Wisconsin Teaching Standards
and
The Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #1- Teachers know the subjects they are teaching.
InTASC Standard #4- Content Knowledge, InTASC Standard #5- Application of Content
Through this course, the readings, assignments, and discussions, I believe I have a stronger understanding of the balanced literacy framework which allows me to better teach all subjects, not just the subjects focused on literacy. I am able to incorporate the balanced literacy approach into other subject areas to show integration among the subjects. Through my artifact, it can also be seen that I have grown my word study content knowledge and researched effective practices to apply this content.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #2- Teachers know how children grow.
InTASC Standard #1- Learner Development
Through this course and my Balanced Literacy Professional Growth Plan, I was able to deepen my understanding of the spelling stages my students go through during word study. All students begin at the Emergent Speller stage where they learn how to form letters and directionality of letters on a page. Next, students move into the Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling stage. At this stage, students learn consonant and vowel sounds, along with blands and digraphs. Students then move into the Within Word Patterns stage where they learn special vowel patterns, more complex consonant patterns and diphthongs. Next, students move into the Syllables and Affixes stage where they learn about inflected endings, syllables, and homophones. The last spelling stage is the Derivational Relations stage. In this final stage, students learn consonant and vowel alternations, affixes, suffixes, and root words. It is crucial to know these stages in order to understand the progressions students are moving through and working towards.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #3- Teachers understand that children learn differently.
InTASC Standard #2- Learning Differences
Through the balanced literacy framework, teachers are able to adjust their instruction and integrate several approaches to literacy instruction to meet the learning differences of their students. In my classroom, I have a rotation for word study that students move through each week that allows for student choice and for me to differentiate instruction based on which spelling stage the student is in. During the word study rotation, students receive small group instruction of their word sort, complete a word work activity to help them create a deeper understanding of the words found in their sort, practice sight words, play games with their words on technology and test themselves on their word patterns at their own pace. In my classroom, the students have the option to complete word work activities on their iPads or with manipulatives or by paper and pencil. Each group has activities designed to not only practice spelling the words and applying spelling patterns but to understand the meaning of the words and how they can be used. Not every student is in the same spelling development stage so it is important that I continue to give students word study instruction that is at their level and challenges them enough to grow and progress through the stages.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #4- Teachers know how to teach.
InTASC Standard #5- Application of Content, InTASC Standard #8- Instructional Strategies
My artifact for this course demonstrates that I am a teacher that knows how to teach and with the best practices while incorporating the use of technology. Technology can be used to integrate into all aspects of literacy: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, phonics, and phonemic awareness. Through my research when creating my artifact, my Balanced Literacy Professional Growth Plan, I found the best practices and strategies to use when teaching word study.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #5- Teachers know how to manage a classroom.
InTASC Standard #3- Learning Environments
During this course, we learned about the Gradual Release of Responsibility. The gradual release of responsibility requires a teacher who creates a learning environment that is student-centered and the teacher is a guide for student learning. This model also requires a teacher who has classroom management tools to keep students on track and engaged with set expectations. I have found within my classroom is the more choice and responsibility I give the students, the more engaged and driven they are to work. However, I am only able to give students this much independence because we have gone over my expectations of what they use their time in class to do and what the goals are for the end of the class period. The beginning of the school year, I could not give my students as much responsibility because they did not know my expectations. Now, I have been able to gradually be less of the "knower of all knowledge" and more of a guide while students independently take charge of their learning and do activities that they move at their own pace through.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #8- Teachers know how to test for student progress.
InTASC Standard #6- Assessment
After this course, I have taken a new approach to assessing students on their grade-level sight words. The students have the control of their sight word assessment. At the beginning of the year, I assessed all students on all 200 words on their sight word list. After correcting their lists, the students were given the complete sight word list and their corrected sight word assessment to track how many of the 200 words they already know how to spell correctly. Students track which words they know how to spell by highlighting the words spelled correctly. The students have until the end of the year to get all 200 words highlighted. The students create their own individual weekly sight word list of words to study (5-10 words) based on the words that are not highlighted on their list that they will be assessed on a week later. The students track their progress each week and move at their own pace.
Through my Balanced Literacy Professional Growth Plan I also researched the best ways to assess the word study component of balanced literacy. Through the balanced literacy components, it is best to assess while students are doing authentic activities and practices. If students are reading or writing for an authentic purpose, we will see their best and most accurate assessment of their work.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #9- Teachers are able to evaluate themselves.
InTASC Standard #9- Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
When creating my artifact for this course, the Balanced Literacy Professional Growth Plan, we had to evaluate ourselves as teachers to create a plan in an area where we know we need further professional development in. Through this plan, I identified areas of strength of mine when teaching word study within my classroom, along with hurdles and areas of change that I need to overcome to provide the best word study instruction to my students.
Wisconsin Teaching Standard #10- Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community.
InTASC Standard #10- Leadership and Collaboration
The artifact for this course, I created with other teachers within my school district. We collaborated with each other to learn what practices we are implementing in our own classrooms. I learned practices from my colleagues that I know I can implement in my classroom. My colleagues and I also shared similar hurdles when creating our plan which allowed for us to collaborate to create plans for overcoming those hurdles and what was causing those hurdles. We learned that the hurdles we found in the area of word study were not just within our classrooms but district-wide as well. Our plan was used to provide further instruction behind why we teach word study and used as a refresher course to implementation and assessment of word study through our district word study curriculum, Words Their Way, to elementary staff in our district.