Planning and Writing
Curriculum Design
High School Student & Teacher Materials
Bell Work
Best practice in lesson design begins with a purposeful bellwork or warm-up activity that engages students from the moment they enter the classroom. These openers set the tone, activate prior knowledge, and create a focused start to the learning experience.
10th Grade
11th Grade
Lesson Slides
These lesson slides are designed with succinct presenter comments—perfect for personal use or for seasoned teachers who prefer minimal, impactful guidance. They efficiently spotlight key points to keep lessons engaging without overwhelming details.
This sample is the first lesson of the 2nd semester for 10th grade English. It introduces the concept of Lexile Levels and how students can actively work toward improving their reading skills.
Lesson Script
Lesson scripts provide structured guidance for teachers who are new to the classroom or unfamiliar with a topic. They build confidence by outlining key ideas, suggested phrasing, and pacing to support effective, accurate instruction.
This sample is for a teacher new to teaching the critical reading process with a short text, in this case, a poem.
The Text
The Script
Socratic Seminar Preparation
Socratic Seminars are structured discussions that promote critical thinking and dialogue around a shared text. For students and teachers who have never experienced one before, preparation is key—it helps establish expectations, model respectful conversation, and build confidence for meaningful participation.
These samples show students how to prepare by critically reading and taking strong notes as well as introduction to the rubric, as well as a guide for teachers who are new to the practice of facilitating a Socratic Seminar.
Student Prep
Teacher Prep
Scaffolding the Writing Process
Scaffolding the writing process—from outlining to revision—gives students the structure and support they need to develop strong, clear writing. Breaking the process into manageable steps helps build confidence, deepen understanding, and foster lasting writing skills.
These samples show parts of that process, including a non-traditional rubric that helps students pin-point the areas they need to strengthen in their writing. This website I designed is for student use as a reminder of the steps of the process we go through in class.
The Assignment & Rubric
The Website
Middle and Elementary School Materials
Lesson Plans and Student Workbook
Backward planning is an instructional design approach that starts with the end in mind—identifying desired learning outcomes and assessments first, then building lessons to support those goals. This method ensures that every activity and resource is purposeful, aligned, and focused on helping students achieve meaningful learning.
This unit was developed using backward planning methodologies, starting with clear learning outcomes and assessments to ensure alignment throughout. From there, I created detailed daily lesson plans for teachers and a companion student workbook to support instruction and reinforce key concepts.
Lesson Plans
Workbook
Learning the Basics and Advancing Skills
Accelerated learning in 1st and 2nd grade combines foundational skill-building with carefully guided exposure to more advanced concepts. By introducing challenging material alongside direct support, students deepen their understanding, build confidence, and stretch their abilities beyond what traditional pacing might allow.
These sample student workbook pages that I designed make it possible for students to follow along with advanced work, while also doing what they can at their level.
