During my first three years of college, I worked at After School Fun (ASF) in Park Place Church of God as part of my work study experience. This free after school program was offered to the surrounding neighbors as a part of the church's ministry. I began working at ASF as a team leader which included leading clubs such as scrapbooking and web design for a group of elementary- age students. I also helped lead field trips to neighborhood parks, museums, or community events. After two years as a team leader, I became the student director of the after school program. As the student director, I coordinated all daily schedules, field trips, and transportation from two city schools. I led professional development workshops for the team leaders and supported them in the governance of clubs, daily activities, and management of student behavior.

I chose to participate in Anderson University's Year-Long Student Teaching Program. In this program, I completed my student teaching at Sunnyside Elementary in Indianapolis, Indiana. I began in August 2008, spending 15 weeks in a diverse first grade classroom. I taught first grade full-time for about 5 weeks. I also completed an action research project to better inform my teaching of guided reading. I implemented a behavior plan for a struggling student which included daily progress reported to her parent.

The second part of my student teaching involved spending 4 weeks in a Special Education Resource classroom for struggling 4th and 5th grade readers. I observed the use of the Scholastic Read 180 program designed to identify and teach the specific reading needs of each student. I also participated in push-in and pull-out help for students with learning disabilities in 5th grade.

I began my second semester of student teaching in a 4th grade classroom where I spent 12 weeks. I taught full-time under a supportive and well-experienced teacher for about 5 weeks. I taught units on electricity and magnetism and Indiana pioneers. I used the Project Approach by Sylvia Chard and Lillian Katz to design our project on pioneers. I was privileged to meet with Mrs. Chard to get expert advice on planning and facilitating a project with other classroom teachers.

Click for recommendation letter from 4th Grade Teacher

Click for recommendation letter from 1st Grade Teacher

Teaching for a full year as a student has given me such experience and skills. As I reflect on my student teaching, I feel like a respected member of the Sunnyside staff who has completed her first year of teaching.

Not only has Anderson provided me with a great student teaching experience, they have also incorporated many practicum experiences throughout my four years of college. The following is a list of all practicum experiences I have completed. These practicums included one on one support from experienced, mentor teachers in the field as well as supervisors from the university department of education.

Education Practicum - Kindergarten practicum for child development Education Practicum - 1st grade Reading tutoring practicum using PALS assessment Education Practicum - 5th grade Language/Social Studies integrated teaching Education Practicum - Pre-K home school Physical Education Education Practicum - 2nd Grade Science/Math/Tech integrated teaching Education Practicum - Adult English as Second Language tutoring Education Practicum - 1st Grade Student Teaching, 15 weeks Education Practicum - 4th Grade Student Teaching, 12 weeks Education Practicum - 4th/5th Grade Read 180 Remediation program Education Practicum - 1st-5th Grade English as Second Language support

Below are links to several documents that I created and used in my teaching experiences while at Anderson University. Click on each link to produce Adobe Acrobat .PDF files you can review.

Lesson Plan - Beginning Reader - Reading Tutor for 1st Grader Lesson Plan - Math Measurement in Spanish - Lesson for 2nd Graders Lesson Plan - Language Arts in Spanish - Lesson for 1st Graders Lesson Plan - Guided Reading - Small Group Lesson for 1st Graders Lesson Plan - Math Workshop - Addition Lesson for 1st Graders Lesson Plan - Taxes Workshop - Social Studies Lesson for 5th Graders Weekly Newsletter in Spanish - Translated Newsletter for Hispanic Parents Professional Development Activity - Classroom Management Professional Development Activity - National After-School Assoc Conference