INSTRUCTION
" If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow. "
- John Dewey
Effective instructional practice is the keystone to student success. The act of instruction is the stage upon which the art of teaching is performed. Instruction though, is a not only a teacher's performance, but a masterfully formulated union between the art and science of instructional practices. In order to best serve students, my instructional practices are composed of research based, effective instructional methods, modes, and media that utilize a core integration of formative assessment to provide immediate feedback and to drive further instructional choices. Focusing on individualized and student centered instruction, I strive to demystify literacy practices while providing meaningful opportunities for students to practice, perfect, and perform their mastery of core concepts. In order to achieve this, I establish and communicate clear student learning objectives and outcomes, while building a strong connection between the student and the content. To educate students as individuals, I develop student centered instructional design that forms a network between the student, their individual background, and their immediate and ideal future. After all, the core function of effective instruction is the success of the student. Good instruction teaches students concepts, yet great instruction inspires students to learn more. To prepare students for a successful tomorrow, we must inspire them to take initiative today.
Cross-Digitial Literacies: Engaging English Learners through Historical Fiction & Technology
Glogs, an online digital poster interface, allows for entirely online, interactive, student centered lessons that focus on inspiring digital literacies. I created a Glog Unit that allows for English Leaners to connect to revolutionary american history through cross-cultural, cross-literacy, and cross-disciplinary experiences. Through a fully interactive digital poster, each item, icon, and image is a clickable experience that allows a student to dig deeper into their knowledge construction. Focused around Laurie Halse Anderson's award winning novel Fever 1793, students are able to engage in speaking, listening, reading, and writing experiences that I specifically designed to bring the historical time period and text to life digitally while encouraging reading and writing skills through technology. Click the button below to explore my interactive lesson. A full description of each feature can be found in the Thematic Unit pdf.
Thematic Unit Supporting English Learners | |
File Size: | 5053 kb |
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Interactive Reading Experiences
Engaging with text means more than just reading a passage. In order to increase students meaningful engagement with text, I created this gothic short story lesson plan that allows for students to engage in authentic interactive reading experiences. Centered around the high interest suspenseful short story "The Monkey's Paw", students are able to write themselves into the story through first person narrative retelling, and can further construct meaning by illustrating text through the creation of a Humument. This lesson bridges the gap between reading, writing, and art, by allowing the student reader to become creative writer and illustrator while demonstrating higher order thinking skills and content knowledge.
"The Monkey's Paw" Interactive Reading Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 4524 kb |
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Reading Shakespeare: Alternative Assessment & Bloom's Taxonomy
Shakespeare's works have become staple texts on syllabi across all grades and levels of high school English in America. A part of the literary canon, Shakespeare's works are an essential, yet traditionally "boring" topic of interest amongst most secondary students. In order to find a way to make Shakespeare more accessible and exciting to a diverse range of learners, I created a project based learning assignment that allows students to construct knowledge while working up the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of learning domains. Students have the choice to design two activities from each level of bloom in order to create a physical 3D geodesic presentation ball.
Shakespeare Bloom Ball Assignment Directions | |
File Size: | 97 kb |
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Holistic Rubric for Shakespeare Bloom Ball | |
File Size: | 39 kb |
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