Dear Teacher, 

In continuing to prepare for the upcoming unit on Greek Mythology, I have scoured the internet for resources to use with my students. In the past, I have just shared these resources directly with my students in Google Classroom. Due to SOPPA, I am now sharing them here so I know how to find them. 

Please let me know if you have any other sites to add to this list. 

Dear Teacher, 

In continuing to prepare for our upcoming study on Ancient Greece... I have scoured the internet looking for ideas. Below is a list of unoriginal ideas that I have created.

​You know me... I use this website as a place to find  and warehouse information. I did not link the site(s) I used as both have a big warning that the site is being archived and disappearing soon. This is my way of saving this for future reference. 

Dear Teacher, 

Welcome to the last week of our study! Understanding how the brain responds and reacts has been truly insightful. It has made me rethink how I respond to certain situations, it has caused me to go back into my lesson plans and purposefully add time for my students to chew on a thought. It makes me want to rethink how and when I use collaboration. I am ready to see what else I can discover this week. 

Dear Teacher, 

Last week finished up Part 1 on building awareness and knowledge and dived head first into Part 2 on building learning partnerships. We discovered that to be a culturally responsive teacher, we must do the work to be reflective, to value our own-selves, and then we must learn how to not only build a positive relationship with our students but to learn to become their teammates on the pathway to success. 

Dear Teacher, 

Welcome back to day 2! How are you enjoying our book study so far?

I have learned quite a bit in the first two chapters. For example, I learned that my collaborative way of teaching is the reason I am success with a certain demographic of students. I can't wait to read the next few chapters with you!

Dear Teacher, 

Welcome to the first week of our book study. Each Monday, you will see a new post for the next three chapters of our study. Read the book, and then join us over at Instagram for a discussion on what you have read and how you will use it in your classroom. Super simple PD on your schedule. Join us at any time, the posts will always be available!

Dear Teacher, 

Every where I look, it seems our country is fighting against itself asking who matters more. I really can't see a winner in all of this but I do know it is impacting the students in my classroom. To become better prepared to teach in the fall, I decided to read Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain by Zaretta Hammond. I have heard a lot of great things about this book. Who is ready to join me? 

Dear Illinois Teachers, 

There is a new law in town that we need to talk about today.  105 ILCS 85 aka SOPPA aka (the) Student Online Personal Protection Act. 

With the Pandemic and transition to online learning, predators found easy victims with our students. They hacked websites designed for students and caused a lot of harm. To protect students in the future, SOPPA has been enacted. 

Dear Teacher, 

It is finally May and you know what that means right? Planning for Back-to-School is in full swing. Since the end of March, my school has been preparing for the return of students full time in the fall. This means I finally get to decorate the classroom I moved into this year. 

First stop... the heart of my classroom. The classroom library. 

Dear Teacher, 

Our curriculum this year uses only 3 novels to teach everything my 6th grade students need to know about ELA. It has been an interesting experience and I have been exposed to some new texts and authors. 

We have just completed reading Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac and my students enjoyed the book a lot!