Teacher's Office
Welcome
to the NeXt Generation Gifted and Talented Team! As you may know, I am
a native Floridian (yes, it's true)! I've lived here all my life, but
I've done quite a bit of traveling over the years, visiting exciting
places such as the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Europe, Japan...and I've
even been "Down Under!" Every year I relive my adventure there when we
study it in World Cultures. My guest speaker/musician always makes
learning about Australia fun.
I absolutely LOVE teaching
and learning, so am always involved in some sort of training
or coursework related to my craft. I currently hold a Bachelor's degree
in Social Sciences from the University of South Florida, a Master's
degree from National-Louis University, and am Nationally Board
Certified. I've recently begun course work for a doctorate in
Educational Leadership at Argosy University. I'm also interested
in discovering things outside of teaching, such as new self-defense
moves in karate and how to speak French. My most important goals as an
educator are to provide students with a repertoire of skills for
success in life AND instill in them a lifelong love of reading and
learning.
I
like to use a combination of teaching methods/approaches in my
classroom. I use a lot of Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies, which
focus on developing social skills in children, building positive
self-image and respect for others, and positively impacts
achievement. My reading and writing workshop approach in Language
Arts is based on research conducted by respected educator and author,
Nancie Atwell. Her action research has shown a positive correlation
between the amount of time kids spend regularly reading and writing,
and higher test results.
In World Cultures (AKA social studies), I use multiple approaches,
including the History Alive curriculum, centers, hands-on activities,
and guest speakers.
I look forward to working with you this year!
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