I enjoy spending time getting to know students and finding out what their personal interests are. While working in both middle and high schools over the past 7 years, I have chaperoned school dances and field trips, both locally as well as to Orlando, Ocean City and Washington, D.C.; coached cheerleading; was the varsity sports ticket manager; sponsored class councils; was certified in peer mediation; sponsored SADD & SHOP (Students Helping Other People); sponsored TV Club; and produced a weekly morning TV program.  Through these extracurricular experiences, I am able to see what the needs and interests of the students are, and differentiate my lesson planning as well as the materials that I purchase to fit these needs.  I feel that getting to know students in other situations outside their normal elements can translate to a stronger relationship within the classroom, making me a more effective and knowledgeable teacher. 

Artifacts and Reflection
	"Video Poetry Lesson" and "Leaf Identification Lesson" are examples of student learning experiences that I helped to create, implement and evaluate in partnership with teachers and other educators. The poetry lesson was an assignment for a middle school Television Production class for use during April, which is National Poetry Month. Students wrote an original poem using techniques learned in their English class and added images to the poem using camcorders in the television studio. The leaf identification lesson was developed for sixth graders for use during their outdoor education experience.  This lesson involved the collection of leaves during a nature hike, and analyzing the characteristics of the leaves to determine what type of tree they came from. Both lessons were taught collaboratively with the respective subject area teacher, and later evaluated by both the teacher and the media specialist.

Updated 6/23/2004 J. Granger