Sherrie and her family at the Escher Museum in the Netherlands, 2010
Welcome to my Hillside Teacher’s Page!
ABOUT ME:
I decided I wanted to become a teacher when I was in 5th grade. I was a “problem child” in class and my very astute teacher realized that I was acting out because I was bored. She arranged for me to spend time working with the kindergarten and first graders in their reading groups. I loved it and right then and there I decided a career in teaching was for me. As I grew older, I discovered a love of the humanities, history and English. These subjects became my passion and I pursued a teaching degree at Western Washington University. I graduated with Honors in History and Education, with minors in English, Social Studies and Psychology. I continued my education, earning credits equal to a Masters degree with an emphasis of learning styles and language arts, from the University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University.
I have taught in many different settings from Two Rivers Alternative High School, to Auburn High School to the Kelsey Creek Homeschool Center. I have taught language arts and history at Hillside Student Community since 2007.
WORD ROOTS:
Word Roots is a language arts class where students learn new vocabulary words and their prefixes, suffixes and roots. Through the weekly exercises, students learn how to take words apart to dissect meaning out of the components and make educated guesses about definitions when encountering new or unfamiliar words. This class consists of much more than mere vocabulary development with a spelling test at the end of the week. Students hone their writing skills by using the newly learned vocabulary first in sentences and then in writing stories. Organizational and study skills lessons are embedded into this curriculum to prepare students for high school and beyond. Lastly, students read literature across a variety of genres and then write book reports which include a choice of projects to enhance their learning. Twice a week students turn in a journal entry which documents their progress in their choice reading book.
Click the links to the following documents:
WEEKLY VOCAB BUILDING EXERCISES:
Mon– Word Transference
Tues– Word List
Wed– Word Division
Thurs– Word List
Fri– Vocab Quiz
After every 5 lessons there is a unit quiz
DUE DATES:
Tues: journal entry
Thursday: journal entry and vocab story **
Friday: 3-ring binder with all of the exercises for the week
**on weeks where there is a book report due or a unit quiz, vocab stories are not required but can be turned in for extra-credit
One BOOK REPORT PROJECT is due approximately every 4 weeks
Click this LINK to the Homework Calendar
SEVENTH GRADE CLASSIC LITERATURE:
In this block class students will be studying English grammar, literature, composition and creative writing/poetry. We will read the novel, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Brunett in the first block and The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain in the last block. Each day will start with grammar study, followed by a journal entry and discussion, next we will read together and individually students will answer the study guide questions. The last part of the day will be spent working on poetry, creative writing and cross-curricular art exploration. Students will write a theme paper during the course of the block, with guidance and feedback from the teacher. Lastly, students will be required to complete a final project to extend the learning. This project will be due one week after the block ends.
This year, the middle block will be reserved for the students to be in the Hillside play with the 6th graders. It will be an opportunity for them to develop their leadership skills as they work with Jean and Sigrid on the play. I will be assisting the students with learning their dialog and working to support their literary understanding of the underpinnings of the play.
Required Supplies:
- 3-ring notebook dedicated to English Block- it is recommended that students use the same notebook for both blocks.
- Planner
- paper and writing implements
- Lap top computer– for the theme paper and other writing assignments in this course.
- a working printer at home– Please have an extra ink cartridge and paper in stock. Students need to find alternative ways to get their work printed if the home printer fails, such as emailing the document to a friend or neighbor and asking them to print it or accessing a printer at the public library or retail printing shop.
- Bring the assigned novel to class daily
Click this LINK to the Homework Calendar.
EIGHTH GRADE CLASSIC LITERATURE:
In this block, students will be studying grammar, literature, composition, creative writing and poetry. We will start out our day with the study of grammar, then we will journal on various topics, next read from classic literature, answer study questions from the daily reading and lastly work on poetry and/or creative writing. Students will write a theme paper during the course of the block, with guidance and feedback from the teacher. Lastly, students will be required to complete a final project to extend the learning. This project will be due one week after the block ends.
Required Supplies:
- 3-ring notebook dedicated to English Block- it is recommended that students use the same notebook for both blocks.
- Planner
- paper and writing implements
- Lap top computer– for the theme paper and other writing assignments in this course.
- a working printer at home– Please have an extra ink cartridge and paper in stock. Students need to find alternative ways to get their work printed if the home printer fails, such as emailing the document to a friend or neighbor and asking them to print it or accessing a printer at the public library or retail printing shop.
- Bring the assigned novel to class daily
Click this LINK to the Homework Calendar.
Click this Block Schedule 2013
WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY:
This block class is a survey of Washington State History from pre-European Contact to the 21st century. Block I focuses on the time period between pre-European contact to about 1850 and Block II focuses on 1850 to the present day. Students will learn about the culture, art and history of the Northwest native peoples, they will get to explore several different traditional art forms and in Block I will write a research paper on a native northwest tribe. There will be opportunities for discovery and exploration through field trips and research. Geography of our state and region is explicitly taught. In Block II students will write a research paper on either an important historical figure in Northwest History or the development of a town/city in our fair state. A typical day will start out with geography study, next lecture, discussion, reading and/or research and exploration and often will end with working on an art or cultural project.
Required Supplies:
- 3-ring notebook dedicated to History Block- it is recommended that students use the same notebook for both blocks.
- Planner
- paper and writing implements
- Lap top computer– for the theme paper and other writing assignments in this course.
- a working printer at home– Please have an extra ink cartridge and paper in stock. Students need to find alternative ways to get their work printed if the home printer fails, such as emailing the document to a friend or neighbor and asking them to print it or accessing a printer at the public library or retail printing shop.
- Bring the assigned novel to class daily
Click this LINK to the Homework Calendar.
