Reflective Statement for Language Arts Standard Brittany Granquist

Artifact: Paragraph writing focus lesson

PTS 2. All teachers should model effective reading, writing, speaking, and
listening skills during their direct and indirect instructional activities. The
most important communicator in the classroom is the teacher, who should
model English language arts skills.

1. Write a paragraph explaining your knowledge and understanding of the

standard-put the

standard in your own words.

I think that this standard wants me to recognize the importance of assuming the role of a model

of English language arts within the classroom. The competent teacher should be able to

understand proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and syntax and should use this

knowledge to create well thought out written and oral ideas for a variety of purposes. Educators

must be able to model the rules of the English language, write and speak in a stylistic fashion

that coincides with the literacy needs of students and parents/guardians, and help students

understand the various modes and purposes for writing. In addition to providing students with

rich opportunities to communicate ideas, the competent teacher should be able to express ideas,

examples and instructions in clear language, that is appropriate for the listeners.

2. Explain how the artifact you chose demonstrates your understanding and
application of the

standard.

The artifact I chose that demonstrates my understanding and application of the standard is a

focus lesson I presented to my fourth graders regarding the appropriate procedure from

transferring researched information from a graphic organizer into paragraph form. The lesson’s
purpose was to get students to understand that in order to develop a detailed and informative

pargraph, their graphic organizers must also be detailed and informative. The lesson also touched

on the idea that in order to create a paragraph that transitions and flows well, writers must

consider which information ties together and in what way they can present the information so

that it sounds the most coherent for readers. I modeled how to write sentences and transition

between different information. In modeling and discussing the strategy behind the procedure, I

“help[ed] students understand a variety of modes of writing” in this case, the mode was

expository. In addition, I “model[ed] the rules of English grammar, spelling, punctuation,

capitalization, and syntax in both written and oral contexts.”

3. A If the artifact has been used in your practice, reflect on how your
teaching will change in

the future to further meet the standard.

B. If the artifact has not been used in your practice, i.e., a class
assignment, reflect upon how

your teaching will be impacted by the assignment.

The artifact was completed during a focus lesson in writing class during my placement. The

focus lesson allowed students to see how a competent and literate writer uses strategy and

technique to compose a well-formatted and coherent paragraph from bullet points compiled into

a graphic organizer. I teaching will continue to change in the future to continue to meet the

standard in that I will regularly utilize focus lessons during writing class to provide curriculum

and content for students. In addition, I will follow up focus lessons with explicit time in which

students can independently utilize the given strategy, if it works for their particular focus for the

day. I will continue to plan focus lessons and how they fit into the various writing units
throughout the year.

4. Conclude with a paragraph discussing how you are more prepared to

Teach and Learn in a

Diverse Society as a result of satisfactorily meeting the standard.

From having satisfactorily meeting the standard, I feel that I am better prepared to teach and

learn in a diverse society. In being a literate adult that is able to use the English language for a

variety of written and oral purposes, I feel that I am responsible for modeling how to become a

successful English language speakers and writer to students of all linguistic, cultural, and ethnic

backgrounds. By speaking proper Standard English and listening well to my students, students of

diverse literary abilities will be able to adapt and utilize what they see modeled for them.