Authentic Assessment

Authentic Assessment is not simply one thing, in fact it is so many different things. Every assessment needs to be fitting for the child. When we are picking the appropriate assessment we must consider the child, and identify our purpose in the assessment. Teachers can use many different types of assessment including anecdotal and cumulative assessment. When doing theses assessments it can also be helpful to focus on what the student is able to do, instead of what they are unable to do. This can help with communication with parents and for the self esteem of the students.
If you are assessing a certain subject area you must also remember that their are different contexts within that subject. It is especially important to remember this in language arts because their are so many different areas such as thematic units, reading, writing, and literature. If all parts are assessed we may see that a students shines in one or more of those areas but has problems in the others.

Writing and Teaching Community

In order to create a learning environment for the children in your class you must know about them personally. Every student has different strengths and weakness's and learns in their own way. If we can create an environment so that all of our children have a place that they feel comfortable they will be able to learn better. If you take time to get to know your students they will then trust you and feel as if they can approach you. Having students feel comfortable to ask you, the teacher, and other students questions is a very important part of creating a writing, and teaching community. This will allow students to improve upon their writing, and take suggestions from you without feeling as if they are doing something wrong.

What makes writing worth reading?

I do not think that their is one answer to this question. I believe that every person has a different answer for this question. A book, or any other type of writing, must first be well written to be worth reading. The subject must also be something interesting to a person. This is where personal taste comes in, the definition of interesting can vary from person to person. The content must also be on the readers level. If a fifth grader were to pick up a book that is targeted to students in first grade, they will not think that it is worth reading.
The content of the writing must also have some sort of information for the reader, no matter how basic it may be. This again brings in the level of the reader. For a first grader the information will be very basic, but an older student should be able to get a good amount of knowledge out of the writing.

Learning to read.....

When I was in elementary school we learned to read through phonics. We even used the classic "hooked on phonics" materials in our school. We started off with simple concepts in lower elementary school classes. Then began to do independent work in phonics work books as we entered third grade. We were always encouraged to read books, but at our own pace and for enjoyment. I did not use AR in elementary school, we were only required to read for a certain amount of time each night. I really think this helped me to enjoy reading more as a young child.
Due to the fact that I learned to read through phonics, I believe that I am more likely to teach my students that way. It worked well for me, so I assume that is what works for others. Although, I know I should not think that way. I should try to understand that every student learns different ways, and that whole language or balanced literacy may be a better technique for some of my future students.