The Beginning

 

 I'm excited to begin my blogger journey related to literacy education. This is my first blog that I've ever created so I'm a bit nervous and apprehensive about figuring out all the controls related to operating a blog. However, I am hoping to discover more throughout my education courses and link information I've newly found to make sense of what I've learned. I've always wanted to have a blog growing up and never took the leap and created one for myself. I believe this new beginning will be eye opening in the end, to see how far I've come and learned along a short amount of time. 

 I hope to learn about more methods to incorporate in my classroom to differentiate for my students. I've taken a course prior to prepare me for the ESL certification I will obtain- but teachers are always life long learners. I love to approach every single day with the confidence that I can learn at least one new source of information in any area of my life, especially for my future classroom. I'm hoping to learn more about the specifics of a first year classroom. I've talked to many first year teachers and I've realized that nothing can really prepare you for those moments in your own classroom. I want to know more about practical things that deal with literacy and also perhaps some information that may lead me to new ideas about classroom management. The most practical information I would love to know is ways of obtaining materials and classroom library resources for first year teachers. I know that for me, I don't have a lot of money to invest into my first year classroom and I would really appreciate any advice I can get about all the resources available to me- even if not directly taught. Perhaps maybe a word document that I could download and keep on my computer for future reference? Lastly, I would love to learn more about flexible seating and how that could be incorporated with a balanced literacy approach program. 

 Personally, I believe the three key elements that are needed to have an effective literacy classroom setting are.... 

 

• A diverse classroom library  
• Multiple print text formats available to students (incorporating them as often as possible) 

•   Balanced literacy approach within the classroom. 

 It doesn't matter what age level an educator is teaching, it's so important to include a diverse classroom library. Children need to see books that include different races, ethnicities, family dynamics, gender, etc. In order to be effective and successful, a teacher has to really sit down and understand biases that they may have and combat them head on. A professor told me last year something that stuck with me forever and I will never forget it. She told me that teachers can have the greatest intentions and still fall short and create a never lasting imprint on a child. When she was discussing this with the class, we were talking about presenting information in the classroom with illustrations and titles. Something as simple as talking about helper roles and projecting gender stereotypes can be very harmful to students. The idea is to incorporate female doctors, not just show casing one ethnicity either attached to one role. As for tittles, a teacher has to be careful to not label a "police men" but rather police officers. Children want to be represented within the classroom, and we should show case diversity through everyday experience within the classroom. 

Multiple print is also important. Students need to have experience with different forms such as newspapers, articles, books, printed sheets, etc. Lastly, a balanced literacy approach will help to meet the needs of all the students on different instructional levels. It's difficult for teachers to meet the needs of each individual student- we need to give them the best shot possible through a balanced literacy approach.

Thanks for listening to my thoughts!

Ms. Marissa Matthews.