Kathy Ellison at Info & Lit!
What grade level(s) and/or subject(s) are you currently teaching? What grade levels have you taught prior to this year?
Grades 5-6 but have taught ALL grades nursery through 12
If currently in the classroom, how long have you been teaching? If not still in classroom, how long did you teach?
Twenty Years!
When did you join Teachers Pay Teachers as a Seller? What made you decide to become a seller?
I'm a school librarian and technology teacher at a 5th and 6th grade intermediate school. I partner with the classroom teacher and have to present things to them that work for their teaching style. Some of my teachers are very project oriented and are focused on helping their kids create a finished product that they can be proud of. Along the way, their kids are learning great life skills like how to follow an idea to completion. Other teachers are more focused on the process. They like to watch their students collaborate, have fun, and work an idea through until they stop feeling engaged in the learning process. Both points of view are valid.
I love creating ideas that work for my colleagues! I really enjoy making the resources that we use look fresh and appealing and have certainly been tested out in lots of different classrooms.
And, realistically, librarians are on the chopping block in a lot of schools. I was on the chopping block last year. I may be again this year. But this the time when librarians are so important in helping kids learn the skills that they need to filter information. I'd like to think that what I'm sharing is helping kids in other schools learn these valuable life skills.
One piece of advice you can give to a beginning teacher & one piece for a veteran teacher:
Believe in yourself. Teaching is a really hard job where many people will criticize the work that you do, even when you're doing a great job!
Make yourself a "COMPLIMENTS" folder in your e-mail account or another file and throw the compliments and thank you notes in there so that they will be a place that you can turn to when you're having a bad day.
Something unique about you both as a teacher and outside of the classroom:
Every year I get to run a school-wide SALMON RAISING and RELEASE program. From January to March I'm responsible for 1,000 little baby salmon that incubate in a tank right outside our library. Then all of the students go down to the stream right behind our school and release their salmon fry.
I love living in the Pacific Northwest!!!
What other bio information would you like to share?
Four-year-old son named Andrew!
Ball State University grad!
Thank you for Kathy for participating!
Regards,
