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1st grade: The Bug Play
In first grade, the entire first grade class conducted a bug play for the parents.The students who were confident had selective lines to read, while the other students would just sing the songs. Being the shy person I was, I didn’t have any lines to read and just sang the songs with the entire group. With this experience, I continued to shy away from reading activities and allowed the students who were confident to take the lead. -
2nd grade: The Spelling Bee
Towards the end of the year, the 2nd grade had a spelling bee. From each 2nd grade class, 3 students will represent them in the spelling bee. Because I was one of the top three students from the pre-spelling bee, I was allowed to compete against the other students and would be viewed in front of the parents. My time in the spelling bee didn’t last long when I got out on my first word, “electrical.” At that point, hearing the bell made me shy from speaking in front of people again. -
2nd grade: The Princess
In the second grade, I had one of the best teachers! She did different activities that helped students be confident in their reading and spelling. She was filled with appraisal and rewards for the students who continued to show improvement. For the class performance to the parents, we decided to host a play with the main role as the “princess.” Because of how confident I was in reading, I was given the opportunity to be the lead role and perform in front of the parents -
4th grade: Popcorn Reading
At this age, we conducted a lot of popcorn reading. With popcorn reading, I felt discouraged to read certain passages. After watching how brutal students can be when someone struggles with reading, I was always scared to read in front of the classroom. -
5th grade: Following Along books
Periodically, the class would participate in follow along books. With this, the teacher would play a tape of the book and have the students follow along in their books. With this strategy, it was nice to feel the emotions and feelings behind a text. However, when the books didn’t have audio recordings, we would have to read it as a class and everyone was afraid to read a section in the book. -
11th grade: Hamlet Play
During this year, we read the Hamlet Play as a whole class. In each class period, we would pick different roles and switch them by the next period. What I loved about this class is how inviting the teacher was. She was excited to learn and made learning fun. From all my learning experience, this one was memorable because she made learning fun. The assignments that we had that went along with the play made students want to continue reading the play. -
11th grade: Best Person in History debate
In my U.S. History class, we had to choose who the best person in history is. By debating, it was a fun way to read our facts about our “best person in history” and continue to persuade the class that our person is the best. Prior to the debate, there were plenty of activities that the teacher would do to build a strong relationship with our peers. With that, it was helpful to have a comfortable debate with our peers. -
11th grade: Hosting a Banquet & Giving A Speech
This was my first year hosting a band banquet for their family, friends, and faculty. At this banquet, I had to give a speech and explain to members in the band how their hard work has paid off and how grateful we are for the parents. With this speech, I was not as shy presenting compared to other times because I was comfortable with everyone who was around me. Since I was able to build such an amazing bond with everyone around me, I was comfortable to host the banquet. -
Freshman Year of College: Reading Essay to Class
Since this was my first year in college, I was nervous in the new environment I was in and didn’t know anyone that was in my English class. For one of the essays, we had to write a personal narrative about an experience that changed us forever and present to the class. With this assignment, it was tough to find something that wasn’t too personal since I didn't know anyone. While reading my presentation to the class, I was nervous because I was reading something to people I didn't know. -
Junior Year of College: Presentation for Major Class
This year, I was able to present a project to my peers about a topic I was deeply into: child development. By reading the information on the slide, I was able to share different things about child development to my peers. Because we all shared similar interests of becoming a teacher, it felt easier to talk to my peers about child development and build different ideas from each other.