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Professional Development

ARA Conference:
Attending the Alabama Reading Association was a great
opportunity and a great learning experience. The first day of the
conference, November 12th was a very exciting day. Myself and a few
other girls arrived early to help with registration, we helped stuff bags
with gifts and information pertaining to the conference. Once that was
complete it was time for the conference to begin. The first speaker to
start the morning was Jeff Anderson. He would speak on the
importance and power of writing. Teaching children to write and have a
passion for it is very important. Many children loose their passion for
writing because of the environment the teacher has created in the
classroom. Students being graded harshly on writing early on can
cause students to not enjoy and fear writing. It is important as a
teacher to think about how to support positive writing behaviors.
Supporting writing behaviors comes from positive modeling, creative
writing and having students write something daily. At a young age
students are interested in writing and it is important to keep that
interest in the child. Anderson was a great speaker hearing him speak
was a great start to the conference. I was able to learn great teaching
strategies for writing that I will use in my classroom.
Following I decided to attend Todd Geralds session, I was very
excited about this session particularly. When seeing that he would be
speaking at the conference I purchased his book so I could have it
signed. Todd Geralds is the author of Woodlawn. I havent seen the
movie or read the book but I have heard about the story and was very
excited to hear him speak about his experiences. Geralds spent a
majority of the time speaking sharing the process of writing Woodlawn
and how he received his movie contract. He wanted the main concept
for people to understand from his movie and the book was Gods love
and the love we should have for one another. I think this is a great
message for people to read and I think this a great inspiring story that I
am excited to read. Once he was done speaking I was very excited to
talk with Todd Geralds and have him sign my copy of the book.
Dr. Elfrieda Freddy Hiebert was the last speaker of the day. Dr.
Hiebert is the ARA vice President-Elect, and was the keynote speaker of
the day. She spoke on learning words and how they work, the root of
how words were formed. I have never truly learned about the root of
words. She discussed the history of how the English language was
formed and how our minds learn words. There are so many words in
the English, and the opportunity to teach them is outnumbered. This
was very fascinating to me. The majority of the time teachers try to
teach vocabulary to students by having them memorize the definition
of the word but do not allow students the opportunity to use the word

in real world situations. This causes students to forget the meaning of


the word. It is important for students to be introduced to language and
vocabulary throughout the day. This concept reminded me of what we
have been learning in our literacy class. It was very interesting to listen
to Dr. Hiebert discuss similar strategies that we have been learning in
class.
On the second day of the conference, November 13th we went
through a similar process. The first speaker was Dr. Tommy Bice the
Alabama Superintendent. This was one of my favorite speakers from
the conference. I enjoyed listening to all the things he has changed
since being the Superintendent. He has made a lot of changes
regarding the way schools overall function and how teachers can teach
students. I think that he has a great insight for what needs to be done
in order to get students to the next level in education. The changes
that have already been made may of made a few teachers and
administrators upset, but it was the best choice for the children. The
plans he has for the future will be able to make a large difference in
students performance. Hearing from Dr. Bice was a great opportunity
and I definitely enjoyed hearing him speak.
During the breakout session I went to listen to Dr. Underbakke
discuss picture books. I decided to attend Dr. Unerbakkes session
because I enjoyed listening to him speak when he came to the
classroom at Trace. This was also one of my favorite speakers, he is
very full of life when he speaks and his also comical. He shared a list of
some of his favorite books and even shared when he used them in his
classroom. When leaving his session I had a list of great books, of all
genres as well as knowledge on when to read them to the class.
PLP group-Family Studies-Importance of Family Involvement:
Being in a Family Studies group was truly one of my favorite
experiences from this semester. Working with the Family Studies class
on communicating with parents and how important family involvement
in the classroom was very helpful information. The family studies
student who led our meetings was truly amazing and extremely helpful
during all of our sessions.
During our meetings we discussed various topics like; how to
know what type of personality you have, how to communicate with
various types of parents, how to recognize the various types of
parents, and how to convey bad news to parents. I found all of these
topics to be very benefical. Having these sessions I gained valuable
information on conducting myself with parents. Each parent is different
some will be easy to get along with and others will not be. Preparing
for the different types of will be very important for my career, which is
one of the reasons I am grateful for starting to learn about
communication now.

During our first session we took a personality test and the results
we used several times during each of our sessions. It was very
important for us to know our personality so we would know how we can
potential interact with others who have the same personality or a
different personality. When learning about the different parents theyre
we were able to see how to best to handle each one based on our
personality. Being aware of the type of personality I have was a great
way for myself to understand how I handle various situations that may
occur. This was especially important when conveying bad news to
parents. Learning how to convey bad news to parents was one of my
favorite sessions. Receiving insight on things that you should and
shouldnt say and how to receive the best feedback was great
information to have. When conveying bad news I want to do so in the
best way possible for the parents so they can feel comfortable.
I would definitely not mind having more classes with the family
studies students. I think that we could both learn from each other.
Education and Family Studies majors have a great deal in common and
if we shared the information we learned I believe it would make us both
better in our careers.
ELL Training:
This week we had the opportunity of having ELL training. This
was a very in depth training to teach the class how to best teach ELL
students. The training was from November 10- 11th. Having the
opportunity to learn various strategies through this training was very
beneficial to my future as a teacher. My hopes as a teacher is to work
in an inner city school area or to work with students who come from a
less fortunate background so I believe that have ELL training will guide
me to be the most effective teacher possible.
The first day of training, November 10th we covered a great deal
of information. We learned how various strategies and skills could best
assist us in teaching ELL students. To begin the session we discussed
how students inquire language. ELL students acquire language by
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They learn language through
these four processes. Students learn and master language at different
times. This was one of the most important concepts that we learned
during ELL training. Knowing that all students process language
differently is important for teachers to know. They must be patient with
the students and give them time to learn the language. This was very
interesting to learn about. Students go through five different steps
when learning language. The steps are preproduction, early production,
speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. Each
student goes through theses phases differently. They can last for an
extended periods. The hardest period I think as a teacher would be
having a student who is in the preproduction phase. Having a student
who does not talk in class or even respond to you I think could be very

difficult to deal with. It could seem frustrating. I found it very


interesting that students could be in the process for months and when
they start talking speaking they can speak English very well. They
dont speak because they do not have the confidence to speak so they
will refrain until they feel comfortable. Making students comfortable is
very important. I have learned that once students are comfortable than
they are more effective in their learning. Working in small groups was
stressed during training as well. Small groups allow students to get the
attention they need in learning a new language.
Students learn two different types of language. Social language
and academic language, these are both languages that students
develop when first learning a language. We learned that there are
about 2500 words that are developed in social language. These are
words that students learn from their peers. The teacher does not have
to spend much time teaching these words. Teachers mainly focus on
academic language. This is abstract higher-level vocabulary that is
found in the classroom.
On the last day of training we discussed numerous strategies and
ways to assess students. VPD and WIDA are great ways to understand
the development of an ELL student that is in your classroom. I found
this training to be very informative. I am very grateful for the resources
that we were provided and I will definitely be using them in my
classroom when having an ELL student.
Linking Families to Literacy: BARC (Birmingham Area Reading
Council):
On October 1st I attended a meeting held by BARC (Birmingham Area
Reading Council) to discuss linking literacy to families. This meeting
was held for teachers, administrators, parents, and other members of
BARC to discuss how to implement literacy into homes. I found this
meeting to be very insightful. Attending the meeting was a wide
variety of people who would share their different views on literacy and
how they use it in their home. The overall purpose was to discuss
better ways to get parents to read with their child and make reading a
natural process. During the meeting I had the opportunity to talk with a
few teachers from surrounding schools. They shared their personal
experiences with reading and some tips they use in the classroom to
encourage students to read and write. One of the teachers shared a
journal that she has students use in the classroom. Some of the entries
are based on stories that the students create or experiences they have
had. I thought this was a great way for students to enjoy writing
because they were able to write on topics they were interested in.
The next topic we discussed was how to make literacy eligible for
ELL students families. It is important for students who have parents
who speak a different language other than English have away to
communicate with teachers. One of the teachers shared how important

it is for the parents of ELL students to feel involved in their childs


education so in order to do so they need to receive feedback from a
teacher. When sending home letters to the parents teachers should try
to send home a letter in the childs first language. Sending home
assignments that an ELL student can work on as well with the parents
is a great way to incorporate literacy into the home. This will
encourage the parent to help their child in their schoolwork because
they are able to understand the assignment as well because of the use
of pictures and text. The more the parent feels comfortable with the
reading the more likely they are to encourage their child to read.
I found this meeting very useful and thought that it was a great
way for teachers and parents to share different ideas in a safe small
environment. Being involved in BARC seemed to really help teachers;
administrators have a way of communicating with one another and
share ideas on various topics. Overall I enjoyed attending the meeting
and had a great time talking with current classroom teachers, parents,
and my peers on topics we have discussed.

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