Hi! My name is Carolyn from Middle School Café. I currently teach middle school ELA in the second largest district in the state of Oregon. I have over 25 years of ELA experience in grades 6-12. My current teaching assignment is 8th grade ELA – my favorite grade to teach! I firmly believe that if I can get the right book in a student’s hand, I can make them a life long reader! It is all about student choice. I am an advocate for Reader’s Workshop in all ELA classes and can help you implement strategies even in districts with required reading lists. When I’m not teaching you can find me curled up with a good book or in the kitchen baking!
Hi! I’m Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12. I’m a high school English teacher in Toronto, Canada with 15 years teaching experience. I use pop culture, technology, and rigorous reading and writing strategies to ensure students think creatively and critically about all kinds of texts and the world beyond them too. At the heart of it all though is a desire for students to be curious and to follow that curiosity even if it’s down a rabbit hole of wikipedia clicks! Outside the classroom I spend time with my young daughter, catch-up on the latest must-watch, and mass consume audiobooks and London fog lattes.
Hi there! My name is Samantha Heil and I have over a decade of experience teaching ELA and Social Studies in a variety of settings. Curriculum design and literacy are my passions and I love to infuse the two as I create engaging, time-saving resources for teachers. I believe joy is a necessary component for sustaining a long-term career in education, so I love to encourage teachers to find theirs. When I’m not running Samantha in Secondary, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, a great cup of coffee, and yoga. You can find me blogging over at www.samanthainsecondary.com. Thanks for following along!
Hey! I am Samantha Krzyzanowski and it’s wonderful to have you joining us here. I have taught 9th grade English for the past six years through the AP Capstone curriculum, AICE General Paper, AICE Global Perspectives, ESL, mainstream, and honors classes. I have taught in South Florida, Costa Rica, and now Massachusetts — even though I started with my NYS certification. I have also worked in both public and private schools, but always with 9th grade. Every few years, I have been able to mix in some upper classmen in too! I love using English class to teach students to communicate in the world by incorporating current events and what I call “real-world” writing. When I am not teaching, you can find me reading daily, but also hiking, biking, and swimming.
Hi, I’m Katie from Mochas and Markbooks. I am a high school English teacher, resource designer and digital creator in Northern Ontario, Canada. I have taught at an Indigenous private school for 14 years, working as a classroom teacher and Literacy Lead. I love finding innovative ways to help students access ELA curriculum, especially through a lens of media and pop culture. When I’m not busy in the classroom, I enjoy spending time with my kids, and of course relaxing with friends over mochas!
Hey there! My name is Jen Marchione and I am a 5th grade ELA and History Teacher. This will be my 9th year in the classroom. You might also know me as Books Babbles and Bows. I am extremely passionate about finding ways to engage and excite my students. I have always loved reading and writing. One of my big goals is to instill that same passion with my students. When I am not teaching I am a mama to three wonderful little girls. My oldest is four and I have twins that are almost two years old. In my free time you can find me hanging out with friends and family , shopping, reading books, going for walks, and having dance parties in my kitchen while singing out of tune.
Hi friends! I’m Melissa Castillo, and I have over 29 years experience teaching ELA to middle school students. I create print and digital resources for middle school teachers who are short on time and big on class! I also mentor new and beginning teachers as an academic and life coach. I guess you can say I love working with people to help them achieve their best. My passion is traveling and experiencing new cultures. I lived in the Middle East for several years and have visited sixteen different countries. I enjoy spending time with my family, being outdoors, exploring new restaurants, and hanging out with good friends. You can find me sharing teaching tips and ideas on Facebook, Instagram, and my blog – Straight Outta Class.
Hi! My name is Marissa Despins, and I am the face behind Creative Classroom Core. I have over 20 years experience teaching grades 2-9. In 2021 I made the difficult decision to leave the classroom, but continue to serve the teaching community through the creation of resources to engage learners, enrich classroom content, and save teachers valuable planning time.
“Hi, friends! I’m Natayle. I am passionate about helping upper elementary and middle school ELA teachers with struggling and accelerated readers. I believe content-rich literature is the key to unlocking comprehension and that rigor and engagement can coexist in the ELA classroom. I’m a nature-loving bookworm, coffee connoisseur, and enneagram one. I am so excited to share simple yet engaging ideas that help others feel confident & excited!”
Hello, I’m Heather Marshall. I started my educator journey as a librarian before spending over two decades teaching in the classroom. My favorite teaching years were in middle school English and History. I love creating technology-infused lessons and am proud to have had my work featured in a few best-selling books on education technology for teachers.
As the creator behind The Book Somm, I’m deeply passionate about enriching the reading of novels through the power of text pairings. I curate media like Short Stories, Films, Articles, Poetry, and Music to enhance literary experiences. I create novel studies that include a variety of paired texts, introducing students to a wide range of genres and contributing to their mastery of fiction and nonfiction reading standards.