Phone: 801.578.8140 420 North 200 West washington. sieschools.org Fax: 801.578.8147 Salt Lake City, UT 84103 February 20, 2015 To Whom It May Concern: Holly Gayler has been a student teacher in my fourth grade classroom for the majority of the 2014-15 school year. She has grown and excelled as a teacher while working with a diverse and challenging group of students. Holly began working in our class two days per week and eventually took over as a full time teacher in January. ‘Throughout this time Holly has demonstrated her ability to effectively manage a classroom while engaging students in curriculum based learning activities. Holly came to us with a background in teaching computer skills to elementary age students. She used this knowledge to enhance the learning experience for her students. She was able to engage students through the Use of various forms of technology in her lessons, Holly often found games, videos, and web-quests to use in her lessons. Students were able to predict the weather in online simulations. When teaching confusing grammar or math concepts, Holly would often find a short video clip to help students gain a better Understanding. When reviewing science material, Holly made Smart Board Jeopardy games. Students were much more excited to leam when it involved some type of technology o media. Through her excellent use of technology in the classroom, Holly's students were able to learn and grow in their understanding of math, writing, science, and the world around them. ‘Throughout the year I was continually impress by Holly’s ability to find fun and new way’ to teach concepts. ‘She is not afraid to try new things with her students. Holly often used art and science projects or experiments to engage students. She understood that students were more motivated to learn when it involved something ‘outside of just reading and writing. However, Holly was also able to integrate reading and writing into almost every lesson. She provided writing prompts and relevant reading materials to go along with all subjects. Her lessons were scaffolded in a way that allowed students to interact in a variety of ways. A whole group lesson would often be broken into smaller groups and followed up with pair or individual work, Holly was able to keep students engaged and on task with her use of interesting, well scaffolded learning activities. Jam confident that Holly will be an engaging and effective elementary teacher, She is creative, reflective, and dedicated to the teaching profession, She has demonstrated her ability to manage a classroom with humor and fun built into the learning process. Holly also built positive relationships with her students and the many teachers she worked with throughout the school. I believe that she will continue to grow and become increasingly effective as a lead teacher, Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. | can be reached via phone at 720-272-0969 or email at julia tibbitts¢ sleschools.org Sincergly 4 Julia Tibbits Fourth Grade Teacher