The quality of my Language Arts methods class has been beneficial in helping me with the preparation of my career and

field experience. Throughout the class, I have learned techniques and strategies to use within my classroom. Before taking this method course, I only thought of Language Arts as focusing only on reading and writing. However, after taking this course, I have learned that there are six parts when teaching Language Arts. Reading, writing, talking, viewing, visually representing, and listening are the six Language Arts. I have learned how to incorporate majority of the Language Arts in all future lessons that I will teach. Having taken this method course, I have gained valuable information in regards to teaching Language Arts. The most interesting information I learned included literature focus units, thematic units, literature circles, and reading and writing workshop. Each workshop has their own purpose and significance. In literature focus units, teachers and students read and respond to one text together as a class or in small groups. Students explore the text and apply their learning creating oral, written, and visual projects after they have finished reading a text. Thematic units are always interesting and interacting because students study Social Studies and Science topics. They use the six Language Arts as they participate in activities and demonstrate learning. Literature circles are similar to book clubs, where students are choose the book they want to read and form groups to respond to the book. Reading and writing workshop is the only patterns of practice where students work independently when reading and responding to a book. I also enjoyed participating in Readers Theatre. I do believe that when used in the classroom students will be excited and engaged in the lesson. Before doing Readers Theatre in class, I had the opportunity to read The Stone Soup with a group of students. It was definitely an unforgettable experience. They were enthused and excited about being able to act in class. My overall perception of the class has been a positive experience. As a future elementary teacher, I

believe that it is important for me to be knowledgeable about the different strategies that can be used when teaching to students. I had an idea of certain ways to teach students language arts, but this method course has made me more aware of effective strategies that will be successful in the classroom. Throughout the course, I have learned lessons that I believe will help me to become an effective teacher. These lessons range from the different ways students learn how to read and write to the different activities and lessons students an engage in to become fluent readers. I have learned to always reflect after each lesson. By observing and monitoring students progress, I can tell whether or not students have grasped a concept successfully. If they have not, it is my duty as an effective teacher to reevaluate my strategies and techniques used in the class. Also I have learned to be open minded to different people that I will have to work with in the school setting. I have to make sure that I appeal to all learning types. I know that not all students learn the same, so it is extremely important for me to remember this fact when planning lessons. Lastly, I have learned that as a teacher I need to be able to adapt to all situations. Even though I may have a lesson planned, I need to be able to adjust just in case something goes wrong within the lesson. For example, I may have planned to use the internet to teach one of my lessons, but on that particular day the internet at the elementary school is not working. I will need to adjust to the situation because the students will still need to learn the information. During the spring 2013 semester, I completed my field experience at Brookdale Elementary School in Orangeburg, South Carolina. I was assigned to Ms. DeBetta Smiths third grade Language Arts and Social Studies class. Throughout my field experience, I do believe that I have grown professionally in more ways than one. I believe that my growth is evident to me when I reflect on Claflin Universitys School of Education conceptual framework. The

conceptual framework is teacher as a leader, teacher as a moral service provider, and teacher as a reflective practitioner. In these three areas, I have gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be a teacher. As a leader in my field experience classroom, I have been able to teach a lesson to the children. I had to prepare a lesson and make sure that I was knowledgeable about the subject I taught. Compared to the previous levels of field experience, I have been more involved in the classroom and with the students learning. Ms. Smith has allowed me to work with small groups of students who were having difficulty mastering the standard. By working with small groups of students, I learned how to differentiate instruction that Ms. Smith had given the class, so that they will understand. I also helped with assessing students and classroom management. This field experience assignment has definitely exposed me to more of the planning aspect of the teaching career. As a moral service provider, I have had plenty of opportunities to encourage my students and to demonstrate proper behavior. These opportunities have allowed me to learn how to relate to students and help them to know right from wrong. The students in the class looked to me as a role model, so I had to make sure I exemplified certain characteristics that I wanted to have as well. I have always been told that teachers have a huge influence on a childs attitude and day. The field experience for this specific class has definitely opened my eyes to the power behind being a teacher. On certain days, I would notice how a child may be sad or having a rough day. I found moments like these to be the perfect opportunity to motivate and encourage the student. The experiences I have encountered within this particular class at Brookdale Elementary have definitely helped me to grow professionally as a moral service provider.

As a reflective practitioner, I have been able to reflect on the interactions I have had with the students as well as reflect on the lesson that I taught them. Even though I did not teach many lessons to the class, the one lesson that I did teach showed me the importance of evaluating how the lesson was executed. I took into account the students who had difficulty mastering the content and thought of different ways that I could present the information to them so that they will have a deeper understanding. Working with Ms. Smith, I graded some of the students assessments. We discussed the results of the assessments and brainstormed ideas to reteach the lesson for those students who did not understand. While in the classroom, I examined the classroom environment and saw how the environment can have an influence on students behavior. I have learned that it is important to understand the interests and backgrounds of your students when creating the classroom environment and planning lessons. Overall, I do believe that I have grown professionally through this field experience assignment. I have become more aware of the many responsibilities a teacher will have. Planning plays a huge role in instruction as well as classroom environment. This field experience has had a powerful influence in my preparation to becoming a teacher.