Molly House

Reading/Writing Consultant

4601 Kingman Blvd. Des Moines, Iowa 50311 (H) 515-255-9565 (C) 515-975-7076
molly@netins.net

August 8, 2012

To Whom It May Concern: I am honored to write a letter of recommendation for Leah Jones for a teaching position in your district. Her resume clearly shows her vast experiences in education, volunteering, and private sector. I have recently been her college professor at Drake University in Secondary Reading and Interdisciplinary Curriculum. This class prepares content area teachers to understand the key literacy instructional strategies that support the learning of all students in their content area. Leah has a strong understanding of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model in comprehension, writing, fluency, and vocabulary. She has implemented these lessons in her practicum and student teaching work with DMPS middle school students. She has learned multiple writing to learn strategies that engage students, help them process their learning, and then be able to demonstrate understanding with a final writing project. Her reflections around these implementation opportunities clearly show her ability to excel in teaching and learning. She is able to use the daily writing of students to get formative data to help plan next steps. She is an excellent candidate to teach or substitute with all of your students. What really makes me very willing and eager to write this letter is Leahs approach to learning, questioning for clarity and her collaborative skills. My class is based on learning together and teaching peers through collaboration. Leah is an expert at initiating questions, including all people in the group, and organizing the work for reporting out. I have most recently been the Secondary Literacy Coordinator for Des Moines Public Schools. I would clone Leah and put her in any secondary classroom in Des Moines. Please feel free to call me with any questions. Sincerely,

Molly House Reading/Writing Consultant