INTASC Standards

• Content Pedagogy
  • Viking Language Arts Centers
  • Language Arts Parent Letter
  • Yeast Experiment
• Student Development
  • PTC Student Form
  • Book Letter
• Diverse Learners
  • RTI Referral Form
  • Student Data Graphs
• Instructional Strategies
  • Artifact 1
  • Artifact 2
• Motivation & Management
  • Behavior Contracts
  • Class Jobs
• Communication & Technology
  • Spanish Powerpoints
  • Spanish Videos
• Planning
  • Third Grade Integrated Plan
  • Team Planning Training
• Assessment
  • Grading Rubric
  • Data Collection
• Professional Growth
  • Professional Goals
  • Artifact 2
• School & Community Involvement
  • Artifact 1
  • Artifact 2

Student Development

Before School Letter Home

About a week before school started in 2009, I sent all of my future students a letter asking them to share a part of one of their favorite books during the first week of school. This helped empower the students as they came into my classroom, because each of them felt significant, important, and respected. As each of them shared a part of their favorite book with the class, and told why it was their favorite, I gained insight into their background, interests, and reading levels, providing a basis for future instructional decisions. It also gave me information that I could draw on to make connections between the curriculum and the students’ lives.