I am a teacher's teacher, having a strong background across multiple grade levels. I completed my student teaching in an 8th-grade classroom, taught students in grades 9 through 12 for more than a decade, and currently teach 8th grade ELA. I also tutor online through Tutor.com, which is owned by The Princeton Review, and have done that for almost 5 years now.
I use a variety of teaching styles in my classroom, including cooperative learning, individual writing tasks, group writing, image vocabulary, and many more. When you purchase a unit, lesson, or any material I offer through my store, I will do my best to make it clear what type of learning experience you can expect your students to have when those materials are used in your own classroom.
I have been teaching for fourteen years. The first 13 years I taught high school (mostly 9th and 10th grade), and I recently made the change to teaching middle school (8th grade) ELA, and I love it! Recently, my gamified classroom instruction approach was recognized as a program by the local educational service center through their Innovation is Iteration program. The work of my students in our gamified class (which goes by the name Legendary Loveland) was also was featured within my own district as part of the State of the Schools showcase, and that same program also receive recognition as a top new student program from the Southwest Regional Ohio School Boards Association in the fall of 2019.
I attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in Professional Education. I then went on to earn my Master of Education degree through Indiana Wesleyan University.
I live in a rural community in southwest Ohio with my wife and our six kids (all born within less than 5 years - including 2 sets of twins!). I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family and friends, hanging out and going on adventures whenever possible.
Kindergarten, 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Higher Education, Homeschool, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Creative Writing, Reading, Vocabulary, Specialty, Math, Geometry, Social Studies - History, World History, ELA Test Prep, Other (ELA), For All Subject Areas, Literature, Writing, Reading Strategies, Writing-Essays, Holidays/Seasonal, Informational Text, Test Preparation, End of Year, Close Reading