2. My Autobiography of Teaching Rea 612

3. Kindergarten  Since I was in kindergarten I have wanted to be a teacher. I don’t remember wanting to be anything else. I remember thinking my teacher was so pretty and smart. I came home talking about Mrs. Kirk every day.

4. Elementary School  As elementary school went on I loved school more and more. I got up every morning excited about the day. I loved my teachers and can even remember what type of clothing they wore. I admired them and couldn’t wait until I could be a teacher.

5. Playing School  My younger brother, Darren, and I would play school everyday once we came home. I even had our attic at our house decorated like a classroom with a chalkboard and marker board and old teacher’s books that my teachers had given me.

6. My Senior Year  My senior year I was in Co-op. I left high school at 11:30 and volunteered at our elementary school every afternoon. I was an aid for two of the kindergarten classes. I loved it! Which even affirmed my decision to go to college for an elementary education degree.

7. High School  When I finished high school, I knew I wanted to a teacher. Many of my friends had changed their minds and others still didn’t know but I was positive I was going to teach elementary school!!

8. Murray State University  Fall 1997, I came to Murray State University made the Varsity cheerleading squad, and enrolled in my first education class. College opened my eyes to many aspects of teaching. After I earned 60 hours, I substituted for more experience and for four years I studied Elementary Education. In Spring of 2001 I was assigned to do my student teaching at Lyon County Elementary School.

9. Student Teaching at Lyon County  Student teaching was the best experience to understand everything that goes into teaching. The meetings, preparation, and planning along with meeting parents and keeping your students on the track to learning all the content you have to cover. I taught 5 th grade and then kindergarten. The school was great and my supervising teachers taught me so much.

10. College Graduation  After graduation came job hunting. I applied for a job and I was hired as a Title 1 teacher at Lyon County Elementary School. I was so excited to have a job and to be hired at a school I had already grown to love.

11. Teaching Now  This will be my 5 th year at Lyon County Elementary. I now teach 3 rd grade. I love my job and my opportunity to work with children everyday.

12. Master’s Classes at MSU  I am now completing my classes for my Master’s program in Reading and Writing. This summer Rea 612 and Rea 638 have both taught me so much about assessing children’s reading abilities.

13. I have learned to include:  Small group reading  Interactive reading  Partner reading  Literature circle These are things I do but now I have more insight on these skills to incorporate in my classroom.

14. After Rea 612 I Have Changed my Mind About… Scaffolding reading… I always thought it was more distracting but during my guided reading I will incorporate it so that all students have the opportunity to be successful.

15. Things learned…  I have learned to model in depth not by just reading but rereading, explaining every detail, highlighting key points, and demonstrating summarizing.  I have also learned new websites that I plan on using with my class this year.  www.starfall.com www.starfall.com  www.toread.com www.toread.com

16. Learning Experiences  As I continue my education to finish my masters, I hope to continue gaining knowledge and never stop my desire to learn more to better my students’ education.