The beauty of having a wide range of skills and abilities in the classroom is that it instantly creates a dynamic community. In my classroom, I utilize the skills and abilities of my students. For instance, one student is a fantastic artist. During vocabulary review, we conduct a Pictionary Game and this student is in charge of creating the pictures. One of my other students is a great orator and reads selections of text for the class. Another student enjoys being humorous and I gave him the job of coming up with one joke a week that relates to our studies. At first, one may be quick to think of skills pertaining solely to abilities in reading and writing. These skills are crucial, but skills and abilities are more reflective of innate talent. This taps into intrinsic motivation, which creates an appeal and an enduring understanding of content conceptions. In addition, it makes students feel valued and allows them to grow.

My experience includes teaching seventh grade students English/Language Arts in Connecticut. My students were struggling readers and not at mastery level in one or more areas of the CMT. I enjoyed working with my students, and witnessing their progress, as I implemented explicit strategies to improve reading comprehension. Every student’s experience was enhanced and customized by differentiating lessons for learning styles, IEPs, 504s, academically talented abilities, as well as cultural and socioeconomic needs.

I created an annual Journalism Competition and, in 2013, implemented a modified Flipped Classroom. The opportunity to provide each student with a video newscast, for the Journalism Competition, and access to online learning established a sense of pride, purpose, accountability, and an increase in reading and writing skills. These are all valuable aspects in academic achievement.