Welcome to Exceptional ELA!

Hi everyone!

I am so happy you found your way to my little corner of the internet! Before I dive into the blogosphere, I wanted to introduce myself briefly.

Here's a little about me:

I'm a wife to another teacher, and a mom to a rambunctious toddler. Balancing work and family life is never easy, but I love it, and I'm grateful for my loving and supportive husband who guides me through it all.

I live in Southern California, where the weather has made me weak! I love the rare rainy day we get here, but I also love the sunshine. 90 degree Christmases are the norm here...

I love reading and writing creative short stories and drinking copious amounts of coffee. I've traveled a lot in the past, and when my son gets older, I'd love to do more of it. I love sleeping in until 7am, when I can. The teaching and mommy life doesn't really allow for this though. I love shopping on Amazon (maybe too much). I love finding quirky pieces of clothing to wear to school, but I also love being comfortable (leggings for life!)

Teaching experience:

I went to UCLA for my BA in English, and Claremont Graduate School for my MA in Education. I am currently an 8th grade ELA Teacher and have been teaching secondary ELA since 2012. I have taught both middle and high school grades. Before settling into public school, I taught ESL in America and Japan.

Teaching style:

I love creating lessons and activities that engage and challenge students! In my project-based classroom, you'll see a lot of movement and student collaboration. Student voice is essential: they write their hearts out and learn how to share their opinions respectfully while learning about others' perspectives.

In addition, I integrate technology in novel ways. With the right guidance, 1-to-1 technology can transform a classroom to meet the needs of the 21st century. Flipgrid and Newsela are some of our most used apps in the classroom.

I also emphasize organizational and study skills. One of the cornerstones of my classroom routines and procedures is that students all keep an updated ELA binder so they can easily access their work in one place. These skills become more valuable in the future when keeping up with the rigors of high school, college, and their future careers.

Lastly, my students read voraciously. Our classroom library is forever growing! I constantly do my best to add the latest relevant and diverse texts and titles so my students can keep up with the world around them and find something that is sure to meet their interests!

What I hope to accomplish with this blog!

I'd like to do a number of different things on this blog: ELA related and general teaching related!

1. Share my experiences as a beginning Teacher-Author on TeachersPayTeachers
2. Share the lessons and activities I teach in my largely projects-based classroom
3. Review different edtech tools that would be suitable in the 1-to-1 technology classroom
4. Review new up-and-coming YA novels
5. Share my classroom management strategies
6. Share any budget saving strategies for the classroom I've learned over the years
7. Get ideas from other awesome secondary teachers!

That's it for now! Please comment below if you have any questions, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you as an educator here!

❤️Stacey

Follow