Lyrics and Letters

I’m a current secondary English teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching grades 7–12, including honors and AP Lit and Lang. My resources are intentionally designed to support rigorous thinking, confident writing, and meaningful engagement with literature.

My teaching and resource design are shaped by experience across public and private classrooms, as well as 13 years of homeschooling my own five children. This wide range of contexts has deeply influenced how I think about instructional support. My resources reflect instructional practices that consistently support student growth, particularly in writing. You’ll see a strong emphasis on: • Backward Design, with clear learning goals guiding instruction • Explicit modeling and exemplars to build student confidence • Scaffolded rigor, so students can succeed with complex tasks • Differentiation, allowing teachers to adapt materials for varied learners These approaches are informed by current research and refined through sustained classroom practice.

I’ve spent over a decade teaching AP Language and AP Literature, with 80%+ of my students earning qualifying AP scores. What I’m most proud of, though, is helping students of all levels learn to write with confidence, clarity, and control. Whether students are preparing for AP exams, advanced coursework, or college-level writing expectations, my approach emphasizes strong modeling, purposeful practice, and clear, actionable feedback.

Bachelor of Music Education, Louisiana State University Master of Arts in Teaching, Thomas More University State Certified in Secondary English Language Arts My store name, Lyrics and Letters, reflects my dual passions for music and language, where structure and rhythm meet the art of expression.