Sample Student Work
In my student teaching experiences, I've enjoyed creating challenging, engaging English Language Arts lessons that promote active learning, problem-solving, and creativity.
The selected lessons below reflect my teaching philosophy, which revolves around the belief that student engagement stems from a combination of relationship-building & meaningful content. I aim to always connect lessons to bigger picture goals, both in class (summative assessments) and outside of class (real-world applications).
Mind Map
Summative Assessment
After reading Jason Reynolds' novel in verse Long Way Down, 10th grade students created a mind map to visually represent themes, narrative progression, symbols, and connections. I loved that this assessment gave students freedom to demonstrate their understanding of the novel how they saw fit. Students took a variety of approaches to their mind maps, as you can see in a few student samples below. This assessment was also "AI proof" — it promoted independent, original thinking that could not be replaced by AI.
For more details, you can view the assignment description here and the rubric here.
One Pager
Formative Assessment
To practice with visual communication, students created a one pager to demonstrate their understanding of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I used this as a formative assessment and gave students whole-class and individual feedback to prepare for the mind map summative assessment above.
Like the mind map, the one pager tasked students with creative, imaginative thinking that could not be substituted by AI. Students took a variety of approaches, as you can view in examples below.
For more details on this assessment, view the assignment description here and the rubric here.
Poetry Puzzle
In-class activity
After reading Jason Reynolds' novel in verse Long Way Down, students engaged in a variety of activities to dive deeper into the meaning of the poems and the structure of the language. In this poetry puzzle lesson, students worked collaboratively in groups to reconstruct one of the poems from the book. This hands-on lesson got students debating language structure and discussing the poem's meaning.
I provided each group with strips of paper with phrases from a poem. Students arranged the phrases in order without consulting the book, created a shape that connected to the poem's content, and explained their reasoning via annotations. Students presented their finished products to the rest of the class.
Talking Point Tracker
Scaffold for Socratic Seminar
Students completed "Talking Point Trackers" to prepare for a social justice Socratic Seminar on the question, "What does a just society look like and who gets to decide?" I curating sources including Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron," Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and an array of additional poems, speeches and articles. Students filled out their trackers throughout the unit with a gradual release of instruction.
Poetry & Figurative Language
Writing Odes
After learning about different types of figurative language, 7th grade students practiced incorporating figurative language into various types of poetry. Students wrote four different poems with scaffolding via structured brainstorms, partner work, and outlines; created final drafts on paper; and ultimately chose one poem to read in a poetry presentation to the class.
Click here to see an example of my lesson plan for teaching odes & practicing personification. Students explored a range of subjects in their poetry, serious and silly. You can see how this unit encouraged students' creativity and personalities to shine!
