Why and how I become a teacher

Although my teaching has developed in many ways over the past few years, my reasons for becoming a teacher--and my reasons for staying committed to this work--remain the same. When I decided to become a teacher I could not yet articulate - nor had I fully developed - the passion I now have for teaching. I did know that two sets of childhood memories were key in my decision. First: memories of teachers whom I loved because they cared about me and because they told me I was doing great work. They made sure I understood what I was learning, which was essential to my success. Second: memories of a few teachers who disrespected students. I wondered how and why they had pursued teaching. I decided that by becoming a teacher, I would ensure all of my students knew how important, special, and intelligent they were. I wanted students to feel excited about learning and to truly understand what was being taught.

I still possess all of these beliefs. Now I understand even more clearly the important role I hold in our society as an educator. Educators have the power to make changes for our world through the education and empowerment of our students. As I continue to develop my teaching practices--gaining more knowledge about strategies, assessment, planning, and creating responsive and learning communities in my classroom - I keep my passion for motivating students at the heart of my work.

My professional history

I've entered the fifth year of my career as a teacher at Glider Elementary School in the Oak Grove School District. I taught kindergarten for three years, and I've now entered my second year of teaching second grade. I spent two years studying literacy education in San Jose State University's M.A. program, which has a strong focus on equity. This year I am also working part-time as a literacy coach at Glider.

Why and how I began to focus on writing

Days before I welcomed my first group of students into my classroom, a district writing coach shared stories of her powerful experiences with kindergarten writers, which had resulted from her work with the ECRW initiative. I had never experienced a writing workshop in school. Little did I know, that first conversation about a kindergarten writing workshop began my challenging, inspiring, and fulfilling journey as a writing teacher. Through conversations and collaboration with colleagues, Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words, and a seemingly magical experience of kindergarteners learning to write before my eyes, I was inspired to learn more - both about myself as a writer, and how to help students develop as writers. In the years that followed, a principal and a group of dedicated teachers brought the ECRW initiative to our school. Since that time, I've had the privilege to be part of this work on a daily basis.

My history as a writer - strengths and struggles

Throughout my elementary and middle school years, the highlights of my writing life included school assignments, essays, reports, answering questions, responding to prompts, and a few opportunities to author my own narratives or fictional stories. I first remember feeling proud of my writing in high school, when a teacher complimented me on the voice and description I'd used in an essay I had written. As I recall, the piece was very personal, and I felt especially proud after receiving the compliment. Although I wrote a great deal for high school and college assignments, I found writing to be challenging. Many time, the feedback I received focused on the story's content rather than on its qualities.

Once I began teaching writing, I began to learn about myself as a writer - and I began to develop my skills. I learned the importance of studying other writers' work while considering my own style of writing and strengths. I had been writing well, but I wasn't aware of the decisions I made while writing or the process I used. While I learned to teach my students to write, I began my own reflection and work.

I feel that my writing strengths vary depending on the genre in which I am writing. When I am writing an expository piece, I'm an organized and detailed writer. In narrative writing, I become reflective, possess a defined voice, and develop small scenes with detail. I enjoy narrative writing because I feel that I can write as I would speak. I also enjoy thinking carefully about ways to paint a picture to engage the reader.

Areas that I'm working to improve include planning, drafting, and word choice. I continually challenge myself to increase my speaking and writing vocabulary. I tend to repeat the same words in my writing. At times, I have difficulty finding specific and descriptive words. Now, as I read, I take note of words I may want to include in my own writing.

For many years, I drafted my work in the same manner, beginning with the first paragraph and moving through the piece step by step. Now when I'm planning and drafting, I give myself the freedom to begin my pieces at different places and to rely on revision to bring different sections and ideas together. I also experiment with various beginnings and closings, and explore the many complex ways I can journey through the writing process.

When I read my own books at home now, I find myself reading as a writer. When I read a passage that demonstrates how an author crafted language to convey a particular feeling or point, I mark it with a sticky note. Then I can share that example with my students or use it to guide my own writing. It has been exciting to learn with and from my students.

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Learning to teach

Sometimes I find it difficult to trace my teaching journey. My learning has taken place in so many arenas: in the classroom where I observe my students, and in my school where I collaborate with colleagues to decide on the next best steps for our students. I've also gained an abundance of knowledge in meetings with my principal and other district leaders; in professional development meetings with teachers who are considering ways to help students' literacy identities and minds develop; and in courses, conferences, and summer institutes where passionate, creative, and knowledgeable professionals learn from each other about supporting students' reading and writing strategies. Finally, I've learned from books - student books hanging on my classroom wall, children's books lining bookshelves in the classroom library, and of course, the professional and pleasurable reading books piled in stacks in my bedroom, waiting to be read and reread again.

As I weave together all the knowledge from resources outside of my classroom, I know that true learning happens for me when I find ways to connect academic experiences to my twenty young learners. I hope to make those connections in ways that engage, motivate, and deepen their learning, helping them to become confident and independent learners in the classroom and beyond.

My writing curriculum resources

Below, I've listed book titles that I draw on in my writing instruction and related professional development experiences.

Books
A Magical Encounter: Latino Children's Literature in the Classroom by Alma Flor Ada
How's It Going? and Assessing Writers by Carl Anderson
The Art of Teaching Writing and One to One Conferring by Lucy Calkins
Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher
Wondrous Words, Writing Workshop, and About the Authors by Katie Wood Ray

Noyce Foundation's Every Child a Reader and Writer Initiative (Writing focus)
I've learned from Induction and Advanced Writing Institutes; the Teacher Leader and Literacy Coaching Professional Development Series with Noyce staff developers; Steven Athanase; the Exceptional Speaker Series (which included Carl Anderson, Katie Wood Ray, and Sharon Hill); and district-level meetings and professional development days focused on equity and literacy.

My reading curriculum resources

Similarly, I've listed below book titles and professional development experiences related to my reading instruction.

Books
Growing Readers by Kathy Collins
Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller
The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins
Strategies that Work by Ann Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey
Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop by Susan Zimmermann and Ellin Oliver Keene

Other reading and writing resources include Summer Institutes on the Teaching of Reading and Writing (sponsored by the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project) and San Jose State University's M.A. Program in Education, which has a strong focus on equity and literacy.

Standards that guide my literacy instruction

Our school and district follow California standards for language arts [LINK?]. Through our work with the ECRW initiative, our school has used state and national standards for our writing curriculum.

My curriculum context

The Oak Grove School District is committed to providing instruction that supports all students' literacy learning. It continually evaluates teaching and learning across the district. We are focused on providing culturally responsive instruction for our students.

My district's Literacy Plan outlines instructional routines, strategies, and resources for the literacy curriculum at all grade-levels. Key aspects of the curriculum include the multiple components of literacy and a variety of instructional strategies to scaffold students' learning. In an effort to strengthen the curriculum already in place, Oak Grove adopted the Houghton Mifflin Literacy Program. The district aims to align the Oak Grove Literacy Plan with California's language arts standards and to develop consistency within and across grade-levels and schools.

Many Oak Grove schools have embraced the workshop structure and philosophy for teaching writing. Teachers provide writing instruction for students through daily workshops. The writing curriculum involves units of study that help students to develop a repertoire of strategies for writing across various genres.

Currently, district leaders and groups of teachers are developing reading units that include skills and strategies outlined by both the Houghton Mifflin Literacy Program and state language arts standards. Through daily workshops teachers provide explicit reading skill instruction to students. Students also have opportunities for guided, independent, and cooperative work time. We continue to work to integrate other literacy components (such as word study and grammar work) into these units in ways that are meaningful and accessible for all of our students. We also continue to provide as much differentiated instruction as possible by incorporating small-group and one-to-one coaching into our daily schedules.

As leaders and teachers in our school district continue to grow in commitment and passion for creating equitable learning environments for our students, we continue to examine how we develop our literacy curriculum. We hope our instruction is responsive to the diverse groups of children who work in our classrooms each day.

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My class profile

Of the 20 students in my class, 12 are boys and 8 are girls. Three are European-American, five are Vietnamese, four are Latino, one is Lebanese, and one is Filipino. In addition, two are African American/Latino and two are European/Latino. Three students are advanced English Language Learners (level 5); four are early advanced ELLs; one student is an intermediate ELL (level 3); and one is an early intermediate ELL (level 2).

School Accountability Report Card (SARC)
http://www.ogsd.k12.ca.us/html/schoolinfo.html

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