I believe all students have the ability to learn. We as educators needs to cultivate a safe and open environment for successful learning. The educators should use students' strengths to guide them in mastering the required academic and social skills to be productive members of society.

I would do a getting to know you activity to allow us to get to know each other first. I would include their parent/parents and/or teacher in this session so that those adults in the student's life would be able to meet me and get a grasp on my personality. I would collect baseline data at the end of the session or the next session in order to start meeting the student's needs. I believe testing them right away would bring a negative message to the session.

I can help a student become an independent learner by teaching them critical thinking skills and analytical skills. A variety of skills and strategies will be taught to allow students to pick from a menu when learning. This will help them understand literature and math problems. It will allow them to be able to attack learning with many tools.

Motivation is a key successor to learning. I would find out what the student was interested in to make any learning relatable to their life. I would allow choices when applicable, whether it be book choice or choosing from types of problems.

I would determine what part of the skill was difficult for them. I would then find different resources and a different approach to teach the skill or concept. Just because I learned a certain way does not mean the student will.

If a student is struggling with reading comprehension, I would first investigate if it has to do with decoding, which means the student cannot read the words in a text, therefore they can't understand the text. I will then teach direct phonics instruction. If the child is struggling with comprehension because they do not understand how to apply the strategy to their reading, I will model using an on grade level text with a rubric and criteria for success. I then will allow the student to apply the skill to a text on their level.

I found many strategies to work efficiently. Graphic organizers and planners allow students to get their thoughts down in an organized manner. Allowing students to be taught directly how to apply a skill or complete a problem lets them visually learn. Then allowing the students to try applying the skill, using rubrics to lay out the expectations of them, will allow the teacher to see if the concept is being grasped. I also use partner work. Sometimes seeing a partner apply a skill or explain allows the other student to connect to it. It also allows for educational discussions between peers, and students can show their own way of learning to their peers.

I would first activate their prior knowledge. I would grasp what they know about the subject to not only inform me of what they need, but to also reassure them that they do in fact have knowledge of a topic. I would then find resources that will help them connect their life to their learning. It needs to be meaningful in order for students to fully learn.

I would evaluate their reading, writing, and math skills based on grade level expectations and using Common Core Standards. I would then choose which needs are the building blocks for more advanced material. I will work on those needs first, and scaffold the learning according to those basic needs.

I would figure out how they learn best with basic observations, assessments, and surveys. This can help me find the right approach to their learning. If a topic is not being grasped, I will locate resources and research alternative teaching methods to help the students.

I use grade level texts, highlighters, post-its, graphic organizers, charts, and whiteboards for reading. For writing, I use planners and exemplar writing pieces. In Math, I would also use grade level standards to create problems and examples. I use manipulatives to help students understand the process and the "why" of solving math problems.