Hello, I am starting my 35th year of teaching here at Texas School for the Deaf.  I attended the University of Texas at Austin (Go Horns!) for both undergraduate and graduate school and  began my teaching career in the Special Needs Department teaching mixed-grade classes Life Skills and Academics from 1991 - 2003. I  then taught Science to all grade levels in the Special Needs Department (2003- 2018) and in 2019, we merged our students into grade-level schools, and I joined the Middle School team as a Science teacher.  I have presented at workshops and in school programs, served as lead teacher, supervised summer programs, served as a mentor, served in department and district committees, and assumed many other roles here at TSD .  In 2019, I received the Eugene W. Petersen Award for Excellence in Service at the ADARA-AMPHL Conference. Currently, I teach Middle School 7th Grade Science  and I am known as the teacher who has the most classroom pets. 

 

I believe that students should be involved in every aspect of their learning. That is why I  make sure they know that this is not MY class, it's OUR class. I encourage students to participate in generating procedures on classroom expectations with my guidance. I also encourage them to engage, introduce their own ideas, and be a complete part of the process of learning. If they have an idea that is related to our topic, I will do my best to make that happen even if it means replacing my activity. Setting up an environment where students have choices of where to sit, who to partner with, activity choices, and presentation choices helps the student become more invested in his/her own learning. 

If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I encourage the students to advocate for themselves as well.

 

With that said, I want to inform you about our grading policy.

 

- The teacher will inform students if classwork has to be finished by the end of class, can finish for homework, or finish during Friday advisory. If student does not turn in the work by the time stated, it will be counted as a 0. 

-Homework is due the next day unless otherwise explained. If student fails to turn in homework on the due date, 10% will be taken off for each additional late day.

Absences: If excused, the number of days to make up work equals the number of days absent. If unexcused, the grade will be a 0.

Gradebook: If you notice a "1" on the gradebook, this means that the student has missing work and still has a chance to turn it in. Once turned in, a grade will be entered. If the student fails to turn in work on due date, this grade will change to a 0.

- Extra credit will be offered to the whole class at teacher's discretion.

- Students will have the opportunity to fix mistakes on their assignments if they receive a 70 or lower, for half credit.

* Work over 1 week old cannot be accepted for credit unless prior arrangements have been made*

Please see attached Syllabus for more information

 

Last year we adopted a new science curriculum that is aligned with TEKS  called Green Ninja.  It is unit based, meaning that everything the students learn has a purpose and is connected. Each unit culminates into a project where the students have to  solve an environmental problem using what they have just learned.  This unit based approach was very successful in that students were able to make connections to real world experiences reenforcing why they are learning these concepts. The 7th grade units are as follows:

 

Concepts: The students expand on concepts of energy to estimate the environmental impact of different foods. Study chemical reactions. Analyze data showing the amount of energy needed in food production. Design investigations to study the rate of dissolving to form a solution.

Culminating experience: Students create nutritionally-balanced, low-carbon-footprint recipe and explain what they did to reduce the carbon footprint.

 

Concepts: Model the behavior of water. Apply heat transfer concepts to forecast atmospheric changes. Analyze data related to thermal expansion, water access, and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Use technologies to mitigate impacts of natural hazards.

Culminating experience: Students design a neighborhood and experiment with ways to prevent flooding. They will also participate in a culminating cooperative activity where they answer questions to "beat the surge" using what they learned to work together.

 

Concepts: Use models to describe why mutations can result in changes to an organism and how humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms. Research body systems.

Culminating experience: Students create a documentary to help protect an endangered species.

 

Concepts: Analyze data to establish a geologic time scale. Create and use models to explore the Laws of Motion and Gravity. Analyze evidence to show how continental drift is occurring. Construct and communicate arguments as to the existence of a new anthropocene epoch.

Culminating experience: Students create a story about Earth's history and why we should protect its future.