Who We Are

This is a collaborative blog to which teachers from all secondary disciplines contribute.  Here you will find great lessons, excellent materials, and tips for teaching.

We are a group of secondary teachers who sell our products on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Teachers Pay Teachers is the world’s first and largest open marketplace for educators to buy, sell, and share their original resources.  TpT helps teachers to teach at their best and provides a community where teachers succeed.

---

Brandon Bowyer
I am a new social studies teacher in Virginia!  My student teaching placements were in a 7th grade civics classroom and a high school government/sociology classroom.  I graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Arts in History in May 2012 and received my MAT degree in December 2013.  I love teaching all areas of social studies and I’m excited to apply my pedagogical and content knowledge to the teaching profession!

The Daring English Teacher
I teach high school English and journalism in California. I am also the advisor for my school’s student run online and print newspaper. As a Common Core State Standards Curriculum Developer for my district, I am very familiar with integrating and implementing the CCSS into my own classroom. I also write The Daring English Teacher blog.

Clair Dickson
I spent nine years teaching adult/ alternative high school English and History to reluctant learners trying to finish their high school diploma.  Before that, I left high school a year early and earned my GED.  Instead of being a senior in high school, I became a freshman in college.  When I entered the classroom as a teacher, I wanted to ensure a more positive high school experience than I had, even with limited budget and resources.  I made heavy use of creative project based learning for free eTexts to make that happen.  Recently, I made the hard choice to leave the face-to-face classroom and took a position as a virtual high school teacher.  I have been married for over a decade and have a three year old son.

Different Drummer Secondary English Resources
I have taught English in a small, private high school in California for the past 7 years to students with learning disabilities and social-emotional issues. I create activities and units that are very engaging and dynamic, but designed to increase understanding for learners who need a different way of teaching. My units are content rich, yet visually interesting and many have different components to keep students excited about what they are doing. I hold California credentials in both English and History, a Master’s degree in Secondary Education, and a B.A. in History with a Minor in English. In my spare time, I try to wrangle my 2 (very energetic!!) children, coach my son’s baseball team, play softball, and spend time with my family.

Dawn Roberts (Algebra Simplified)
Find me teaching Algebra in the beautiful mountains of Maryland while loving my three children and husband.  In addition to a Masters in Information Science and Learning Technologies (Focus: Technology in Schools) and a B.S in Secondary Mathematics Education, I have nine years of experience teaching both middle and high school in 3 different states and 4 different schools. Algebra is definitely my cup of tea. I choose to believe math competency is possible for all students. My students are encouraged to let go of the “I can’t do math” excuse. I love teaching the middle ability group; it’s these students that can show substantial growth from teacher effort and expertise. Quality instruction married with judicial technology-use multiplies the teacher’s ability to reach all students.

Ellen Weber
For the past 28 years  I’ve studied the brain as it offers practical tools for  learning and leading, published brain-compatible curriculum at places such as Pearson Publishers, and  taught secondary and higher education Language Arts,  Writing, Leadership, Human Development, Educational Psychology, and so on. I’ve worked in many countries to foster successful brain based practices at upper levels and in Institutions. Currently I also teach graduate classes, and also facilitate leaders both in business and in  upper education levels – how to use new neuro discoveries to cultivate more workplace wellbeing. The profession has been more than good to me for a lifetime, and I have no desire to stop what I am doing anytime soon. My Brain Leaders and Learners’ blog is where I integrate leading and learning,  and my home site at Mita Brain Center shows my award winning  Mita Brain Based approach for higher motivation and achievement at secondary and higher education levels.

Ellie (Middle School Math Moments)
I have been teaching for 22 years, with 12 years at the elementary level. For the past 10 years I have been at the middle school, teaching science and then math, as well as Language Arts. I work to create activities that will keep students active and help them to understand why math processes work. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Ed, a Master’s in Technology in the Classroom, and certification to teach middle level math. I am married, with three children, and I blog at Middle School Math Moments (and more!).

Gina (Perfetto Writing Room)
I’m Gina, founder of Perfetto Writing Room. Since 1997 I’ve: substitute taught, founded a tutoring business, worked at public and private high schools, a community college, in the Peace Corps, and here in NJ. I’ve taught study skills, genre, American and British literature, SAT prep, TESOL, grammar, expository writing, and of course creative writing. I’m a certified K-8 and high school English teacher with a master’s degree in English and writing. Students from fifteen years ago still tell me I helped them love English – that tells me I’m doing something right. I am always improving! Only one example: I’ve learned from award-winning authors like Robert Olen Butler, Judith Ortiz Cofer and Chang Rae Lee to help students through my teaching and writing materials. I’m a published fiction writer and won a NJ features writing award. An “always teacher,” I live near the water with my husband Gene and cat Dude.

Jackie Cutcliffe (Room 213)
I have been teaching high school English in Prince Edward Island, Canada for the last twenty-two years. I love finding new ways to engage and challenge my students. My focus is on the learning process, and I work hard not to give my students “the” answer. Questioning plays a big role in my classroom, so I use an inquiry approach as much as possible. My latest challenge is in finding ways to incorporate physical activity into my classes, because I firmly believe that movement helps people learn, regardless of learning style.  I also blog on Real Learning in Room 213.  My husband and I are the proud parents of an 18 year old daughter and 16 and 13 year old sons.

Kimberly Patrick (OCBeachTeacher)
National Board Certified in English Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, I have been teaching for 16 years. Currently, I’m teaching American Literature and Advanced Placement Literature at a public high school near Ocean City, Maryland.  In the past I have taught creative writing, journalism, middle school English language arts, and English 101 at the local community college.  Additionally, as a teacher consultant with the Eastern Shore Writing Project, I lead professional development workshops for educators.  I try to make learning relevant and fun for my students; ultimately, I hope that they will become life-long readers!  When I’m not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband and my dog Buster, a Pit Bull Terrier, who we adopted from the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

Lauralee Moss
I taught high school English and speech for seven years and junior high and high school language arts at an alternative school for one year. I currently teach test prep classes (reading, grammar, writing) through a community college and writing classes at summer camp for junior high students. My goal in education is to bring grammar back to the classroom, for all grades. I also blog for Switching Classrooms and The Language Arts Classroom. I have been married for nine years, have three children, and one crazy beagle.

Michelle Brosseau (Mrs. Brosseau’s Binder)
I am a High School teacher from Ontario, Canada.  I have five years of experience teaching Science, Physics and Math for Grades 9-12.  I love making my classroom an inviting place to learn, take risks and have fun!  I am very passionate about using cooperative learning, review games, formative assessment, academic conversations and the components of focused instruction in my classroom.  I teach at a Catholic high school in my hometown. My students have the most colorful binders in the school and I am addicted to decorating my classroom with my Silhouette Cameo machine.  My husband of two years and I are expecting our first child in August 2014.

Sara Fuller aka Ms. Fuller’s Teaching Adventures
I am an English teacher from a suburb right outside of Cleveland, Ohio. I have been teaching for the past five years primarily in urban and or alternative schools. From seventh grade to community college, I’ve taught it all. I work hard to engage students by using a variety of teaching methods, thoughtfully integrating technology, and meeting students at their instructional level. I am also an avid reader of young adult literature and I have an adorable cat named Titus (after Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus of course).

Secondary Sara
Currently a middle school language arts teacher, I have also taught ACT test prep for 6 years and have prior experience in high school ELA. I love exploring technology to make collaboration, sharing, and feedback easier in secondary writing; I also use the flipped classroom method to make grammar, vocabulary, and the other more objective areas of ELA more engaging. My interactive projects put students in the driver’s seat as soon as possible so that they are always creating and applying skills. I live in O-HI-O with my husband and golden retriever.

Tara Spitzer-List (Science in the City)
Welcome! I am in my 8th year of full time teaching. I am currently teaching Earth Science and Biology, but in the past I have also taught AP Environmental Science, middle school, and a college Environmental Geology course. Prior to teaching I worked in the environmental consulting field. In my classroom, it is very important to me that students are active learners, that they are engaged, and that they find the content both relevant, and something with which they can be successful. Besides teaching, I have been married for 12 years, and am the proud parent of two boys, ages 4 and 7.

Terri Lester (Strawberry Shake)
I’m a high school biology teacher from Long Island, New York. I have taught biology for more than 20 years. Since 2006, I have been working in a collaborative setting with several talented and caring special education teachers who have inspired me, encouraged me, and motivated me to become a better teacher. I enjoy getting to know my students and sharing with them the secrets of being alive, and the wonder of existing in a world full of fascinating and curious living things. I have a terrific supportive husband, two teenage girls, and a managerie of mammals, including a rabbit, two guinea pigs, a mixed breed hound, and a beagle.