For Donald Barringers Principles of Teaching Reading class, I did my observations in

Ms. Marielena Diazs third grade class at Frank Porter Graham Bilingue. I have worked as a
teacher assistant for four years at Frank Porter Graham and have seen the school transition from
a traditional elementary school to a dual-language magnet school. This year I was moved up to
the third grade and this totally changed the dynamic of my observations.
Ms. Diazs third grade class is part of a 50/50 language model, which means that we are
responsible for teaching two different homerooms fifty percent of the day. What this means is
that we have 48 individual students, each at different reading levels, each with different strengths
and weaknesses. I have seen Ms. Diaz differentiate work for each of these students. We do our
best to provide enrichment activities as well as scaffolding where necessary. She works closely
with EC support staff and constantly monitors student progress through both formal and informal
means. I have also helped Ms. Diaz run leveled book clubs and have observed her doing readalouds and guided reading.
Working with Ms. Diaz has also meant observing a new classroom management style. She
incorporates a fast pace of instruction and body movement into her lesson plans. Sometimes kids
might get up and move around the classroom multiple times during a single lesson. This is very
effective and the students seem to have fun with it. This is something that I will definitely do my
best to emulate as a teacher. I was more accustomed to traditional PBIS reward systems, and I
have helped her incorporate this into her instruction as well.
One of the most influential aspects of working with Ms. Diaz is how she chooses to integrate
literacy into every aspect of her instruction. During social studies and math, there is always a
focus on reading, writing, and speaking. This semester has taught me a lot about what a proper

balanced literacy program should look like in the third grade, and because I have seen it work so
well, I intend on this becoming a permanent part of my instruction.