For the Love of Literacy

Flexibility. A term that each and every teacher must learn to become comfortable with.

When we decided to move back to Nashville last year I had quite a few things to consider. Where should I work? Do I want to continue at a high school or enter into a middle school? What grade level will I teach? It didn't take long for me to find and interview at a school on the west side of the city. Before I knew it, I was hired! I was excited, and a little nervous, when I found out that I would be teaching fifth grade ELA for the first time.

As the spring months went on, I didn't hear much from my new school. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until mid June when I got a message that made my stomach do a little twist. The principal that hired me would be moving on to work with another sector of the district. This was great news! What wasn't great news? The new master schedule that the team had created actually placed me in a social studies class.

Me? A social studies teacher? Flexibility, I remind myself.

Fast forward to December 1st. I am the seventh grade social studies teacher of a beautiful middle school in Nashville. I am teaching world history for the first time. I am learning so much, and I am growing tremendously each day. I don't know much about world history, but I have found that the easiest way for this thing to happen is through literacy and stories. My students sometimes complain that they have two English classes: ELA and social studies. To me, this is music to my ears! We are growing together each day and for many of us, we are exploring world history through a new lens. We read, we write, and we discuss. Everyday.

The ELA teacher walks up to me on a chilly afternoon as we watch our students run around and play basketball during physical activity time. He looks at me and says something like, "our students.. they grew. A lot. Like 187% growth from the fall to now." This is insane! How?! The answer is simple: we teach literacy. Without ever really planning together, we are both focusing on the skills that students need to be successful, regardless of the content area.

While I may have been scared at the beginning of the year, I am finding that this isn't much different. What you will find over the course of the rest of the school year are some new resources that I have been using in class. The first thing that I posted to my TPT store is a medieval Africa concept sort. I am still learning, but I hope that you find some use in the items that I am creating and sharing with my students. As always, if you have suggestions or requests, I would love to hear them!

Here's the newbie: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Medieval-Africa-Word-Sort-Introduction-Activity-3547719