October 4, 2017

To Whom It May Concern:

Shelby Thomas has been a student teacher in both my Effective Classroom Management class as
well as Intermediate Reading with Practicum. During our Practicum, Shelby was responsible for
teaching a small group of fourth graders Language Arts.
Ms. Thomas had the experience of teaching reading, writing, and speaking skills for ten weeks.
During this time she planned and implemented reading interest inventories, reading and writing
assessments, and lesson plans aligned with Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards. The
lesson plans included Six Trait writing, reading with comprehension reinforcement and graphic
organizers, fiction and nonfiction exposure, speaking and listening skills, and purposeful
journaling. There was also a one-on-one writing conference implemented in our work with the
students.
Shelby has successfully demonstrated her awareness of different learning styles and has
successfully adjusted assignments to meet the varied needs of students. Her lessons were
thoroughly prepared and effective. She was successful in monitoring and adjusting to various
schedule changes in order to complete it during her time of teaching.
Ms. Thomas also spent a semester in my Effective Classroom Management class. During this
time we had a deep study of Harry Wongs, The First Days of School. This course involved
reviewing journal articles of best practices in classroom management, implementing different
strategies during internship, and creating a complete management notebook. Her notebook
included rules, consequences, procedures, letters to parents, newsletters, and effective classroom
arrangement plans.
Shelby possesses a positive and enthusiastic personality. She has a great rapport with the
students she has worked with. She is well dressed, articulate, and always ready with a smile and
a kind word. I have found that her classmates have accepted her as a strong working member of
our team and she has had a positive working relationship with each one of them, as well as with
other staff members.
I am confident that Ms. Thomas will be an asset to any staff that she works with. She is
confident, knowledgeable, and has many skills of a seasoned teacher. I believe that she will
continue to grow and become even more effective as a teacher with further opportunities.

Sincerely,

Angela N. Abbott

Angela N. Abbott
College of Teaching and Leadership
Pittsburg State University
(620)235-4502
aabbott@pittstate.edu