Cicely Knecht

Teaching Philosophy

Important skills I want to teach my students

I want my students to develop not just a love for learning in the second grade, but also a love for themselves. Confidence in themselves helps support and foster a love for learning in our classroom environment. Our classroom is considered a small community, and if all students become a positive and assured member of our group, our academic goals can be achieved.

Teaching methods to reach these goals

To help a child achieve self-confidence, I must first act as an example. Each child has different needs, and my guidance and responses may vary from child to child depending on those needs. Our classroom is filled with exciting opportunities, learning experiences, and manipulatives that help children develop and strengthen their confidence. Together with the child’s parents, my goal is to help build a supportive learning environment to help each individual develop a love for learning.

My favorite projects

One of my favorite projects in second grade is our non-fiction winter holidays brochure project. The students spend several weeks reading and researching several winter holidays celebrated around the world. At the end of the study, each student picks one of the holidays and creates a brochure presenting facts about their holiday. The students practice paragraph writing, using a topic sentence, supporting detail, and a conclusion. The students use their prior research and any other non-fiction text to add to their writing for their brochure. The brochures are then illustrated and displayed in the hallway for all students to enjoy and learn from!

What I like best about teaching at Seven Hills

Seven Hills is my home away from home. Our school has an environment of love, learning, and remarkable opportunities for both students and teachers.