Jennifer Slatton is currently a special education reading teacher for 6th grade. When students get to middle school, they are far less motivated to learn to read than elementary students. Because of this, Jennifer’s main objective is to build confidence before she can teach her students how to read. It starts with planning. When she creates her lessons, she must have a lot of movement, engaging material and opportunities for the students to show their strengths. A standard classroom only comes with tables, chairs and sometimes books. When she goes in, she must recreate a different type of atmosphere that allows students to move around the room and feel as though they have control of their learning. Her goal is to create independent readers who advocate for themselves when they need help. Because of this, she is constantly evaluating each student individually to help them stay on the path that works for them.