Welcome!
I have been teaching in Georgia since 2008, serving in a variety of roles including 5th grade teacher, gifted coordinator/ teacher, social studies coach, and Teaching as a Profession Career Pathway Teacher. Prior to that I taught a couple of years of middle school Social Studies in Chevak, Alaska. In my spare time I have spent a combined nine months in eight different African countries. In addition I have traveled through or in 49 of the 50 states and have lived in 5 of them. This desire I have to experience the world has a great impact on my teaching style. I believe that education needs to be relevant to our ever changing world. Blindly following a textbook simply will not prepare students for the fast paced changes that our society faces. Real world connections need to be made by students throughout the learning process, so that that they can fully engage in learning and be able to adapt to the changes that they will face. This website is designed to try to supplement the material that will be taught in class. I have attempted to find relevant websites that are engaging and student friendly, along with a variety of videos.
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Making History Come Alive
The thing that excited me most about the Ellis Island simulation was how it energized the teachers. It was certainly an unforgettable day for students and that excitement was energizing for the staff involved in the project.
Students learn more and are more likely to develop creativity if they are excited about what they are learning. The video below recaps a museum exhibit on the Colonies that my students worked on as an extension project over the period of several months. The students researched and designed the exhibit. They then acted as tour guides as classes came through our exhibit.
Student exhibitions at any time of the year really make the concepts and eras come alive. It could be a cumulative year end project, or mini-projects that go with a current unit.
