Inside My Classroom

My students know that they are welcomed inside my classroom, always.

In my sophomore advisory, we celebrate birthdays as a group. We have been together since last academic year, when the students were in their first year of high school, so we are close and have fun together.

Writing is important to me, but I recognize how vulnerable it can be for students. Every year, I give all my students a handwritten invite where to a Writing Party, where they can come and talk to me about any stage of the writing process for my class. Students love seeing their names in cursive, and they take advantage of the opportunity. (It helps that I always have a candy jar!) In the process, I get to know them better. One of the most meaningful experiences resulting from these invites is that students who appreciate my feedback came to me for support with different kinds of writing, including a submission for a Scholastic award, and, more recently, the Common App essays.

Given that history class can oftentimes be overwhelming, I keep stuffed animals so that students can use them for support when needed. I really appreciate seeing that my students take advantage of these, holding them when we are discussing particularly draining topics.

It is precisely because of how difficult it is to process certain topics that I always start with a ‘Question of the Day’ where students get to share something fun. One of my favorite questions was ‘If you had a store, what would you sell?’ Doing these questions a few minutes before class starts allows us to set the mood for the rest of the period, and, in turn, helps us create stronger bonds as a learning community. Students also have the opportunity to submit the question of the day, and they really look forward to both answering the question and being featured in the daily slides.