Final Reflection

I have gained a lot of knowledge on general aspects of teaching, and acquired many new teaching strategies that I will use in my future teaching career.  First of all, I definitely plan on having a set of books in my classroom that students can go to on a regular basis to read; I think it would be so fun to keep it updated with interesting books and magazines. I want to do all I can in order to build a positive perception of reading and writing in my classroom. In order to do this, I plan on incorporating critical literacy into my lessons by using lessons like the ones presented in class-analyzing ads, magazines, pictures, etc. As a Health and English teacher it is imperative that I teach my students how to analyze and question everything they read.  I also plan on teaching comprehension strategies while reading all texts-and make sure that every student develops and improves their metacognition. I know that as technology keeps getting more popular, it will be integrated into the classroom more and more. I hope to always stay up to date on fun ways to use digital literacy in my classroom, such as having my students create stories using websites, use blogs, or help them to understand correct ways to research. The possibilities are endless in the classroom, and I think that is what I learned more than anything from taking this course. I really liked each lesson we did and will strive to integrate different strategies on a daily basis that will keep students interested and constantly learning.

Discipline Specific Reading

The typical texts in my discipline are novels in English and actual text books in Health. In Health, there are also a lot of computer generated graphs and diagrams to demonstrate certain topics. In one of the anatomy classes I took at the University of Utah, my teacher had created his own text book and it was so simple and user friendly-I learned a lot in that class. We followed along with his class lectures and colored each vein, muscle, etc. in as he explained to us what they were. It was so much easier to retain this information by coloring and following along instead of just learning from slide shows or lectures. I think the most unpleasant way I have been taught has been here at college where one of my teachers basically gave us the book and had us read a chapter each week and then take an open book quiz on it at the end. I didn't really learn anything from this class because the teacher was so lenient and did not explain the information very well in class.
Another way that one of my really good professors taught difficult material was by giving us slides that we could print out and fill in information as we went along in lecture. They were very small bullet points so we could take as many notes as we needed to understand what was being taught. the teacher was very good at explaining things also, so it made it easy to pay attention.
I hope to help my students in the future by creating activities to go along with text book information that will help the students understand the information better. I never want to be a teacher that gives the students the textbook and tells them to read it on their own. Instead, I will have them be interactive with me and the other students while learning so that they learn the information through hands on activities and lectures combined.

Affective Dimensions of Reading

I see myself as an average reader. I definitely enjoy reading, but am not someone who is reading all of the time. Reading has always came fairly easy to me, however, I would not say I am a great reader because I still have to take a lot of extra time to understand difficult material. I also make a lot of mistakes when reading out loud. I like to read any kind of literature, especially books written by John Grisham. I really enjoy sports books with true stories and great morals in them; I love to be motivated to become a better person. I think that I have mostly really enjoyed reading in a couple of my literature classes, as well as in one of my physical education classes. We were assigned a couple books in each that I was hooked on immediately. I definitely enjoyed reading these books because it helped me to focus on areas in my life that I could work on. I have disliked reading a little bit in my Shakespeare and British Literary History classes. They are wonderful classes, but it is very difficult material to read; it takes me an awful long time to get through the texts required each day in class.
As a child, I think the main person that influenced me to read was my mom. She always had materials available and was willing to read to us at any time. I also read at church, and of course at school. I quickly developed a love for school when I was in elementary, and I still really enjoy it. I don't think there are any social networks that discouraged me from reading, I had a very positive environment while growing up.
 I think one of the main things I can do to foster a climate in class where my students are interested in reading texts about my discipline would be to find interesting books that are applicable to their age and culture. If students can relate to a text, they are more likely to read it. I think that there is all kinds of material out there, you just have to look for it. As a teacher, the options are endless when it comes to the availability of things online, in magazines, newspapers, etc.
 Lastly, the thing that I want to concentrate on more than anything to build up my students' self-perceptions of themselves as readers is to always focus on the positives. Even if they are readers that are struggling, I can find something positive that they are doing and that will encourage them to read even more. I can make sure I know the comforts and discomforts of each student, and not put them on the spot to read out loud if they are uncomfortable with it. Knowing your students as a teacher is they key to building confidence, and being kind and supportive in every situation is what I hope I can always do. 

Connecting School With Home Experiences

As long as I can remember, I have been involved in every type of physical activity available to my family and I. My parents taught me at a young age the importance of staying physically fit and being constantly engaged in good activities. I played basketball, volleyball, and other games outside with my brother and sisters, and learned the basics of them all. Because of my activity while young, I have grown to love being active. I love the challenge of staying physically and mentally healthy, and try to learn new things throughout my education and work experiences that will benefit both me and the people around me. I have learned so many valuable life lessons at home that I know will forever benefit me in my teaching career and life in general.
I hope to be a teacher and coach that can lead by example. I think if students see their teacher as a happy individual who practices the things that are taught in a health class, they will much more likely see the benefits of it and strive to do so themselves.
One of the challenges that I faced while at home was being injured and my muscles atrophying. Because of this experience, I had to start at the very bottom of the fitness level and work my way back up to a competing stage. I think as a result of this experience, I can be a lot more empathetic to those people who are struggling with their physical fitness and striving to become better. It is a really hard feat to accomplish when you are very far from your goals; I hope I can be a teacher and coach who is sympathetic to all in their unique situations. 

Introduction SCED 4200

Hi, my name is Lacy Larsen. I am currently going into secondary education with a major in Health Education and a minor in English. I love being active and outside. I enjoy almost every sport, especially basketball. I grew up on a ranch and have horses of my own, which I compete in amateur rodeos on. I love to be with my family and friends, and enjoy traveling as well. I am currently a personal trainer at the Employee Wellness center here on campus, and I teach a fitness class as well. It is a great job, and I learn new stuff every day. Health Education to me is becoming one of the most important things that we can teach kids at a young age. With health care on the rise and constant bombardment of unhealthy foods, bad diets, unhealthy exercising, or overall inactive lifestyles, it is imperative that educators get information out there to improve people's lives. These simple facts, along with the desire to consistently improve my own health drew me to teach this content area. I truly believe in the power of living a healthy lifestyle simply by observing the changes it can make on one's attitude, physical health and appearance, and productivity. I would love to teach students about nutrition, exercise, mental health, etc., and give them the tools to not only understand the information, but help them apply it to change behaviors in order to develop healthy habits for the rest of their lives.
   The definition of literacy to me is not only being able to read and interpret texts, but also the ability to apply the information learned for behavior modification, compare with other texts, or even understand enough to teach others. There are so many levels of literacy and many different types of literacy to comprehend. I think that in order to be literate one needs to be able to confidently read a wide spectrum of texts, write in a way that shows comprehension and can be understood by all, and communicate in a productive way that can lead successful relationships and endeavors. I definitely think that literacy applies to my content area because if people are not literate in subjects dealing with Health, then there is no way they will be able to understand nutrition labels, warnings, directions, etc. Not only that, they will never be competent in the basic behaviors that are imperative for a healthy lifestyle.