Prior to my time at IslandWood, I was an elementary classroom teacher in the public school setting.
Fall 2016
During fall 2016, I completed my student teaching for my elementary education licensure. I spent half the semester in a mixed-age 1st and 2nd grade classroom at an open concept school. By the end of my time (around 8 weeks) I was doing 90% of the instruction as well as administrative tasks, grading, and one-on-one behavior management of students. My placement involved 1st grade math, reading, writing, and mixed-age science. I found external resources to use in order to enhance the district provided ELA curriculum.
After this placement, I moved into a traditional 4th grade language arts class. Here, I became more familiar with the district’s curriculum and explored opportunities to enhance it and make it more engaging and approachable.
Spring 2017
In spring 2017, I accepted a full time teaching position at one of my student teaching placement schools. I taught 4th grade math, 4th/5th social studies, had a homeroom of 4th/5th graders, taught an advanced “response to intervention” class, and facilitated a weekly enrichment session on logic puzzles and mysteries.
While in this teaching position, I improved my teaching skills, introduced an online math curriculum which was later adopted across the elementary school, and developed new and engaging ways for my students to learn. After testing, my students completed a project based learning assignment which integrated math, art, and literacy, among many other lifeskills – students developed a taco truck, from the menu to the prices to the interior design.
Julia Tandy Harnick 