More About Me
I have a Master’s degree in Secondary Education to teach English. While in my program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, I worked for the Department of Teacher Education as a graduate assistant, and had many opportunities to collaborate with professors on academic studies, write articles and book chapters, edit texts for teachers, and present at both local and national conferences. As a result of this work I sharpened skills that made me an effective teacher in many areas. I have thoroughly researched current trends in the field of education including: technology in the classroom, implications of the Common Core State Standards, disciplinary literacy, using young adult literature in the classroom, and effective teaching strategies, as well as strategies for classroom management. I have created unique and engaging lesson plans and classroom activities. I taught AP Literature, AP Language, and traditional American Literature during my year at Robinson High School. Since then, I have taught 7th and 8th grade English Language Arts.
I work with our geography/social studies teacher (Terri Files) to create cross-curricular units and lessons for our students. Since 2016 we have created a unit for our 7th graders using Alan Gratz’s Refugee, during which she teaches the geography of the characters’ travels, I teach the elements of the novel, and we both teach about the social justice issues involved. We also teach a cross-curricular WWII/The Book Thief unit to our 8th graders. In this unit we co-teach several classes together on the Holocaust, and students present their final projects (a research project for social studies, and a body biography for English) to both of us. Terri and I co-author a blog in an effort to help other educators understand the importance of reaching students and connecting with them before setting high expectations and teaching content. We discuss ways in which this can be done, as well as the challenges we present to our students and ourselves in an effort to teach and create innovative lessons.
The collaboration I have enjoyed makes me both willing and able to work well with fellow teachers, and I have found that not only do lessons come alive when I collaborate with another teacher, but the students learn the material better because they can see how subjects connect. My extensive writing and editing enables me to guide students to become strong writers with a solid understanding of grammar rules and the writing process.
Learn more about my philosophy of education.
Learn more about my volunteer experiences.
I work with our geography/social studies teacher (Terri Files) to create cross-curricular units and lessons for our students. Since 2016 we have created a unit for our 7th graders using Alan Gratz’s Refugee, during which she teaches the geography of the characters’ travels, I teach the elements of the novel, and we both teach about the social justice issues involved. We also teach a cross-curricular WWII/The Book Thief unit to our 8th graders. In this unit we co-teach several classes together on the Holocaust, and students present their final projects (a research project for social studies, and a body biography for English) to both of us. Terri and I co-author a blog in an effort to help other educators understand the importance of reaching students and connecting with them before setting high expectations and teaching content. We discuss ways in which this can be done, as well as the challenges we present to our students and ourselves in an effort to teach and create innovative lessons.
The collaboration I have enjoyed makes me both willing and able to work well with fellow teachers, and I have found that not only do lessons come alive when I collaborate with another teacher, but the students learn the material better because they can see how subjects connect. My extensive writing and editing enables me to guide students to become strong writers with a solid understanding of grammar rules and the writing process.
Learn more about my philosophy of education.
Learn more about my volunteer experiences.