A Raisin in the Sun

I enjoy teaching language arts at Gordon Parks, especially promoting high interest reading for the students. I earned an English education degree, with distinction, from the University of Minnesota. After I graduated from college, I was a substitute teacher in St. Paul and South St. Paul. I started working full time in St. Paul in 1997, and in 2004 I completed a Masters of Arts degree in education at Hamline University.

In my spare time, I like to travel, read, write and spend time with my family.

       I teach Introduction to English, Intermediate English, American Literature, and Perspectives.  The Introduction to English consists of reading and writing listed on the syllabus.  Intermediate English  consists of reading, writing, and newspaper assignments.  American Literature requires reading from American Literature assignments, and writing two essays.  The Perspectives class ( English 12) consists of reading, writing, and newspaper assignments.  All of the courses are aligned with the performance standards required by the district.

The units we will cover are Unsung Heroes, Social Justice, Discrimination, and Multicultural Literature,  and the latter unit covers fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essay writing, and drama.  The drama unit covers "A Raisin in the Sun."  Students will participate in role plays and reader's responses, and will maintain a Reader's and Writer's Notebook throughout the course.  In addition, there will be several essays.

We also cover the works of Langston Hughes in our class, including his work as a poet, novelist, playwright and short-story writer. Hughes died in 1965 and sharred many qualities with Gordon Parks. Included in this study is the Harlem Renaissance and its extraordinary contribution to world literature.