EduMcation
3 Followers
Chelsea, Michigan, United States
About the store
I have been a middle school teacher since 1999, teaching 5th-8th grade ELA. I've taught in both Canada and the United States. I was an Instructional Coach for a year, and a middle school administrator for 4 years. I chose to go back into the classroom in 2018 after deciding it was time to return to my first love. Teaching is WAY more fun! Middle schoolers are fantastic, interesting humans and it takes an adventurous spirit to be the leader of their tribe each year.
Read moreAll resources
Filters
Format
Resource type
Standard
Audience
Note Pages for Research Best Practices (Searching, Credibility, Paraphrasing)
Each year, I inherit middle school students who seem clueless about what research should look like! I see cutting and pasting, information from wikis, and students who cite "Google" as their source! Each year, I take time to walk them through best practices for research. I share my notes in hopes that more students will learn that credibility, citing, and great paraphrasing are essential in academics!
5th - 8th
Informational Text, Writing-Expository
Short Story Planning Page, Student Checklist, and Grading Rubric
Using these three pages has greatly strengthened my students' narrative writing! The quality of the stories I receive has increased exponentially after using these forms for guidance and accountability (without sacrificing creativity at all!) Students want to be proud of their work but don't always know how to produce quality writing. The first page is a planning page, ensuring that students make intentional choices about where they are going with their story (aren't you tired of the meandering
5th - 8th
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Short Stories
CCSS
CCRA.W.3
, CCRA.W.4
, CCRA.W.5
Showing 1-2 of 2 results
About the store
Experience
I have been a middle school teacher since 1999, teaching 5th-8th grade ELA. I've taught in both Canada and the United States. I was an Instructional Coach for a year, and a middle school administrator for 4 years. I chose to go back into the classroom in 2018 after deciding it was time to return to my first love. Teaching is WAY more fun! Middle schoolers are fantastic, interesting humans and it takes an adventurous spirit to be the leader of their tribe each year.
Teaching style
I am a "warm demander" (see Matt Alexander's article on EduTopia). High student engagement is a hallmark of my teaching. I believe in giving middle school students lots of voice and choice. Most importantly, I love to use the most creative (odd? interesting? relevant?) instructional strategies I can.
Awards & shining teacher moments
I am Jackson Magazine's Teacher of the Year for 2019. I've published a series of articles on close reading for Perfection Learning (see their website for the complete set). I was also a reviewer/contributor for their Progress to Success curriculum and Connections curriculum. As far as higher education (which is less valuable than experience, right?), I was awarded the Excellence in a Discipline award for Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University in 2017. Way back in the dark ages (late 90's), I graduated top 10 in my class for my Education degree and was an Academic All-Canadian. Most importantly, my own two kids think I'm kinda cool. They text me back.
My own education history
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of British Columbia (1997). Bachelor of Elementary Education from the University of British Columbia (1998). Masters in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University (2017).
Additional biographical information
Teaching rocks. It takes a certain amount of crazy...but I'm down for that:)
TPT is the largest marketplace for PreK-12 resources, powered by a community of educators.
IXL family of brands