I believe that out of all the instruction subjects that are present in

school today, literacy instruction is the most important. In order to gain

understanding and success in a subject such as mathematics, social studies,
or science, one must be literate. Without literacy students would be unable
to read their text books, solve mathematical word problems, and read the
steps of a scientific experiment. In Literacy Development I learned a great
deal about literacy instruction. What I have taken away from Literacy
Development is that it would be essential for a well-designed literacy
program to have a components such as scaffolding and response to
intervention. With scaffolding a variety of instructional strategies are used to
reach all types of learners and promote comprehension and independence. In
response to intervention, RTI, students are provided instruction based on
their academic level in an environment outside of their daily classroom with
students from different classess who read on the same level.
While a well-designed literacy program is very important, what
teachers do within that program also plays a big factor. The literacy program,
in my opinion, is like the shell of the clam. It is strong and important because
it protects the pearl inside the clam. The pearl represents the instructional
strategies that teachers use meet curriculum goals. The instructional
strategies are the jewel because that is what teachers use to educate their
students. Instructional strategies that are essential to a Language Art
Literacy curriculum are the types of strategies that encourage excitement
and inspire.

For example, with literacy, strategies such as read aloud, shared

reading, guided reading, and independent reading are all essential. This
semester in Literacy Development I learned how to prepare and plan lessons
for all these strategies. Breaking down the strategies and making them in to
a functioning lesson helped further educate me on how these strategies
promote successful reading in the classroom. It is up to the teachers to use
these strategies to make literacy fun and exciting for all ages. With language
arts it is clear that with earlier grades strategies that promote phonemic
awareness and phonics are essential. What I learned recently is that without
phonemic awareness students will struggle to become literate. Therefore,
instructional strategies to promote phonemic awareness should focus on
sound structure and oral language.
I struggled throughout grade school and was diagnosed with a learning
disorder in high school. Once the needs of my disorder were finally met in a
504 plan I really started to succeed in academics. Any approach I use in
terms of instructional strategies would reach the needs of my students
because I know, not only from taking Literacy Development but also first
hand, how important it is to differentiate instruction. There have been many
moments while studying for Literacy Development where I have reflected
back on grade school and thought if only that strategy was used when I was
in elementary school! The readings for Literacy Development have left me
with a very large mental tool box full of ideas, activities, and strategies to
promote comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonics, writing, and so much

more. I have found ways to use these strategies throughout my lessons plans
for all the courses I am enrolled in this semester and am constantly looking
for ways to use them in the field.
I cannot give a specific approach I would use to meet the needs of my
students. This is because I have not met my future students yet and at this
point in my education all my lesson plans are theoretical. One of the most
important things I learned this semester is that lesson plans, strategies, and
approaches cannot be set in stone. Teachers need to be flexible because
what worked last year may not work the next year and vice versa. Although I
cannot specify the approaches I will use I can say that I will use a variety of
approaches to ensure that I meet the needs of the students in my classroom.
Differentiating instruction to reach all levels of learners, not just struggling
students is the key.
Throughout this semester, I believe that my creativity,
communication, and critical thinking skills have improved in a very positive
way. As a teacher, creativity and innovation is so important because I
personally believe that my ability to be creative is what will make learning
fun for my students. The age of note taking and worksheets are over! It is
time to get creative and think out of the box and model for your students
how to do the same. As a future teacher my main goal is to make sure that
my passion for learning seeps through my pores while Im in front of the
class giving instruction and rubs off on the students I am teaching. The main
assignment in Literacy Development that pushed my creativity to the next

level was the cross curricular assignment. Taking a guided reading book and
turning it in to a math assignment was intimidating at first, but as I started to
get creative I really enjoyed the task and am proud with the finished product.
Communication is key when it comes to being an effective teacher in
many different ways. Being able to communicate on a level that a variety of
learners can understand and process is important. Teachers and students
connect and find common ground through communication as well as give
and receive instruction. There is a difference between communicating to
converse and communicating to teach. Something I learned this semester in
Literacy Development is that as a teacher it is my responsibility to use
academic vocabulary with my students. Learning the importance of
academic vocabulary really changed how I communicated with students
while completing my 80 field work hours. At first I struggled the most using
proper academic vocabulary while observing math. However, I am now over
60 hours in to my observations and have found that using academic
vocabulary comes more natural to me. It was always easy to incorporate
academic vocabulary in to lesson plans because of the ability to delete and
change words. However, when speaking in person the task was more
difficult. The goal now is to get up in front of a classroom and ask students to
find the sum instead of asking what is the answer.
Out of creativity, communication, and critical thinking, thinking
critically is where I struggle the most. The ability to think critically factors in
to my ability to teach because I need to be able to analyze multiple

situations and present the best and most effective solution possible to
ensure proper learning. Think critically is also an important quality because
as a teacher I will constantly be encouraging my students how to use critical
thinking as a problem solving strategy. If I cannot effectively model how to
think critically then I should not expect my students to think critically in
certain situations. Throughout this semester I have been prompted in
Literacy Development to think critically and often found myself at a loss for
words. It is a skill that I plan to work on and improve at throughout my next
year at Stockton.