Reflection #1 Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge

Reflection #1

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge

Analyze classroom environment quality for fostering individual motivation to read and write (e.g., access to print, choice, challenge, and interests).

Prior to my experience in the Reading Specialist program, my knowledge of student engagement and motivation was rooted in personal experiences with students, field experiences guided by the Fairmont State University Education Program, seminars that I have attended through the National Writing Project, advice from veteran teachers, and my own literacy development. When stepping into my first classroom as the certified teacher, one of my biggest goals was to engage students in a way that made them enjoy reading and writing. I did this by cleaning out my room of all clutter and re-organizing it to look new, fresh, clean, and comfortable. Even though I teach 11th grade, I added a carpet and decorations that made the classroom feel more welcoming. I also read through the Collections textbook and selected different texts that I felt the students might be interested in. I then took those texts and searched for creative and engaging activities or pairing texts on Teachers Pay Teachers, Scholastic, and other educational websites.  

In addition to my own research, one of the most beneficial points of advice my former student teacher taught me was to get the students to “buy into” a lesson. Sometimes, teachers have to have a good sale pitch up their sleeve, and making content that relates to student interests is a big part of engagement. I also learned that sometimes, teachers must cover content that is just simply not interesting to students. When this happens, teachers must sift through the readings and find connections to the students to make the content more relevant. Once students can see how a character, the plot, or the time period relates to them, they are much more accepting. In addition to finding connections, teachers should also make a point to make creative lessons. Having students make a TikTok, giving the students a character to play, having them re-create a scene, or play an escape room are all activities that my students had success in. Although not all of my lessons were homeruns, or even base hits for that matter, I did find activities that made my seemingly reluctant students more excited to be in class. After reading a rather difficult series of Shakespeare sonnets, I wanted my students to have the opportunity to select a reading of their own choice through a book report project. I gave them free range of my own classroom library, the school’s library, and a weekend to determine their book of choice. The directions on the packet of my book report project read as follows:

“In this class, we typically read together with material already selected for you, however, I want to give you the opportunity to explore a text that best fits your interests. For this book report, pick something to read that you find interesting, intriguing, terrifying, shocking, or beautiful. This means you must select wisely for yourself; don’t just meander around the library and pick a book at random! Be particular! After all, you will be spending a month with the novel of your choice.

Here are a few rules to help narrow the options:

-           Your book must be no less than 150 pages.

-           It can’t be something you’ve read before!

-           You must read something on grade level, so the book of your choice must fall within a Lexile range of 1010-1185. If you’re not sure your book hits that range, Google it.

-           Your book must be approved by me no later than Monday, Feb 17th.”

When I allowed my students to look through the library, I immediately had several hands raise with questions. One 11^th grade student asked if it was possible to read a series of books for this project. He had started a series of science fiction novels and wanted to do his project on the development of his favorite character. Once he stated this, another student raised her hand and wanted to know the same question. She too had a trilogy that she felt confident that she could finish in a month. Surprised by the excitement, I allowed the students to try their best, but if they could not finish the entire series or trilogy, they would have to base their project on just one of the books they read. After the students selected their books, I designated the last half hour of every Friday to be silent sustained reading for the student’s book reports. This proved to be a great way to get the students to wind down at the end of a hard work week and find entertainment in their reading. After the first two weeks of this implementation, students from every block looked forward to the opportunity. This experience further confirmed the idea that student engagement depends on the ways in which teachers present content. Giving students the chance to work together, guiding them to think about a topic in relation to themselves and the world around them, and working with different mediums are all ways of successfully engaging students. 

Pictured below is my (very small) classroom library that I am currently working to expand. Many students in my 1st-4th block classes selected books for their book report project from these three little shelves.