What did I learn about myself, students and teaching during the 2017-18 school year? This year I was teamed with a collaborative group, the Ocean House; four teachers, two English and two math, tasked to teach the ELD newcomers, levels 1-4 as an interdisciplinary, collaborative team. At the beginning of the year, I shared Read More…
Opinion Project
For our Opinion Project, students were first introduced to the structure of an opinion/argumentative essay through the Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence (WRITE) Institute (San Diego County Office of Education), a national Academic Excellence model for professional development supports schools and districts with systemic, K-12 literacy implementation in English and Spanish compare-contrast curriculum. Students learned to Read More…
Compare-Contrast Unit
The Compare-Contrast writing unit was based on the Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence (WRITE) Institute (San Diego County Office of Education), a national Academic Excellence model for professional development supports schools and districts with systemic, K-12 literacy implementation in English and Spanish compare-contrast curriculum. Students were first introduced to the compare-contrast vocabulary and structure of the Read More…
Flipboard in the Classroom
Flipboard was founded as one place to find the stories for your day, bringing together your favorite news sources with social content, to give a deep view into everything from political issues to technology trends to travel inspiration” (Flipboard.com). Flipboard is a versatile digital tool that can be used to curate internet resources and share them Read More…
Teaching Experience
“When you get, give. When you learn, teach.” -Maya Angelou My writing group, an ongoing extension of the San Marcos Writing Project, in which we were all participants during the summer of 2017, meets regularly on the first Friday of the month to share our writing and teaching experience. On any given Friday, there are Read More…
What are Human Rights and why do they matter?
Our fourth ELD Challenge unit this year was an exploration of the Declaration of Human Rights. Human Rights Project Part 1: Exploration As an introduction, our English learners (ELD 1 & 2) received a simplified copy of the Declaration of Human Rights. Students were paired for heterogeneous grouping with one student from each level. We Read More…
Friend Compare-Contrast Essay
“True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its difficulties” (Baltazar Gracian). I have many friends but my friend Janet is more like a sister than a friend. We have known each other for 18 years and she knows me better than anyone else. She is my confidant and I can share anything Read More…
2018 Goal Setting
Goals are a roadmap to life. I have set my goals for 2018 with the intention of completing them, one at a time. I know that goals are difficult to accomplish but once they are achieved, the satisfaction is always worth the work. My first goal is to improve my health. I plan to exercise a Read More…
What is Equity?
In this third unit of the semester for our ELD Challenge Course, a social science/language development course based on the Challenge-Based Learning Framework, students were asked to explore local and global equity issues. Students were introduced to the issues of equity using some of the resources in this Equity Slide Show, which was prepared in Read More…
How do we honor and protect the Natural World?
In this third project of the semester for our ELD Challenge Course, students conducted research regarding an issue around the topic of The Natural World. They were tasked with creating an informational Google Site to inform their selected audience about problems of global sustainability. They were to select a focus on one of the following Read More…