I wrote this a while back and it has become somewhat of a mission statement for my classroom. This may not sound all that surprising coming from an English teacher, but your English courses are critically important to your success as a student and as an individual. I would argue that if you pour your energy and focus into this course, it will set you up for success not only in high school, but in college and in life. English is not just the skill of reading and writing. It is the skill of critical thinking. English is concerned with […]

The following was originally meant to be a much shorter parent update. STEAM Families, Today is a big writing moment for your learner! We have all but finished the novel Fahrenheit 451, and alongside this experience we have been grappling with the question of the state of the world. Is it a dystopia? Is it not? I’ve seen students build convincing arguments in both directions. It has been fascinating to see their perspectives on life, but even more compelling is watching them learn to take their viewpoint and craft it into a solid argument – backed with sound reasoning and

This past August I was sitting at a table after a pretty intensive PD at STEAM Academy, and a thought was stirring somewhere under the surface. Jordan Manley, our P.E. and Health teacher, sat down next to me and asked what was on my mind. Jordan and I have collaborated in the educational design space for years, so it doesn’t take much at all to move our conversation into iterations of units, PBLs, or even one-off classroom experiences that have the potential for huge returns. I know exactly what I can get from these conversations. I usually throw out an

The core of the ELA learning experience breaks down into two hemispheres: improving communicative skills and exploring the world around us. These two inextricable realities can be occurring at the same time, and should be. We explore our environment and we communicate our thoughts on what we see – what conclusions we’ve drawn from our observations. The DNA of this whole experience is inquiry. Without that, the system won’t work. So I start with that. Constructing the wire frame of a lesson or unit is best done in community. I’ve done it on my own and I’ve done it with