Introduction

Welcome to my literacy corner! In approximately sixteen months I will be taking my first steps in the world as a qualified teacher. At this moment I am both excited and nervous about those first steps as many challenges lie before me including how to teach English language arts to a group of elementary school students-yikes! Although I haven’t had any experience teaching students how to read or write I enjoyed reading novels and writing poetry throughout elementary and high school. One of my most memorable experiences in language arts was making a large model of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, after reading the novel in grade seven. I remember being super excited to transform the images in my head into reality. Very soon I had a shiny red dragon and several little clay elves, dwarves, and hobbits positioned on a mossy green field in front of a grey paper bag mountain. Another cherished memory I hold from elementary school is playing “Poetry to the Death” in grade three. Every Friday, I would look forward to the end of the day when our poetry knowledge was put to the test by standing in a line and reciting poems as a group one word at a time. If it came to my turn and I didn’t know the next word it was, “Off with my head!” As an elementary school teacher I hope to share my passion for language arts and give students the same positive experiences of reading and writing that I had when I was young.