Helping teachers develop engaging curriculum that will allow students to use their applied thinking to create authentic learning.
let's talk pedagogy
The truth is, I am a millennial. Before you click back to your google search, let me let you in on a little secret: I am not a fan of technology in the classroom.
In my years of teaching, I ran my classroom pretty old-school: paper copies, hand-written outlines, pen-corrected peer reviews, the works. Typically, the only reason my students would have a Chromebook in front of them would be because we were researching, creating a website, or working on an essay.
Don't get me wrong, technology isn't all bad, but I firmly believe that if I'm going to use technology in the classroom it needs to have a specific purpose or teach students a specific skill.
The curriculum I've developed reflects those values pretty accurately. Ultimately, my biggest goal in the classroom has always been to teach kids how to learn in a way that works for them. I'm a big fan of metacognition (thinking about your thinking) and its active role in becoming a life-long learner.
The more students are able to access a curriculum that challenges them to apply their own thinking, the more rich and authentic their learning will be.
Writing
Students typically dread writing. I've done my best to develop writing practices and prompts that allow students to hone a set of solid skills that can be built upon for years to come.
Reading
Learning to read, both fiction and non-fiction texts is a vital skill for any subject. I've taught and developed several different methods for students to engage with their reading (even when it gets kinda boring).
Lifeskills
The unique thing about teaching English is that so many of the standards can be used to teach valuable life skills to students. I've found that today's generation desperately longs for these types of real-world application lessons.
Technology
While I don't use much technology in the classroom, I do find it important for students to have a well-rounded understanding of technology that is used in today's corporate environments (website development, creative projects, Google Suite, etc).
well, hi there!
My name is Kate Eckberg. I love rice cakes, coffee, and making curriculum. I'm a former English + Yearbook teacher, and AVID Coordinator. I have a passion for developing curriculum that is engaging, accessible, and relevant to today's culture and society. While I'm currently taking a step back from the classroom to raise my daughter, I'm taking advantage of having some time to share my resources with other educators!