Additional Teaching Work

Purdue University

Purdue OWL

Middle School Teaching

Wakefield School, The Plans, V.A.

At Wakefield School I taught 6th grade literature, 6th grade composition, and 8th grade literature.

  • 6th grade literature focused on opening students up to the complexities of familial, social environmental, and ethical issues of their own lives in relation to those of other time periods. The goal is to grow both the universality and individuality of the human condition, with some attention given to the characteristics of a hero in Western texts. 
    • Books read: 
      • A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
      • Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan
      • A brief poetry unit
      • The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
      • The Diary of Anne Frank
      • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
      • Tangerine by Edward Bloor
  • 6th grade composition sought to make connections in writing with the literature the students were reading. Students learned different types of writing, such as the narrative essay, creative writing (short stories), and a research project. I focused on strengthening students’ grammar and worked to build confidence within the students so they would gradually become more comfortable with the writing process and larger writing projects. 
  • 8th grade literature encourages students to delve into literary treasures of ancient Greek literature within a modern context. Students wrestle with thought-provoking issues like fate vs. free will, the value of a human life, and public vs. private responsibilities in society. Vocabulary is studied in the context of Greek and Latin roots, which helps in later years to discover meaning in previously unencountered words. 
    • Books read: 
      • A brief mythology unit
      • The Odyssey
      • A brief short story unit that included “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
      • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 
      • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
      • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 

Duke Teaching Identification Program (Duke TiP)

I was involved with the Duke Teaching Identification Program (Duke TiP) twice. Once as a teaching assistant at the Trinity University location (summer 2014), and once as an instructor at the Wake Forest University location (summer 2015). Both times I worked on the Speculative Fiction: Reading and Writing about Alternate Worlds class. Duke TiP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth. The Duke TiP team works with children and parents to help the students to identify, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential. 

Speculative Fiction: Reading and Writing about Alternate Worlds 

Course description:

  • What do J.R.R. Tolkein’s Gollum, Shakespeare’s fairies, Stephen King’s Cujo, Suzanne Collins’ Katniss Everdeen, and Ray Bradbury’s Martians all have in common? They each inhabit the highly imaginative world of speculative fiction-a genre that includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, utopian, and dystopian fiction. Authors of speculative fiction often wrestle with complex social and psychological issues ranging from genetic engineering to predestination and personal freedom to forms of government, often in far reaching and fantastical settings. Experiment with storytelling techniques in your writing and receive peer feedback in a course that challenges you to imagine and create original worlds of your own. Read and analyze a variety of authors within the genre with a critical eye towards enhancing your own writing.