Effective Teaching

Through my few experiences observing elementary classrooms I have seen excellent teaching and not so effective teaching. The first two chapters in the book Classrooms That Work emphasized many of the things I have seen good teachers incorporate into their teaching. One of the things that I think is really important to do in the classroom is to provide opportunities for higher order thinking. By asking open ended questions students are more likely to critically think about the answers and come up with their own strategies to solve them. I really liked that the idea of demonstrating and modeling a skill is being emphasized. Students (especially young children) learn by example and teachers should provide a good reading role model so that their students can become efficient readers. Teachers need to try and read aloud to their students everyday in order to model positive reading behavior. When teachers show enthusiasm about reading the students will pick up on that excitement. Another part of the reading that really stood out to me and that I think is a great idea in the classroom to motivate reading is to allow students to read anything that interests them. A sports magazine, poetry, comics, newspaper, and even joke books can provide good reading opportunities. During individual reading time it is important that students read something they are interested in. This gets them excited about reading and learning and can help build connections to their everyday lives. I am very excited to try all of these different suggestions in my future classroom. I hope to be a positive role model on young readers and spark a love for reading that will last their whole lives!