Amber Olson, who teaches multi-age first and second grades at Central Elementary School, has received a scholarship, which she said will help her pay for part of her literacy course - Balanced Literacy - at Drake University. The course, Olson said, examines an instructional framework for teaching literacy and the content that should be taught.
Olson applied for the scholarship by writing about how coursework relating to reading will enhance her professional growth and impact students. She also was required to share her personal and professional goals, her resume and a letter of recommendation from her advisor, through the Drake University master's program.
Olson qualified for the scholarship because she is a member of the Iowa Reading Association, which will hold a state awards event on April 2 and 3 in Des Moines. It is at this banquet that Olson, along with Heidi Meyer, a third grade teacher at MFL-Mar-Mac in Monona, will be recognized.
Olson, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, is in her third year of teaching at Central Elementary, where she serves on the Instructional Decision Making Team in reading and on the wellness committee. She is also a member of the Boone-Story Reading Council, which includes school districts in the two central Iowa counties.
Olson believes reading is extremely important for Nevada's young students. "If you were to visit my classroom, you'd see that my students continue to receive reading instruction throughout the day, whether as they read stories and poems, write original pieces and reflections, or solve math story problems. The students are constantly engaged as readers," she said.
Working with her fellow teachers is a huge part of the reading experience in Olson's mind, and she said collaboration is the key to effective learning. "Adults learn from each other, just as students do. Aside from reading instruction in the classroom, I work with other teachers to ... help us meet each student at his or her level of instruction."
In teaching reading, Olson said she and her fellow teachers think about their students' interests and choose books, both fiction and nonfiction, that promote discussions. "We also know students benefit from readers' theater, songs and poetry."
As a youngster herself, Olson remembers how much she loved to read to her classmates, friends and family. "One of my favorite memories of learning to read is with my dad. Each day, we would read 'Ernie Gets Lost.' We read this book so much that my dad and I shared a secret: Basically, I had the book memorized.'"
But that wasn't a drawback, Olson said. She knew the story by heart, and used that to learn the words. She underlined the more difficult words that she struggled with in the book and erased the lines as she learned the words' meanings. "Finally, the day came when I could erase the line and replace it with a great big star. I definitely learned to read fluently from this experience, and it built my self-confidence."
Olson wants her students to find that kind of self-confidence, and she knows how important it is for her students to write about topics of their choice and then read their pieces to others, whether that's a family member or a 4-year-old class. She said her students also share their journal entries, stories and poems, and read song lyrics, which they share with community members, like the residents at Story County Long Term Care and parents at the multi-age community celebrations.
It is also important to Olson that her students support each other in their reading and that each of them recognizes that "everyone is at an individual reading ability."
"The students are constantly helping each other with unknown words and praising each other for reading fluently. Students will become better readers when they are in a classroom environment that is positive and inviting," Olson said.
Olson shared with the Iowa Reading Association that her goal in reading is to design learning that is insightful, meaningful and fun for children, leading them to a love for language and reading."
Olson said she is grateful for the scholarship award she has received.
"I would like to give the Iowa Reading Association a 'firecracker' cheer for giving educators the opportunity to apply for this scholarship to help enhance literacy in our students' lives."
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