Vision Statement

I believe that students need to develop literacy skills that correspond with
orthography, reading, oral language, stories, writing, and a connection to the text.
According to Words Their Way literacy is like a braid of interwoven thread (Words
Their Way, 2000, pg.1). Each thread corresponds with one of those aspects of
literacy. It is the teachers responsibility to create a classroom environment that
fosters education and elicits a community of learners that encourage, motivate, and
support one another to ensure that this braids together. In addition, I want students
to realize that reading is an act that students do without consciously being aware.
When students read on the internet, use technology to communicate through
writing, or share a story by posting on a blog they are developing literacy skills.
Having a positive outlook on literacy going beyond reading words from a textbook is
critical to making literacy an encouraging experience.

I believe that literacy should be taught from a foundation that fosters a love for literacy. It
is challenging for a teacher to ignite the passion of literacy in a child if he/she cannot find it
within themselves. Once this foundation is supported, I believe that teacher need to teach reading
developmentally (Words Their Way, 2000). This means that in order for students to master
understanding literacy, they must build off of strategies and skills previously taught become
fluent readers and writers. According to Gunning, developmental reading skills should be
explicitly taught on a students appropriate instructional level in areas of phonemic awareness,
phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Gunning, 2010). The phrase explicitly
taught on a students appropriate instructional level is important in understanding that this
information should be differentiated to meet each individual students learning. I believe that
teachers need to take the extra time to put forth effort that adapts the lesson for those struggling,

standard, and advanced learners. If a teacher develops a universal lesson plan that does not mold
to the differentiated instruction, then that foundation that fosters a love for literacy is not active.
In addition, I believe that teachers should understand that their interests are not universal
to the classroom. It is important to recognize that not every students is going to have the same
views and interest in literacy as the teacher. Therefore, it is the teachers obligation to develop
and research literacy that students can be engaged in reading. Beers notes that though my
students might appreciate the fact that there are certain books that mean a lot to me, this, I finally
discovered, in no way meant those books would mean anything to them especially to my nonreaders. I had to realize that my first requirement for a book something really, really long so I
could be lost for days, perhaps weeks, between the covers was their first criteria for not reading
a book. I had to learn to think short. Think short. Think Short. (Beers, 2003, pg.282). Having
this realization is crucial to teaching literacy. Teachers need to search for magazine clippings,
sports editorials, fictional stories, or song lyrics to teach literacy, not just novels that he/she
enjoys. Therefore, I believe that in order to teach literacy effectively teachers need to be avid
readers, researchers, and hoarders of news clippings. With this plethora of text, a teacher will
find that choosing an engaging text for the students is not a daunting task, but easily accessed at
ones fingertips.
Overall, my literacy belief is that when each thread of the literacy braid is interwoven
using the foundation of love for literacy, each child the potential to be an advanced reader. Using
evidence-based practices that have been conducted using accurate research supports this idea. In
addition, to ensure that the threads are tightly bond I, as the teacher, have the ability to assess
literacy skills daily and to ensure differentiated learning occurs for each student. I believe that

with this knowledge, I have the ability to promote a positive learning experience through literacy
every day.

Beers, K. (2003). When kids cant read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Gunning, T.G. (2010). Creating literacy: Instruction for all children (7th edition). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Bear, D. (2000). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction
(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.