When teachers grow...

I am so proud to be a part of the Ohio Writing Project. It is truly a gift to sit in the company of so many dedicated and knowledgeable teachers. But the thing that they do so well is impower other teachers. There is nothing that you cannot do once you've had a cup of coffee and a lovely chat with Beth Rimer.

Because of Beth, I've had the opportunity to work with OWP in other capacities. I have worked as a part of the Elementary Professional Development Team and as a Summer Workshop Instructor. When she asks you if you ever use moving pictures in your classroom and you tell her not really, she actually doesn't accept your answer! She continues to engage until you realize that you do exactly what she is asking. And then, she does the best thing ever, she tells you that you are an expert and that your voice matters beyond the walls of your own classroom. She did this to me twice. "What does poetry look like in your classroom?" "Umm, it's ok..." Then, she asks more questions and you realize that your class published a book of I Am poems and maybe, just maybe, you do have things to offer.

Today I wanted to share a few of the things I have created while working with OWP. Please enjoy a look into the professional life of a teacher. You know, the things we do to encourage other teachers, and tell them, you have power and a voice of your own to share. That moment when we encourage others to shine and show off greatness. When we tell others like ourselves, let's hear it.

A Look Inside a Classroom was originally created to be used while working with the Elementary Professional Development Team. This presentation shares simple ideas for incorporating writing throughout the day.

Weather is a presentation I created to spotlight writing through content literacy. Again, this was used while working with the Elementary Professional Development Team.

In the summers of 2023 and 2024, I had the opportunity to be a Summer Workshop Instructor for OWP. Basically, I teamed up with amazing secondary teachers, Lindsay Bruggeman and Sarah Johnson, to explore new topics and share these ideas with fellow educators.

In the summer of 2023, Lindsay and I dived into Moving Pictures in the Classroom. We explored the idea of what text can be and how has that changed in recent years. We did film studies and learned about new ways for students to acquire knowledge and demonstrate knowledge gained.

This may be one of my favorite presentations because it involves an amazing episode of Bluey. Second grade is when we push students to understand that setting isn't just a place, but also a time. Setting as Time is a lesson I created to share with my students and peers to help support this learning.

Then, in 2024, I was invited back to explore poetry with Sarah. Georgia Heard's Awakening the Heart played a big part in the creation of the next two lessons. If you ever need a feel good read, I highly recommend anything by Heard. Poetry Introduction walks you through a week of exploring poetry in my own classroom. We all had a blast! It just goes to show what can happen when we are allowed to experience poetry and not continually analyze poems for meaning. Poetry Centers really brought poetry to life in my classroom, but even better, a group of grown adults did them for over an hour and had a great time. Poetry transcends age.

Then, once you've done all of these things, you feel so impowered by your ability to find answers and create for your own classroom, so you decide that you have questions about other topics in education and how to make different ideas work in your own classroom. And, without a push or partner, you decide to answer these questions and then share them with your colleagues. (Translation, you've now unlocked this idea that you are actually an expert in teaching and your thirst for knowledge just goes to prove that idea, which then encourages you to share the knowledge you've gained with others.) So you put together a slideshow to present at your district Professional Development day on the hot topic of Science of Reading.

Let me say this, I know that you may think that Science of Reading would not pair well with the other ideas I have shared, however, phonics instruction and quality reading and writing instruction will develop engaged, knowledgeable learners.

So why share this now? Over the past few years, I've discovered that my true passion is helping teachers make learning interesting and fun not only for our students, but for ourselves. I'm giving these ideas out as a way of encouraging all teachers to remember what it's like to be in those desks. Waiting everyday to learn something new. Needing to be drawn into learning. Wanting to learn.