JanelleMTeach-Now

Balanced Literacy Programs in the Classroom I completed my first year of teaching at Tolenas Elementary school in Fairfield, CA as a K5 Special education teacher.  My classroom was focused on behavioral management, with academics incorporated into it. I had a population of 5 students with 4 para educators. These students were emotionally disturbed, autistic, and had mild/moderate behavioral problems.  I would teach students coping strategies, incorporating social skills into all lessons. My philosophy of reading and writing instruction is that it is extremely important to be literate in the context of the classroom and beyond. Reading is used daily in every day life. Reading is required for driving, grocery shopping, traveling, school, and work. It is important to learn reading from a young age, so that when students get older they will be fluent in reading to succeed in life. “Over 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level, and 3,000 students with limited l...

Classroom Context I completed my first year of teaching as a K5 Special education teacher for the 2017/2018 school year at Tolenas Elementary in Fairfield, CA. The content area in which I taught was mostly behavioral incorporating academics into instruction. I had a population of emotionally disturbed students, students on the spectrum, and autistic students. My classroom size was 5 students, with 4 para educators for support. In my classroom, at the beginning of the year I established daily routines and rules such as morning circle, raising hands before speaking, lining up before leaving. I modeled proper behavioral expectations so that the students could follow these expectations. Whole language learning is important where I teach because in California there is a reading initiative for how whole language happens, and the set of principles to guide classroom practice. With this whole language approach, students are exposed to written words at an early age, when they are read aloud...