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=**Welcome my name is Jodi Hunt! I am a senior at Rider University. I am a double major in Elementary Education and Psychology with a minor in Special Education.**= = "Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning" =

= = = Philosophy of Literacy =

=As a teacher of literacy I have a few different beliefs of what is important. I believe a way to instill a love for literacy in students is to model and have a love for literacy myself. This is important because it portrays to the students how important reading and writing is. Also having a love for literacy myself will allow me to make recommendations to the students about different books to read. In order for students to become proficient readers, they need an efficient amount of time to practice. Students will be given this practice time during independent reading which will be daily in my classroom for about 30 minutes. During this time students can pick any just-right book to read. Likewise for students to become proficient writers they need an efficient amount of time to practice. I will have students write independently every day either about topics we are working on or topics of their choice to develop their writing skills. I will allot for 30 minutes of independent writing during writing workshop. Another belief is that students should be involved in reading and discussing quality literature. I will allow students to do this in literature circles that are small groups and heterogeneously mixed for the purpose to turn students onto reading. Literature circles also are kid led discussions that help students comprehend texts better because they are able to discuss the text in detail with their classmates. In terms of writing, students should be involved in inquiry based research about any topics to help develop their writing and being able to discuss their writing with others. I will do this by having students participate in investigations in my classroom where they work individually, with a partner, or in groups to develop a topic through writing after thorough research. "Investigations have students pose original questions, that for the basis of an in-depth research project that encompasses different content areas, draws on a wide range of print, media, and technological resources, and involves reading, writing, and visual communication (Fountas and Pinnell)." I believe all students deserve appropriate instruction in reading and writing. I will provide appropriate instruction by having guided reading and writing groups to meet the specific needs of students. These groups are homogeneously mixed in order to work on a specific need that more than one student might need help on. I will be able to identify my students' specific needs by ongoing formative assessments and reading as well as writing conferences. Lastly I believe that assessment drives instruction. It is important as a teacher to collect information from my students. I will do this by having formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments are assessments that happen along the way and summative are an evaluation of student's work to give a grade. As a teacher of literacy I truly value the Fountas and Pinnell Language and Literacy Framework for various reasons. The framework is organized, predictable, time manageable, and allows lower concern for students so that they can relax and learn more. There are three blocks to the framework which are language and word study, reading workshop, and writing workshop. Language study includes interactive language and literacy, conventional use of written language, and word study. Some ways I will implement this block into my classroom is through interactive read alouds, handwriting, and choral reading. These are just a few instructional strategies for the first block of the framework to help develop student's language and word study knowledge and skills. Reading workshop includes independent reading, guided reading, and literature study to help students construct meaning, make personal and textual connections, and learn effective comprehension strategies. Writing workshop includes independent writing, guided writing, and investigations so students develop writing strategies, writer's craft, and how to use writing as a tool for learning and communication. I believe if I teach literacy through this framework students will gain a deeper knowledge, understanding, and love for reading and writing.=

= Two day schedule for Literacy Block =
 * Day 1: Literacy Block (Monday) **
 * 9:00 – 9:15 || **Mini Lesson (Inferences using //Just a Dream// by Chris Van Allsburg)** ||
 * 9:15 – 9:50 || **Independent Reading/ Guided Reading (specific groups)**
 * conferences** ||
 * 9:50 – 10:00 || **Group share** ||
 * 10:00 – 10:15 || **Mini Lesson (Informational Text for Writing)** ||
 * 10:15 – 10:50 || **Independent Writing/ Guided Writing (specific groups)**
 * conferences** ||
 * 10:50 – 11:00 || **Group share** ||


 * Day 2: Literacy Block (Tuesday) **
 * 9:00 – 9:15 || **Literature Circles** ||
 * 9:15 – 9:50 || **Independent Reading/ Guided Reading (specific groups)**
 * conferences** ||
 * 9:50 – 10:15 || **Word Study** ||
 * 10:15 – 10:50 || **Independent Writing/ Guided Writing (specific groups)**
 * conferences** ||
 * 10:50 – 11:00 || **Interactive Edit** ||

-Teachers Role-establish and teach routines, gather book choices, set meeting time, decide on sections to be read, assign task, demonstrate thinking, moves discussion forward, get students to evaluate discussions, invites comments, questions, opinions, and plans next step -Student's Role- choose book, make personal connections, share thinking, provide evidence from text, text to text connections, pose real questions, evaluate participation, and makes plan for next step
 * Literature Circles**- small heterogeneously mixed groups of students reading and discussing quality literature. They are kid-led discussions with little teacher interruption.


 * Group Share**- The purpose of group share is to debrief the lesson taught during the workshop period. It is also important to have group share so students have a time to share their writing work or reading strategies they learned to an audience.


 * Guided Writing/ Guided Reading**- small, flexible, homogeneous groups of students with a specific need in common for writing or reading. The guided reading and writing groups are determined through conferences with students to see the specific needs they have.


 * Interactive Edit**- My role as a teacher during interactive edit is to type up or write out a small paragraph with errors in it. Then I would have students come to the Smart board or overhead where the paragraph is displayed to fix the errors. After all the errors are fixed I would talk with students about the specific errors within in the paragraph and explain them. The purpose of interactive edit is to explicitly demonstrate the process of editing and to teach the important editing conventions.


 * Word Study**- Students actively learn the rules and principles of phonics and spelling. Word study would start with a brief mini lesson by me (teacher) on the specific rule or principle, apply through manipulating letters or words, share and discuss words that go under this rule, and then introduce systematic way of studying spelling words.


 * Conferences**- The importance to reading and writing conferences is to know and evaluate my student's progress and their thinking. Conferences also allow me to understand what students need a little extra attention on to form guided reading and writing groups. They also allow a personal connection with students to focus on their writing or reading. Writing conferences are especially important to discuss and help students develop topics, give students new writing strategies, and for the student to have an audience as well as be able to talk about their writing. Reading conferences are important to see what level the student is reading on, to be able to give recommendations, and to teach students reading strategies.