing inside the classroom

Making sure that your students know that you can share their lives with you and that you’re excited to learn about who they are

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Your students will recognize that you care for them and they will feel safer in the classroom environment which will allow them to become more engaged

You can understand when a student is just having an off day rather than not understanding the topic. Sometimes students just need a break and you can recognize that when you get to know them.

Getting to know your students can also help you better plan for your lessons as a teacher. You can predict how a lesson will go and if there might be a place where your students will get tripped up on that you have to go further in depth for.

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“[Students] are like onions. Onions have layers. [Students] have layers.” - Shrek.

Students are complex human beings just like us and they have different layers to them. To use an onion, you first need to peel the outer layers. This is you getting to know your students. Once the onion is peeled, you can now use it in your stew. The onion, in my opinion, is one of the most important ingredients in any recipe which relates to the benefits of getting to know your students. The onions make the stew better just like getting to know your students makes the learning better for your students. Inside the stew, the onions can interact with the other ingredients which is like your students using literacy in the world. These ingredients interact with one another to make a stew that you can enjoy. Students engage with different pieces of medium in life and communicate with different people to create connections and establish a sense of community.

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While doing these prompts, I was thinking a lot about how my teachers in high school were and whether or not they took the time to get to know us during the school year. I can distinctly remember the teachers who did and who didn't. Students are aware of who's taking the time to make a better classroom environment and who's not. As a teacher, we don't want to be known as the ones who just came in and did their job, but the ones who put in the time and gave their students a better education because of it.

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- Conversing with others and learning from their experiences and perspectives
- Having an open mind to challenge your own perspective and learning from new information
- Understanding how different views can be related to each other

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- Personally getting to know students on how they learn to cater the lessons and activities
- Using a student's interests to explain a concept or for a problem
- Genuinely caring about your students and understanding any unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances

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- A personal relationship that goes beyond a simple teacher/student relationship
- An engaging classroom environment where every student feels valued
- A support system where students aren't afraid to go to

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The ocean can serve as a metaphor for the three prompts as the widening view of literacy can be seen as the open ocean with its diverse species of aquatic animals each serving a purpose. This coincides with the second prompt as understanding how valuable each species is to the ecosystem. Finally, the third prompt can be seen as the immense depth of the ocean, relating to how deep and far the benefits go to getting to know your students.

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Widening the view of literacy means allowing ourselves to learn from everything around us and to be able to communicate it multiple new ways. It means recognizing that literacy isn't just about reading words, but is also about reading situations, gestures, language, cultures, and so much more, and allowing these things to change and shape our worldview to be more inclusive of others.

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-Actively choosing to take one-on-one time with students to get to know their needs
-Adding the student's interests into the class to keep them more engaged
-Taking the time to listen to students to show you care and taking their suggestions to make a better learning envrionmnent for them.

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Benefits of getting to know your students are that it will create a more open and effective learning environment as the students will be more engaged and will trust you more as their teacher. It allows you as the teacher to adjust your teaching style to the students and you can work through material in a new way that will help the students. It will help create a safe environment for the students where they feel they can express themselves and don't have to hold back.

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- Understanding that there is no single perspective in a learning environment and that all cultural perspectives must be respected and acknowledged.
- Allowing meaningful conversations to take place that involve looking at the cultural identities that make up the students, the teachers, and any communities built within.
- Become flexible in the way that you perceive the different notions that others might have.

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- Create conversations with a variety of group sizes. Individual one on one conversations with students can be beneficial in learning more about their cultural identities, but group discussions such as entire class conversations can help students develop critical public speaking skills all while they are actively learning about their own peer's cultural identities.
- Incorporating aspects of the students' cultures within the classroom can help engage the students in a different manner.
- Conversations with the students should be a regular occurrence as aspects of their personal lives can change and it is important to always have an open mind when considering the student's perspective.

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- Knowing your students beyond the surface level allows for the students to feel heard in a classroom environment and makes their perspectives feel validated.
- Classroom environments where a sense of community is built will often times foster a more productive learning environment.
- Getting to know students as individuals and as small communities allows for teachers to gain some perspective on what might be relevant in the students' lives at the moment, which can allow for a teacher to better communicate with the students.

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At first glance, the infamous gum wall might just seem like a variety of pieces scattered on a flat alley wall. When looking at something from a glance, it can be easy to perceive what is first absorbed, but there is far more beyond the surface. Each individual piece on this wall acts like one of the many individually unique pieces stuck on that wall. Although there are physical characteristics of a piece of gum that could give us some insight into that piece of gum, there are stories to be told about what that piece of gum has gone through to get to that wall. Some of those pieces of gum might have been placed simultaneously by groups of friends and have shared similar experiences. Students are gum. At first glance, the students might not seem all that distinguishable as you are looking at the class as a whole. Once the students are viewed individually in terms of their experiences and what has shaped them, then a more elaborate and fruitful conversation can be had within the classroom.

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-Allowing students to showcase their content thinking in a myriad of ways. That students will show their knowledge and conceptualization in all sorts of ways, so we need to make sure they are able to do so.
-Having meaningful conversations with others, taking in their perspective and learning from those conversations
-Understanding that literacy isn't just reading, that it comes in all forms such as communicating, art, culture, language, etc

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-Talking to your students, getting to know how are they are outside of your class. Finding out how they feel about the subject you are teaching
-Learning about your students beyond the surface level, like what motivates them and how do they best learn, really listening to what they say.
-Having students talk to each other, allowing them to grapple and listening to their conversations can lead to a better understanding as to how they conceptualize your subject

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- Building that relationship can help facilitate a classroom community which then leads to an environment where learning can grow and be productive.
-When you know your students well you are able to draw from their cultural funds of knowledge to help scaffold your lessons
-It also just shows that you care, and for many students they haven't experienced that with a teacher.

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My metaphor is like getting a new puppy. First you get this adorable little puppy and start to learn its demeanor, that it really likes belly rubs, and squeaky toys, but is scared of loud noises. All of this helps you form a bond with it, this is like getting to know your students. Then you start to learn what motives your puppy, so now you can potty train and teach some tricks. Now you're able to help your puppy stay out of trouble and learn in a way that they like to, and in a way that gets them rewards, this is the practical and applied stage. Lastly, now you've bonded and trained your puppy, except now your puppy isn't a puppy anymore and now what you thought was just a new pet has become a family member and expanded what your idea of a pet and, more so, what love is, now we land at the expanded view part.