Chapter 1The Highly Effective Teacher Reflection: I believe that my clinical teacher is a highly effective teacher.

My teacher has structured her classroom so that it is an incredibly print-rich environment. There are books everywhere, as well as posters and samples of student work that are both aesthetic and instructional. Classroom supplies is organized and arranged in a way that is conducive to learning, and students are aware of class routines and procedures; always knowing what is expected of them. There is also a predictable daily schedule posted where students can refer to it. The teacher is very knowledgeable about the content, and that is evident in the way she presents information to students. One of these traits that I am concerned about when I have my own classroom is management. I worry that I am not loud or bold enough to effectively manage students, and that the students will see me more as a friend than an authority figure.

Examine Classroom Library: Like mentioned before, my teacher has a very printrich environment in her classroom. A majority of the print comes from the variety of books throughout the room. There is a library corner, with a carpet and comfortable chairs, that students can go to find books based on category, author, and reading level. In the front of the room by the carpet there is a bookshelf that features books with topics related to what they will be talking about that week such as caves, pumpkins, or winter. Book covers are used for decoration throughout the classroom, so students are constantly being exposed to different type of literature.

Chapter 5Fluency Reflection: The National Reading Panel analyzed fluency studies and found that fluency practice is most effective when the reading practice is oral, it involves repeated readings of a text, and students receive guidance or feedback from teachers and parents. There is not much research to support whether or not a students expression and intonation have an effect on either fluency or comprehension. One study did find that too much attention and time spent on fluency (particularly accuracy and rate) could detract from the students ability to comprehend text. Work with students to select appropriate books: After our storytelling activity in the library, we worked with some third grade students to help them select books to check out. This was a good experience helping students navigate a library, however I soon realized how difficult it was to recommend books without having previously worked with the students and understanding what level they were at. I was concerned that books we were talking about were either below or above their reading level to the extent that they would not help or challenge them. I did like talking with books about the students though, and seeing their excitement over books that they havent yet read.

Use Fry phrases with students: One morning during Cub Club only one of my students showed up and after doing the activity with him that I had planned we had

a bit of free time left. He got out a book that he had brought so that we could read it together, but I saw that the book was way above his reading level and he was becoming frustrated. I suggested we take a break and play a game instead. We played a file folder game using fry phrases and the more we repeated the game the better he recognized them and the more he felt like he was making progress. Although my morning for intervention is focusing on comprehension, I felt that not only could he not comprehend the text if he could barely read it, but also that in that instance the text was not challenging him to grow and he needed to feel that he was having some success.

Neurological Impress Method: I did this with one of my higher-level students to practice using expression when reading out loud. We read the book There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems. As I read at a slightly louder volume, the student followed along with me and together we read the book and focused on reading with expression. I like this method of helping students with fluency; however if I did it again I would probably focus on reading rate instead of expression as I think the NIM would better serve that purpose. The student responded well to the method, and after a few pages could probably have continued to read the book by her, using effective expression.

Chapter 6Vocabulary Reflection: Word knowledge is absolutely essential for students to be able to comprehend what they are reading. Evidence-based research suggests that word

learning should be linked to concept and schema development. Teachers should teach specific word learning strategies to students, as well as provide them with strategies they can use on their own when they encounter unfamiliar words. Research shows that it is important to encourage wide reading in the classroom to ensure that students are encountering a variety of new words. Also, explicit instruction should be used to teach students words that are necessary for comprehension of content or a passage.

Help teacher maintain a word wall: The word wall in my teachers room is very interesting. It is along the bottom of the front wall in the classroom, and instead of it being words stapled to the bulletin board that relate to what the students are learning, it is something that the students build on throughout the year. The words are arranged alphabetically on circle clips. All of the vocabulary words beginning with A are on one clip under the letter A and so on. I particularly like it because it is accessible to the students, when they are writing they can go up to the wall and grab the clip and find the word that they want to use.

Play a vocabulary game with students: This wasnt something that I had planned on doing with my students, but once we started it stuck. During lunch one day a student and I started seeing how many compound words we could name. It quickly turned into a game and other students started to join in. I enjoyed this a lot because it was a fun way to engage the students without them realizing that they were learning. One

of the things I would have done different though, was I would have had them try to define or describe the words instead of just listing them.

Chapter 9Childrens Literature Read for the Record: Read for the record was a fun experience during our first few weeks at Trace Crossings. We decorated for the event and then we attended it and got to see the first grade teachers perform a skit on the book Otis. The students loved the assembly and it encouraged students to read more and promoted the idea that reading should be fun and interactive.

Read a book to your students: My students were reading Laura Numeroff books at the beginning of the semester, so I read the book If You Give a Pig a Party. The students responded well and easily made connections to her other books, discussing how they were circle books and they ended in the place where they began.

Do a story telling activity: We did a Thanksgiving themed storytelling activity with a class of third graders during their library time. We chose to use the book Twas Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. We acted the book out for the students (which was very humorous so they were quickly engaged). Afterwards we asked them questions and they made the connection that the book was very similar to the story The Night Before Christmas. It was a fun activity and the students seemed to really enjoy it.