Teacher Feature - Kelsey Johnson

This week's featured teacher is Kelsey Johnson. Currently, Kelsey is teaching sophomore English at West Fargo High School and coaching speech at West Fargo Sheyenne. Before becoming a Packer/Mustang, she taught, coached, and directed at LaMoure High School for four years. She holds her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Washington State and her B.S. in English Education from NDSU. Additionally, she is currently serving as the Northeast Rep for the ND Council of Teachers of English and on the ND Roughrider District Committee for the National Speech and Debate Association. Kelsey became a Red River Valley Writing Project fellow in 2012.
 
Why do you read?
A lot of my reading is done for speech and/or theatre work, honestly. I rarely will read a fiction novel unless a cover or title really pops out at me (yep, I judge a book by its cover). I love reading titles out of the Barnes and Noble business and self-help aisles, especially those related to leadership and habit formation. Simon Sinek's Start With Why was a

Teacher Feature - Kristine Gruenberg

This week's featured teacher is East Grand Forks's Kristine Gruenberg, who has been involved with the Red River Valley Writing Project since 2006. 

Where and what do you currently teach?  

I am at East Grand Forks Senior High where I teach primarily English 9, but also college in the high school Introduction to Literature and Composition I to seniors. I really enjoy working with freshman. These

Teacher Feature - Angela Hase

This week’s featured teacher is Angela Hase. She currently teaches AP Language and Composition at Moorhead High School in Moorhead, Minnesota. She completed the RRVWP’s Summer Institute in 2012, and last month she co-facilitated the Writing Project’s Winter Writing Retreat at Maplelag Resort.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading several books. I'm always reading several because each type takes such a varied amount of time to complete. I am about halfway through The Courage To Teach by

Teacher Feature - Dan Dooher

"Mostly though, I read because reading is awesome," is an important takeaway quotation and a brief introduction to Moorhead English Language Arts teacher Dan Dooher, this week's Featured Teacher on the blog.

 What are you currently reading?

As I often start conversations with this question, I better start this interview by answering it myself. I just read the first book in Faith Erin Hicks' new series The Nameless City. This beautiful graphic novel comes out in April and is bound to be popular with students, especially those students who have enjoyed BONE, Amulet, or Avatar series. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention a book called Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt, which has quickly become one of the most popular books in my classroom this year.

How do you encourage your students to read?

Three Ts can sum my answer up: Text, Time, and Talk. I believe when we provide students access to a rich and current collection of texts they can choose from, time to read those texts and talk about them with their classmates and caring adults, good things happen.

My classroom library of approximately 3,000 books is the heart and soul of our learning environment. 

Teacher Feature - Kurt Reynolds

This week, learn a little more about our featured teacher, Kurt Reynolds.

Tell us a little about yourself: 

 I currently teach Lit and Language 9R (a remedial reading class), College Composition I and II (both college in the high school classes where students are dual enrolled and earn college credit through NCTC) at Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, MN.  I also teach summer classes at our Area Learning Center and an introduction to education class, Teaching and Learning 250, in the fall semester at UND.

My most recent accomplishments were that I presented a roundtable session at NCTE 2015 in Minneapolis called "The Book Report is Not Dead: The Sticky-Note Book Report in a 1:1 MacBook Air Classroom.  Or An Alternative to the Traditional (Boring) Book Report."

I also presented at TIES (a technology conference in Minneapolis) last December on "The Five Digital Tools I Can't Teach Without" and "Digital Culture in

Teacher Feature - Alissa Helm

Hello readers! Let me introduce you to this week's featured teacher, Alissa Helm. 

 First, tell us a little about you: I currently teach 7^th grade language arts on a STEM/AVID team at Cheney Middle School in West Fargo, ND. This is my 10^th year teaching, eighth at the 7^th grade level, but all at the middle level. I love being involved in an interdisciplinary team developing projects and meaningful learning experiences. I enjoy integrating the content areas and helping kids make connections between writing and reading and all other content. This summer, I will be teaching at our first ever Cheney STEM Academy summer school, trying out new ideas I can use during the school year. I will also be attending an AVID conference in Minneapolis focused on critical reading strategies. I became involved in the Red River Valley Writing Project in 2010, and I have continued to be involved ever since. The connections I have made with colleagues at different levels have been especially meaningful. In fact, I have developed a
strong friendship and working relationship with Kelly Sassi, NDSU professor, after meeting at the RRVWP. She has opened up so many opportunities for me, including

Teacher Feature - Jenna Trosvik

First, can you tell us a little about yourself and your involvement with the RRVWP?

I currently teach 4th grade at Robert Asp Elementary in Moorhead. I recently spoke at the National Writing Project in honor of the Red River Valley Writing Project and a grant I was able to be a part of at my last school. It was great to be able to speak at a National Conference, and it gave me such great access to the NWP and NCTE. I became involved in the RRVWP in the summer of 2013. All the experiences and education that the RRVWP has given me have made me a stronger teacher overall. It's one of the best organizations to be a part of.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading a variety of books. I am in a children's literature graduate class, and I am doing a 40-book challenge. I just finished The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate---amazing. I am also reading The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander to my class, and they are loving it. For my graduate class I am also reading Storytime: Young Children's Literacy Understanding in the Classroom by Lawrence Sipe and Picture This: How Pictures Work by McClure, Garthwait, and Kristo. I am looking forward to my 40-book

Tuesday Teacher Feature - Kevin Brooks

Kevin Brooks at the Fargo Theatre for the Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration, January 18th, 2016

Kevin Brooks has been a professor at NDSU since 1997 and works with several local organizations working towards a goal of eliminating discrimination. These organizations include African Soul, American Heart, of which Kevin is the Vice President and Secretary, Giving + Learning, for which he is the Executive Director, and the

Tuesday Teacher Feature - Marci Glessner

Marci Glessner, who is currently teaching graduate and undergraduate students at MSUM, completed RRVWP's Summer Institute in Grand Forks in 2001 and formerly worked as our Outreach Coordinator.

What are you currently reading?

A professional book I'm in the midst of is "The Reading Strategies Book" by Jennifer Serravallo.  I'm planning on

Tuesday Teacher Feature : Andrea Fox

This week's Featured Teacher is West Fargo's Andrea Fox. Read her responses to our questions regarding reading, teaching, and connecting with others below!

Why do you read?

I read for pleasure and also to learn. When I’m lucky those two purposes intersect! Most often I read fiction just for fun, and non-fiction as part of work or education.

I am currently reading Edge of Eternity, part of Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy. I enjoy historical and realistic fiction for enjoyment. Good authors can weave stories that put you into peoples’ lives so that you forget about your own. I think when a writer can create a character that makes readers care about what happens to a person, that is successful writing. When you don’t want to put a book down and when
you’re sad for a book to end, the fiction has been a great story. I believe there is some element of truth in any story, fiction or fantasy, which enables human connection. That is what reading (and writing) is all about, connecting with other people.

I am reading Becoming a Learning School by Joellen Killion and Patricia Roy and A School Leader’s Guide to Standards-Based Grading by Heflebower, Hoegh, and Warrick. Both books have been

Tuesday Teacher Feature: Kim Donehower

This week's Featured Teacher, Kim Donehower, is an Associate Professor of English at UND and former director of RRVWP. She completed Summer Institute in 1999. Kim shared the following responses to my interview questions about her experiences with teaching, reading, and writing:

What are you currently reading?

The Rise of Writing, by Deborah Brandt. It’s a fascinating look at the fact that writing is starting to eclipse reading as a preferred activity for many people, especially young people. The book raises all kinds of interesting questions for teachers: What do we do with students who like to write but may not like to read? Can someone become a good writer without extensive reading? Are some of our students doing all kinds of writing outside of the classroom that we don’t know about, and if so, how could we recruit their skills and interests into the classroom? Or should we?

Why do you read?

I do two kinds of reading: reading something to teach it or write about it, and reading just to read. The second kind is incredibly important to my sanity! I think we all need activities that we do just because we want to do them, and not towards any larger goal. I love the rare chance to lose myself for a couple of hours in reading something that’s really engaging, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction.

What do you write outside the classroom?

My outside-the-classroom writing is mostly academic: essays and conference papers. But recently, I’ve started to experiment with infusing personal writing and some journalistic style into my academic pieces. It has been such a relief to start to put more personality into the “official” writing that I do. And I think most people would much rather read or listen to those kinds of pieces, too.

Do any of your writing philosophies/interests translate to your teaching?

I have started to encourage my students to experiment with blending different genres, getting some research into their personal pieces and some personality and creativity into their academic writing. While every school genre has certain expectations attached to it, I think there is some wiggle room—once the requirements of a piece of writing have been met—to experiment with style, arrangement, and rhetorical strategies.

Who encouraged you to be a teacher?

I don’t remember anyone encouraging me to be a teacher. The assumption in my school seemed to be that the “smart kids” would become doctors or lawyers, as though those were the only options. But I certainly had English teachers I loved—particularly Mrs. Lucy Ross, grammar and style maven, who was both the toughest teacher I ever had and still the one most beloved by my schoolmates, thirty-five years later. She cultivated my delight in playing with language, from vocabulary to syntax to rhythm and rhyme.  And she herself was so creative in her teaching—she composed songs to help us remember grammar rules, and invented all kinds of classroom games—that she was always modeling for me what a creative profession teaching can be.

Tuesday's Teacher Feature: Kaylie Young

This week's featured teacher is Kaylie Young, an English teacher at Central Cass in Casselton. Kaylie is currently teaching three sections of freshman English, two sections of junior English, and one section of general English. Outside of teaching, Kaylie is also the Dry Ink advisor and head speech coach at Central Cass.

Kaylie answered the following questions about her experiences as a teacher and a reader:

Why do you read? 

I think reading is such an important part of anyone’s life. Reading transports you to another world and allows your imagination to take hold, but also gives you knowledge of far away places that you may never visit. I read to keep up on my student’s reading interests, and I try to encourage them to read books that I have found to be worthwhile and amazing. I have noticed in my classroom that there are many kids that struggle finding a book to read, and when I can encourage them with a choice of my own, it establishes a relationship with that student. I read to escape my reality; I need downtime at the end of a busy day and being able to read allows me that refuge. I love to read non-fiction to gain new knowledge of people and places. Reading grows my vocabulary and my writing skills, so it’s so important to my daily life.

What are you currently reading?

I recently finished Escape from Camp 14 by Shin Dong-hyuk. This was an absolutely amazing read that I have now been using in my classroom as a literature circle book. I didn’t know nearly as much as I know now about North Korea and the harsh treatment of their own citizens. It was shocking and horrifying to read this man’s account, but also necessary to gain an understanding of the country and the inhumanity that happens in our world. My male students have found it interesting because of the grotesque details Dong-hyuk uses to tell his story. It was truly fascinating.

How do you encourage your students to read?

I encourage my students to read by talking about books, sharing books I am reading, and literature circles. Kids are pretty good about sharing a book they have read with fellow classmates and then encouraging them to read it. I also bring all my books from home to the school after I have read the book and place them on a bookshelf for the kids to borrow; that is where many will begin good reading discussions with me about books. They like to know what their teacher has read; they also like to know that their teacher does read.

Who encouraged you to be a teacher?

There seemed to be many that encouraged me to be a teacher. I remember when I was young and we would play “school” in our tree house and I was always the teacher. I have wanted to be a teacher forever, and I mean forever. My parents were huge supporters of my professional choice as well as the teachers that I kept in contact with as I went through college. I believe the Lord guided me in this direction of education, and it was meant to be. I enjoy this profession immensely, even with all the ups and downs. :)

Tuesday's Teacher Feature: Erika Dyk

This week's Featured Teacher is Erika Dyk, who is currently working with RRVWP to improve this very blog! Erika is responsible for many of the terrific changes the blog has seen in the past couple of months. Erika is currently a Master's student in the English Department at NDSU. Before coming to NDSU, Erika taught English in Hazen, ND. She completed Summer Institute in 2010. She is also one of the founders of My North Dakota Story (www.myndstory.com). We encourage you and your students to contribute your ND story!

The picture above was taken at RRVWP's Pens and Pints Writing Crawl this summer! 

For this week's Teacher Feature, Erika responded to the following interview questions:

What are you currently reading?

I have recently found myself in the midst of several books:

·         The Wandering Mind: What Your Brain Does When You're Not Looking by Michael C. Corballis

·         Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

·         The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

·         This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Earl, Lori Earl, and Wayne Earl

Why do you read?

I read because first and foremost I love getting a glimpse into how other people view the world and how different brains connect ideas. Reading helps me understand the world around me. I also love to read to see how people arrange words, sometimes playfully, sometimes poetically, sometimes seriously.

What do you like to write outside the classroom? Why do you write?

I write to connect ideas together, but in the connection of ideas, people are connected as well. I really like to write creative non-fiction and also young adult/middle grade fiction. 

Do any of your writing philosophies/interests translate to your teaching? 

Whenever I teach writing, sharing my writing and perhaps more importantly sharing the writing process is vital. I learned from taking the Northern Plains Writing Summer Institute (I am a transplant to the RRVWP) the vital importance of having a community of writers in order to support writing instruction. I also discovered Penny Kittle that summer! Fostering community in the classroom fosters better writing, both for the teacher and for the students. 

Who encouraged you to be a teacher?

I've always loved learning and was blessed to have excellent teachers. Also, my mom was a teacher and had a big heart for education. Thus, I always thought about being a teacher in the back of my mind, but I originally wanted to be a math teacher. Choosing an area to specialize in was difficult, which is why I think I chose English: you can read and write about any subject!

Call for comments: Share your own inspirations and reading interests! Do you connect with anything that Erika shared? Remember, comment on any blog post in October and be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Winger by Andrew Smith!!

Tuesday's Teacher Feature: Pam Fisher

This week’s Featured Teacher is Pam Fisher, a current Co-Director and former In-Service/Outreach and Continuity Coordinator for the RRVWP. In the past, Pam has also co-facilitated the Summer Institute. She first attended a Summer Institute in 2003 and was a returning fellow in the 2004 and 2006 Summer Institutes and the 2011 Fall Institute. Not only does Pam currently co-direct RRVWP, but she also facilitates the book club meetings. She teaches both Spanish and English in Grand Forks and strives to promote her love for writing and reading within both of her subjects.

On top of her numerous responsibilities, Pam writes her own poetry and short narratives outside of the classroom. She believes that poetry can be an accessible genre to anyone, which she tries to impart upon both her English and Spanish students. She even assigns her students to read and write poetry so that they can become more comfortable and familiar with the genre.

In addition to writing, Pam reads a variety of genres as well; she says that she reads to learn, understand experiences outside of her own, and enjoy authors’ craft. This is clear from her own reading list, as it is a mix of several fiction and non-fiction genres: Mindset by Carol Dweck, Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, Foreign Language Teacher's Guide to Active Learning by Deborah Blaz, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Aside from her own reading, Pam provides opportunities for her students to experience reading for craft and knowledge through many genres. To encourage reading outside the classroom, she offers her students with Scholastic book order forms to peruse and even lists her own recommendations for books.

Pam is clearly inspiring, through her ability to juggle numerous responsibilities both in the classroom and through RRVWP. However, she stresses that there are so many teachers and students who inspire her to improve her own teaching. In her own words, Pam explains, “I am always energized by the dedicated teachers I meet, but most of all I am inspired by my students, whose commitment and enthusiasm drive me to provide them the best learning situations I can.”

Call for Comments: Who/what inspires you as a teacher?
Remember: You can comment on any October blogpost through October 31st to be entered in the drawing to win a signed copy of Winger by Andrew Smith!

Teacher Feature: Olivia Edwardson

Olivia Edwardson is an eighth grade language arts teacher at Cheney Middle school who truly considers herself to be a writer outside of the classroom. She pursues a variety of writing genres, including journaling, blogging, nonfiction writing, and journalism. She is currently working on a few nonfiction book projects and hopes to someday publish them. Moreover, she even contributes pieces to GenTwenty, an online publication that describes itself as “The Twenty-Something’s Guide to Life.” Olivia particularly enjoys writing lifestyle and career pieces for GenTwenty. She clearly has experience writing in a variety of genres.

Olivia’s passion for writing flows into her teaching, as she uses her own writing as mentor texts in the classroom. She not only shows her students her work but also demonstrates how she revised these pieces over time so the students can understand revision processes. Through this modeling, she instills in them an understanding that writing can never be perfect the first time and that revision is essential to become a stronger writer. Olivia also believes that writers must write daily to become better writers, which is why she provides opportunities for her students to journal every day on various topics.

Much of what fuels Olivia’s strengths in writing and teaching is what she spends her time reading outside of school. She says that she reads primarily to stay informed and foster imaginative ideas. Her desire to learn about the world is what inspired her to read about a variety of topics and begin her nonfiction writing. Above all, she considers reading “an opportunity... to broaden [her] horizons and grow as an individual.”

Olivia’s desire for individual growth is apparent from the book she is currently reading, Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith. The book provides an in-depth discussion about the American education system as well as strategies for better preparing students for the future. Olivia began reading this book after seeing the documentary based on the book at the Fargo Theater a couple weeks ago. After learning about these revolutionary teaching strategies through the film, she decided that she needed to learn more to better her own knowledge and teaching. Thus, Olivia’s reading significantly fuels her aims to learn about the world and strengthen her writing instruction.

Tuesday Teacher Feature

This week's featured teacher is Kim Rensch, a language arts facilitator and gifted services specialist for Discovery and Ben Franklin Middle Schools. 

Kim has always been guided by her “deep desire to ensure a solid education for all students.” Although Kim feels that she has had this desire for as long as she can remember, there have been many people who have inspired and continue to inspire her to further develop as a teacher. Some of these mentors have been her former UND professors, her cooperating teacher while she was student teaching in Grand Forks, her fellow facilitators, and those involved in the writing project, including Erika and Angie, her “My North Dakota Story” partners. Although Kim’s strong desire to foster an educated community has been the primary force behind her perseverance and achievements as an educator, she credits these individuals for helping her stick through the stressful moments of teaching and inspiring her to find new ways to become a more effective teacher.

One of the many ways in which Kim has sought to strengthen her students’ education is through her writing instruction. She believes that it is important to not only learn practical writing skills but to also spend time exploring a variety of genres in order to find joy in writing. As a teacher, she always made an effort to introduce students to as many genres as possible, although she felt that there was never enough time to do this as much as she had hoped. Kim’s desire to provide her students with access to numerous writing genres echoes her lifelong desire to provide students with a solid education.

In addition to writing, it is important to Kim to inspire students to find joy in reading, which has been a vital foundation in her life ever since she discovered the joy in long childhood summer days spent reading at the library. To Kim, reading “is woven into the fabric of [her] being.” Because of this belief, she has always strove to inspire her students to discover their own reading interests. As a teacher, she always kept up with popular titles so she always had a range of reading recommendations for students. In her current position, she continues to encourage students to read by recommending titles to teachers and making conversation with students about books they are reading. Outside of school, even through her busy schedule, Kim manages to read on her own, at times even several books at once! She is currently reading Linda Rief’s Read Write Think and the Fargo community read, Fractured Land: The Price of Inheriting Oil, by Lisa Westberg Peters, both of which she recommends. Kim is clearly an avid reader, and her desire to impart this passion onto students is inspiring.