Dear Scholars: I Wish You Knew…

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Dear Scholars,

I am writing you this letter to share with you 10 things I wish you knew about me as your teacher.

I wish you knew that I will always refer to you as scholar because I have high expectations for you, especially expecting you to be a lifelong learner. I don’t teach regular students–all who enter my classroom are extraordinary!

I wish you knew that I wear t-shirts on Fridays to inspire you.

I wish you knew that I love reading, but I get sleepy when I read for too long.

I wish you knew that I am happily married and I have a cat. I invest a lot in you because you are the only children I have.

I wish you knew that when I am stressed or tired I tend to drink Mountain Dew but I know that it is not good for me.

I wish you knew that I expect every scholar who read this letter to pass my class. This is a realistic goal because I plan to help you every step of the way.

I wish you knew that I smile and laugh a lot but I am dead serious about whatever I said…

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I wish you knew that I have been taking care of myself since the age of 16. If I ever become defensive, it’s because I had to spend my life defending myself, especially at times when I most needed and expected my parents to do it for me.

I wish you knew I had my classroom painted just so you would feel extra special, comfortable and at peace while learning.

I wish you knew that I love you, even when I am hard on you, because I want so much for you to be beyond successful.

Sincerely,

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Starbooks Cafe & BOOKO Book Tasting

Starbooks Cafe, a literacy strategy emphasizing student choice in order to engage young readers, has proven to be a hit in my classroom! I have used “book tastings” to support scholars in making connections with books and to make reading more relevant.

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Download this lesson FREE! Included in this post is a lesson plan for two different methods of recording the books scholars are interested in. Please consider giving a donation to support #MrsHallScholars either via PayPal or CashApp ($queenlaquisha).

Starbooks Book Tasting LessonDownload

BOOKO BoardDownload

Starbooks (Lesson B) MaterialsDownload

P.S. I have music playing as they come into the classroom to further the cafe ambiance. The 2-hour YouTube video below is my favorite to use. Enjoy!

Toni Morrison One-Pager

This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal

Toni Morrison, The Nation op-ed (2015)

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Hey y’all! So this is the post that started this blog! I recently shared on Twitter and Facebook that I would be introducing English/Language Arts (ELA) to incoming freshmen at my school. I could not think of a better way to do this than to discuss our national treasure who passed on my wedding anniversary, Toni Morrison.

I was personally profoundly impacted by The Bluest Eye and Sula when I read them, especially as a survivor of sexual abuse. I had never read a book or story from an African American female character before reading her writings. While the stories were sad, I certainly began to feel that I was not alone in my fight.

I am an artist who became an English teacher, therefore, there is much art done in my class. However, I did not want the new high scholars to be too intimidated so I drew an image of Morrison in the middle of the page and hand-lettered her name along the side. This one-pager lesson will not only be their introduction to ELA; this will be an introduction to sketchnotes, creativity and words that will live forever from a prolific and profound writer.

Download this lesson FREE! Please consider giving a donation to support #MrsHallScholars either via PayPal or CashApp ($queenlaquisha).

Toni Morrison One-Pager LessonDownload

Thanks for your support!