Mrs. Flatter

Mrs. Flatter's Bio: "When I was in the second grade, I decided I wanted to be a teacher. I don't regret a minute of it! After receiving my undergraduate degree from Ohio University, I landed my first position teaching second grade in Greenville, Ohio. After three years in Ohio, I married my husband, Kirk, and became a Hoosier. For one year I taught kindergarten in Indianapolis. In 1979 we moved to Muncie. I stayed home with my two children for 5 years and received a Master's Degree from Ball State during this time. Next I taught fifth grade at Burris, and at last moved on to what I refer to as my "home schools" - Perry and Selma Elementary. I taught fifth grade at Perry for a year. Then I became the teacher for the gifted and talented program, grades 2-5. After 11 years, I moved on to become a fifth grade teacher at Selma. Then in the fall of 2008 I became a literacy teacher, the first position of its kind at Selma. I now teach writing and other literacy-related skills to students in grades 2-5. It is exciting having the opportunity to create a new program and still work closely with students!

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What is a Literacy Program? Research shows that learning to write well helps students become better readers and better thinkers. The literacy instruction concept was born out of the need for students to achieve even higher levels of academic success in an already crowded curriculum.

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What does Literacy Class "look like"? What does Literacy Class "look like"? Literacy class, which students attend weekly, complements the writing instruction that occurs in the regular classroom. The class itself is setup in a Writer's Workshop format; mini-lesson, writing time, sharing time. Students, as writers, realize the importance of effective written and oral communication. Because this class is considered an "academic special," students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are asked to produce writing that counts toward their language arts grade each nine weeks.

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