I earned a B.S. in Secondary English Education from Pennsylvania State University and an M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. I have been teaching at Upper St. Clair since 2005. Previously I taught 12 years in Ellwood City. I am an active member of the National Writing Project and a poet in the Madwomen in the Attic workshop at Carlow University.
I currently teach Academic American English 11 and MYP Academic English 9.
Academic English 11: The junior year emphasizes two areas: the survey of American literature and the process of composition. The reading selections are representative examples of seven intellectual movements. Grammar exercises, vocabulary lessons, and timed writings are designed for SAT and state exam preparation. Students continue to refine the writing and research skills necessary for a unified, coherent, multi-paragraph paper built around an original thesis. These skills are the groundwork for the research papers that also require students to utilize traditional and web-based resources. Students are required to give a persuasive speech in front of their peers.
MYP Academic English 9: MYP instruction will emphasize IB principles, such as the Areas of Interaction, global connections, and development of skills for life-long learning.
Primary areas of study in Academic English 9 are literature, composition, oral communication, and language skills. Literature study includes the five major genres: short story, novel, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. The focus is on acquisition of reading comprehension skills and the ability to identify and analyze the characteristics of each genre. Using the process approach to writing, students write compositions in the informational, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and creative modes. To develop their oral communication skills, students make both formal and informal presentations, including one formal speech. Language skills include regular vocabulary study and a review of basic grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
