Teachers' Resources

The following links are just a small number of the vast array of teachers' resources that are available to educators. The following links are some of my favorite educational sites. If you have any sites that you would like to see added to this list, please do not hesitate to contact me at kayla.becker@wartburg.edu. I appreciate any and all thoughts, comments and suggestions.

Resources of interest for this lesson, specifically:

Denver South High School

Denver South High School is a community high school in Denver, Colorado, where I am teaching this lesson. This document provides background information about the high school, its students, etc. This may be of interest to you, as an educator or future educator, because you could compare and contrast your school to Denver South High School.

Thematic Unit

For my unit on African American literature, this document provides information regarding the theme for my unit, A Winding Journey. In addition, it includes: a theme statement, rationale, focusing questions, unit standards and benchmarks, and performance assessment.

Unit Circus

An abundance of resources are crucial when teaching a unit. It is always better to have more than to not have enough. You may find these resources to be useful while teaching this unit to your class. While you will probably not use all of these resources during the course of teaching this unit, they provide you with something to fall back on when in a pinch.

Resources of interest for teaching, in general:

English, Language Arts Standards and Benchmarks, McREL

A link to the English, Language Arts standards and benchmarks by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, McREL, is provided above. This will assist you in planning your lessons to teach your students a variety of topics that cover a wide range of areas.

Writing Prompts

Do you ever have those days when you just cannot think of a topic for the students to write about or a comment to prompt their thinking? Well, I do...actually on many days! The above Web site provides an abundance of topics for students to write/journal on. You could keep the questions or prompts the way they are, or you could add more questions to push your students even farther. Keep this Web site handy for "one of those days."

Reading Road Map

The above is a Power Point I designed that describes what a Reading Road Map is, how it can be used effectively in a classroom, and how it aids in students' comprehension.

Visual Images

While researching the effectiveness of visual images within the classroom, the above is my annotated bibliography that lists and describes six sources that provide relevant and informative information on visuals. I highly suggest looking at these resources, especially the Web sites because they are excellent resources for teachers of any content area.

Visual Images Power Point

Above is the Power Point I created to describe the effectiveness of visual images within a classroom. It provides a number of useful sites that provide examples and guidance in using visual images effectively in the classroom.

Depression and Suicide

I am currently taking a class at Wartburg College entitled, Adolescent Development. For this course, I did a presentation on Depression and Suicide in relation in adolescents. Above is a link to my paper. As you read the paper, you will discover that depression and suicide are much more prevalent problems within the lives of adolescents than typically thought. It is important to know the warning signs because it may save a student's life.

Classroom Workshop Conferences

One of the Best Practices approaches to teaching is to hold regular classroom workshop conferences. The above is a link that provides an outline of the various types of conferences a teacher may hold.

My teaching philosophy

In my Secondary Content Methods: English course this term, we were asked to write a philosophy statement. Over the course of my two and one-half years at Wartburg, my philosophy of teaching has changed dramatically, as it should. I encourage each of you to write your own philosophy statement, look at it a couple years or even months from now, and see how much your view of teaching has changed as a result of your experiences during that time period. The results and realizations will surprise you.

Reflective Assessment

Another Best Practice approach is including reflective assessments within your curriculum. Read the information provided above regarding this and judge for yourself. I think you'll find that you agree with me. This is a valuable inclusion to any unit.