I believe in the five pillars of effective reading instruction from D. Reutzel and Robert Cooter's The Essentials of Teaching Children to Read. They are: teacher knowledge, classroom assessment, effective practice, differentiated instruction, and family/community connections. Effective literacy instruction starts with effective teachers. Teachers think of the five pillars of effective reading instruction as they employ various strategies and techniques in the classroom. Effective teachers provide students with opportunities to learn and apply skills and strategies in authentic reading tasks. In addition, they assess students’ strengths and weaknesses. They structure reading activities around an explicit instructional model ensuring that students attend to the learning tasks. Most importantly, effective teachers believe in one’s teaching abilities and expect students to be successful.

I also believe that effective literacy instruction involves broadening children’s appreciation for reading and writing. In addition, teachers must develop students into lifelong readers and writers. The literacy framework outlined by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell in Guiding Readers and Writers is a conceptual tool for organizing instruction in the intermediate grades. The three components are reading workshop, writing workshop, and language/word study. Effective literacy instruction is comprised of this literacy framework.

The subcomponents of reading workshop include: independent reading, guided reading, and literature study. Independent reading is a time when students are actively engaged in reading their “just-right” books. The purpose is to improve students’ abilities in reading independently. Another purpose is to increase the amount of time students read. Guided reading involves small, temporary groups of students who are generally at the same reading level. The goal of guided reading is to work with students at their instructional level. Literature circle is the third element of the reading workshop. The primary focus is for students to cultivate a deeper appreciation and understanding of literary texts and to develop personal responses. The groups are based on interest and are heterogeneous.

The second component of the literacy framework, writing workshop, consists of independent writing, guided writing, and investigations. In independent writing, students write on their own in their writers’ notebooks or on writing projects. In guided writing, the teacher instructs small temporary groups of students on the crafts and conventions of writing in a variety of genres. In investigations, students complete a research project that encompasses a wide variety of content areas.  The purpose of the writing workshop is to develop an understanding of the writing process, to develop writing skills and strategies, and to make connections between reading and writing.

In the last component of the literacy framework, language/word study, students investigate the nature of language through shared language/literacy, interactive edit, handwriting, word study, modeled or shared reading and writing, and interactive read-alouds. Studentsare given opportunities to talk, learn, and plan together by being exposed to rich literary language and engaging content. This component is a scaffold for students’ learning throughout the day during writing, reading, spelling, and word study.

In addition, I believe that a teacher should be aware of gender differences. Boy Writers by Ralph Fletcher explores the argument that boys are often shortchanged in schools. Because of this, boys tend to lose interest in writing for a number of reasons. Therefore, boys should be given choice. Teachers should avoid judging boys’ writing. Instead they should teach the writer, not the writing. Finally, teachers need to be aware of the comments they say to boys.

Moreover, the classroom environment is essential to effective instruction in all content areas. One way that teachers can build community in the classroom is by teaching children self-management, the ability to cooperate. The physical environment of the classroom is also very important. It must be warm and welcoming. It should accommodate whole group activities, small group activities, and individual activities. Additionally, there should be a varied collection of literature for the library because this will allow students to expand their reading abilities and their world. The working areas of the classroom (entrance/exit, community meeting area, small-group meeting areas, conferring areas, writing supply area, technology) have to be organized in the most efficient way possible. Moreover, a productive social environment is one filled with cooperation, mutual respect, and inclusion.

All of the above contributes to my teaching philosophy. However, this does not do justice to the amount of knowledge I have gained while in college.