Week 2 Post - Harris

Goals for the semester:
- Observe the methods my mentor teacher employs in order to successfully support all children in the classroom, despite their varied levels of knowledge and development, and employ the skills in my own teaching.
- Effectively maintain the motivation and attention of all students in the classroom in regards to literacy.
- Enable all students in the classroom to view literacy in a positive light, and to understand that everyone has the ability to be successful.


In what type of school and community context do you hope to teach? (Same as Julia and Janine!)
- A globally diverse setting that includes children and staff of different cultures and ethnicities, languages, socioeconomic status, etc.
- A setting that enables me to work as a team with other teachers of the same grade level
- A setting in which parents are invited to play a role in the classroom environment.

What do you want to learn about literacy instruction to help you reach your goals?
- I want to learn how to effectively interact with parents and families regarding their child's literacy development, and how to state in a positive manner if a child requires further development in specific areas.
- I want to make sure that a strong home-to-school connection is formed, to help ensure that literacy is being integrated in the home as well.
- I want to learn different ways to help children become more intrinsically motivated in regards to literacy, as opposed to solely being motivated by reward.

How do the jigsaw articles you read for today help you think about the kind of teacher you want to be?
I read the Fleming article
- The Fleming article focuses on teaching in urban schools. Although I do not intend to teach in an urban school, I do plan to teach children of varied races and cultures. For this reason, the text is applicable to my future teaching. It is clear that living in poverty has a negative effect on learners due to the poor environmental conditions. These children may not be receiving enough food, or getting enough sleep, which can make concentration and comprehension a struggle. Some children may be forced to take on adult responsibilities, which makes it difficult for those children to concentrate during the school day, and leaves little time for school work outside of the school day. As a future teacher, I want to make sure that I am consistently being mindful of such conditions that are possible among the families of children in my classroom. I also want to make sure that I am not placing a greater burden on these already-struggling families. In order to do so,