January 22nd, 2013 Jessica Kettner

Dear Urbana Middle School Students, Parents, and Faculty, My name is Jessica Kettner and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as I will be student teaching eighth grade Social Studies this semester. I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and will be graduating in May with a degree in History, Social Studies Teaching Concentration. I have already spent a few days in the classroom observing the day-to-day activities and am very excited to begin my student teaching. I will spend the first two to three weeks observing and assisting in the classroom, and will then take over the class schedule under supervision. I believe that the Social Studies curriculum offers students the chance to develop their critical thinking skills through historical analyses and interpretation. For this reason, my lesson plans are designed to challenge students by asking them not only to retain information about history, but to put that information into context while contemplating the significance of the events that they study. I plan to use a variety of techniques and activities to accomplish this goal, including having the students analyze primary documents, read from the text, complete projects that offer room for creativity, and engage in discussions with their peers. These activities can be done in groups or individually and I plan to use both methods to engage my students. Student teaching will allow me, as a pre-service teacher, the opportunity to put what I have learned during my time in the Education Program at UIUC into practice. Through this experience I hope to enhance my ability to plan lessons that are sensitive to the needs of all of my students, as well as my ability to assess the effectiveness of those lessons and adjust my practices to improve the learning experience for my students. Once again, I am very excited to be at your school for my student teaching and look forward to getting to know my students and their families. If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to set up a conference with me, or contact me through email or by phone. Sincerely,

Jessica Kettner