Week 2 Nature of Literacy and Teaching for All

Assignment#1: Write a short reflection on your understanding of the ELA instruction and post it on your blog.

·       Goal of ELA is to ensure that all students are college and career ready in literacy.

·       ELA is based on the Common Core Standards.

·       ELA instruction is broken up into five key components: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. Each of these components there are certain goals for students to meet.

·       ELA provides students, parents, and educators with a clear-cut outline and guidelines of what is expected for each grade for students and teachers.

·       ELA helps students develop and use their skills, knowledge, and ideas and apply them in their everyday life. 

·       ELA will help students develop the skills they need to become successful in school and successful in life.

Assignment#2 Write a brief reflection on what you learned from the video and post it on your blog.

I learned some very important things from this short video clip. First, I noticed how important “repetition” is while teaching your students. The video began with the children singing along a “good morning” song both in English and Spanish. I think this is a great way for students to learn. Every morning they sing this song, learning a different language in a fun way. I always found it easy to remember things when it was linked to a “jingle” or a saying. The video also showed how important building a foundation is. Ms. Owen’s classroom is built from a constant routine that is pretty much followed the same everyday. They have four reading activities that are used: read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading. I think this is an excellent way to ensure that every child’s reading needs are met also it challenges them as well. As we know all students are different and are not all on the same reading level. This routine allows all students to read and receive the help they need to eventually reach their goal, to become independent readers. I think Ms. Owens has some great ideas and ways in teaching her students. She first reads books that are far too hard for them to read on their own. Then she takes a step back each time, allowing them to do a little more on their own. I think this is a great way for students to learn how to read. They first build their foundation then begin to build on top of that, but still returning to the foundation each day to make it solid. Eventually these steps will lead to the main goal, of each student being able to read independently. I think that repetition is very important when learning how to read or learning how to do anything. “The more you do it the better you will become at it.”

Assignment#3 Critique on the sample lesson plan on your blog.

This is a great lesson that assists each of the five components of ELA instruction. This lesson allows the students to use what they have read and apply it in a creative and exciting way. It is a perfect exercise for students to build their skills and what they have learned and apply them into their own work. This is what success is all about…critically thinking and applying your skills and knowledge to become successful.