This is my fourth year of teaching. For the past three years I taught first grade and this year I have a first second combination. I teach in Stokes County at a small rural school. I love first grade because it is the grade where children really start to read and view themselves as readers. I try very hard to instill a love of reading and books into my students. I let the children know that I like to read and that you can read a good book more than once. My favorite parts of the day are read alouds and guided reading. I love to read the students a good book and watch their reactions. During guided reading I get the experience of being the listener and hearing how my children are growing as readers. I want my students to enjoy reading and not look at it as a chore.
As a child, I loved books and being read to. I was not as fond of reading as being read to. This changed as I got older. I have vivid memories of going to the public library. I went to a small private school so we did not have a library there. Every week we would make a trip to the public library. We would get to go to story time and check out a couple of books. I looked forward to this and remember loving the lady who read us the stories. Her name was Mrs. Jackie and I loved to hear her read to us. She brought the books to life and the experience of reading a book as an adventure.
I learned to read through phonics. We practiced the sounds that each letter made. I remember having little books that concentrated on certain sounds. In kindergarden and first grade I remember being in reading groups and writing stories. I have always been better at reading than writing. I enjoy reading much more than I do writing. Due to the fact that reading comes easier for me I enjoy teaching reading more than I do writing.
Ashley Caldwell