Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Writer In The Classroom

I am a second grade teacher at Timber Point Elementary School in East Islip. I enrolled in the year-long Suffolk County Reading Council to enhance my literacy expertise in reading and writing topics. There were a plethora of wonderful authors and topics presented, not to mention many activities and ideas I could introduce into my classroom. This experience has already sparked me to work on lessons over the summer that will help my students become better writers this school year.
One presenter gave us a unique approach to teaching writing to K-2 students called, "Rubric Kids." This is a program that aligns authentic assessment with instruction. The rubric includes a visual, tactile face of a child to which one adds on features of the
She introduced the class to multicultural books, songs, and stories that offer children a chance to appreciate other cultures. She gave us copies of songs and dances that we could use in the classroom with our students to help them appreciate and respect diversity. The, ‘Meet the Author Series,' which is part of the Reading Council program, presented many accomplished authors for us to listen to. One very popular and well known author that spoke was Jean Fritz. Some of her published works such as, "Leonardo's House," "What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?" and others are part of the informal historical biographies that she has written for children. I remember reading a few of her pieces to my fourth grade class a couple of years ago. She is a master of her craft and her books provide witty and good-humored looks at historical figures. It was a delight to meet Jean Fritz in person. I enjoyed learning where she gets her ideas from and how she brings them to
That does not include writing as part of that ninety minute block of time. It does, however, include writing in response to reading. At-risk schools should add an additional thirty minutes to that reading block to ensure that the fundamentals are learned. This program is voluntary but the district must be ready to write up a large educational plan. The district, the unions, and the individual teachers of each building must all be on board. There is a progress monitoring three times a year. Teachers need an assortment of staff development on how to assess the students and use the data effectively. A teacher needs to know exactly where the students are in their reading skills so that the teacher can target the right skills to get high student achievement and results. Assessments are also used as a teaching tool if performed correctly. A school district cannot use this program without complete support from the administration and teachers. Teachers need the support of the principal and a large amount of staff