richards portfolio
TRANSCRIPT
The mediocre teacher tells.The good teacher explains.The superior teacher demonstrates.The great teacher inspires.
-William Arthur Ward
For the past three years, I have been teaching in Camden, NJ. It has been said that teaching in the inner city causes teacher burnout. However, I feel as though this experience has molded me into a highly effective educator. I have taught in schools where the odds have been stacked against us, achievement gaps are huge, and there is not much funding for necessary supplies and materials. To help close the achievement gap, I created and implemented rigorous, data-driven instruction based on the Common Core Standards. I engage all types of learners in my classroom by being creative and innovative within a budget. I am comfortable working on a team and in a co-teaching environment where communicating and collaborating with colleagues is essential for student success, and I celebrate each hard won accomplishment of my students and my colleagues. I hope this portfolio can serve as a window into my classroom to show my unique talents and experience.
Thank you for taking the time to view my portfolio!
Laura RichardsStandard Elementary
Certification K-5
Philosophy of Education Teachers need to become knowledgeable about all kinds of minds. This can be accomplished by assessing your students’ needs at the beginning of the year. All students possess different backgrounds. Teachers should emphasize a student’s strengths to enhance their self-esteem. This will maximize a student’s learning potential. It is crucial to pursue a teaching style that enhances students’ love of learning. Through Differentiated Instruction and continual assessment, students will be motive to augment their learning. Teachers can empower students and captivate their interest through curriculum relevance. A nurturing classroom environment with a positive classroom management plan should be an integral component of a teacher’s expectations. Students know you care about them, when you adapt the curriculum with innovative hands-on activities that will keep them actively engaged. Teachers can be a conduit for students to become lifelong learning by incorporating technology into their lesson plans. In order for our students to compete in our changing global economy, they should be acclimated to all types of technology. Educators who are proactive, enthusiastic, and positive will have a tremendous impact on our students. Analyzing data, curriculum relevance, differentiate instruction, and assessments that are aligned to the curriculum will motivate students to do their best. Having organizational skills, well planned lessons, and high expectations for your students will facilitate their learning and they’ll be encouraged to pursue learning as a continual goal. “Success for all students” should be every educator’s philosophy.
Classroom Management
“I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” -Haim G. Ginott
The most important ingredient in a classroom that is successfully managed is the existence of a positive relationship between the teacher and his or her students. I get to know my students on an individual level. I believe mutual respect in the classroom is a huge part of having a positive classroom environment. Having an organized classroom and thorough lesson plans provides a structured learning environment for students. They know what to expect and what is expected of them in the classroom both academically and behaviorally. I feel that using Responsive Classroom management techniques, holding students accountable, and using positive reinforcement provides a safe and nurturing learning environment. Working in the inner city, I have developed a very structured and organized classroom management style where I set high expectations and my students feel a part of a “classroom family.” I give them the consistency and stability they need but don’t always get at home, to grow into lifelong learners.
Student & Parent Communication I believe that keeping an open line of communication is
important to build relationships and trust with my parents. Parental involvement is significant to a child’s success. I create weekly newsletters to keep parents informed of their child’s learning and progress. I also, utilize school websites that give parents access to all of the fun and exciting things we do in our classroom.
Classroom Activities
Language Arts
Students must be proficient readers, writers, and speakers to be successful, contributing adults and lifelong learners. I break our Language Arts block up into individual, small-group, and whole-group instruction.
Programs I’ve worked with: Reader’s Workshop,Daily 5, American Reading Company, School Pace, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI), STEP testingand Journeys.
Student Progress A student’s progress is tracked using a Data Binder. The binder consists of the child’s reading levels, running records and writing pieces. I also log what skills the students should be focusing on to move to the next reading level.
Literacy Centers Literacy Centers provides an opportunity for students to practice and apply strategies that were taught. The data from the binder allows for flexible grouping. While students are working on reinforcing their skills, I am able to work with small groups.
Literacy In Second Grade, I used different versions of Fairytales to teach various Common Core skills. As a culminating activity, I had my students write and illustrate their own Fairytales and present them at our Second Grade Fairytale Festival. I scaffolded lessons throughout the final Fairytale Unit by completing story maps, character sketches, and having students work in cooperative groups.
Literacy To celebrate successfully completing their Fairytale book, students participated in the Fairytale Festival. The day was filled with fun activities that included Fairytale elements and a dash of magic, of course! We had a “Magic Potion” water relay race, a “Jousting Tournament,” and they had to successfully “slay” the dragon and save the damsel in distress. The day ended with a Medieval Feast in the castle!
Writing Teaching how to write effectively is one of the most important lifelong skills teachers can give to their students. After implementing Writer’s Workshop, students were able to improve their writing skills through “kid writing,” mini-lessons, mentor texts, and modeling that I am a writer, too. I also included fun writing prompts and “craftivities” for high-interest writing pieces.
Programs I’ve worked with: •Kid Writing,•Writer’s Workshop
Grammar Activities Grammar is one of the more difficult topics to teach effectively. After spending time with mentor texts, where students can see the grammar skill we are studying, I would design a creative lesson where students could showcase what they have learned.
Contraction Surgery
Students were placed in surgical teams, where they removed the unwanted letters of the two words, and then surgically put together the two words with a Band-Aid to create a contraction.
Synonym Buns
After learning about synonyms, we put on our baker’s caps and got to work making synonym buns. The students worked in pairs and used a Thesaurus to “cook up” more exciting words for those boring words we use all the time.
Math Math class is broken up into whole-group, small-group, and individual instruction. Through technology, manipulatives, and communicating their thought process through writing, students develop mathematical problem solving skills.
Programs I’ve used: Singapore Primary Mathematics and Go Math
Student Progress A student’s progress is tracked using a Data Binder. The binder consists of the grade level’s Common Core Standards checklists, pre and post assessment logs, and a tracking sheet for each standard. The tracking sheet easily shows what level of mastery each student falls into. These levels help me create small and individual instruction groups.
Technology
After reading The Giver, students were given a culminating group project where they wrote, filmed, and edited a movie trailer for the book. The students used Mac Movie Maker to edit their trailers. We had a Trailer Film Festival and awards were given out for Best Monologue, Best Soundtrack, Best Special Effects, and Best Acting Performance.
I believe that technology is extremely important to integrate in everyday teaching. Teachers can be a conduit for students to become lifelong learners by incorporating technology into their lesson plans. In order for our students to compete in our changing global economy, they should be acclimated to all types of technology. Using smart boards, iPads, interactive internet activities, and designing content reinforcement games as review are just some of the few ways technology can be incorporated into everyday lessons. Frequently using technology in the classroom will make students technology savvy and will equip them with the skills to function in the real world. Working with technology on a regular basis will enable students to become confident and proficient.
Technology skills I possess:•Fluent in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher)•Ability to integrate interactive boards into lessons (SMART, Promethean, Mimio)•Effectively utilize educational apps on iPads•Google Drive•Drop Box
Educational Technology I implemented:•Think Central•School Pace•Raz-Kids•Reading Eggs•Mac Movie Maker•First in Math•STAR
Science
Our Science class is made up of hands-on learning to help students develop into innovative, critical thinkers.
Garden Glove
While learning about the life cycle of a plant we observed as our garden gloves grew. Each student was responsible for completing their Seed Journal. Students were responsible for measuring the growth of their plants and tracking their progress. Their Seed Journal also had a place where students charted the appearance of their plants using diagrams and labels.
Apple Experiment
Using inquiry based learning, students had to figure out what liquid to put on an apple to keep it from browning.
Social Studies Through Project Based Learning, students were immersed in research projects. For Black History month, students researched Ruby Bridges and their challenge was to “walk a mile in her shoes.”
