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In the geometry class, when I was teaching triangle similarity theorem, I did a hands-on activity with the students to provide them better understanding. In that activity, students needed to use a mirror and measuring tape to determine the length of the tall object( the ceiling of the wall) using a triangle similarity theorem. At the beginning I showed students how to measure the length of the wall from bottom to top without using measuring tape as a visual example. Then they all did that activity in the group. That activity really engaged all of the students and they had a real world example that helped them to learn the concept of similarity theorem a lot better.

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Danica Kazakoff

As I was teaching a student the fundamentals to trap and pass a soccer ball I started by correcting his form and then he asked some questions so I explained in more detail. I gave him a real game example of the perfect time to use this skill of trapping and passing and when we got into games I actually saw him use the trap and pass fundamentals I taught him and after he did it correctly he looked over at me quickly and got excited about how it worked so well! It was a nice to see him care about learning the correct form and seeing it pay off but it was most rewarding to see how excited he got after connecting the pass so well.

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Don't we always teach for meaning or at least isn't that what we strive for? I have been teaching 8th grade Science for the last 2 years, it is mostly physics, my 2nd favorite subject. Last year we had a unit about the Earth, Sun and moon system. How all 3 celestial bodies interact with each other, why does the moon have different phases? That was my favorite unit, I was learning at the same time I was teaching. The kids were engaged. The kids learned that half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun (except for a lunar eclipse) but we see different "phases" due to the moon's location in its orbit (and one's location on earth). Without being asked my students would share what they had observed about the moon the last few days and how it related to what they had learned. I loved it.

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Over the summer, I helped in an elementary school and had the chance to teach a lesson on fractions. I taught a lesson on fractions by connecting them to something fun—pizza! I started by folding a paper circle in half and explained that one side represented 1/2. Then, I folded it again to create 1/4, and continued folding to show 1/8, 1/16, and so on. After that, I let the students decorate their "pizza" however they liked, using the different fractional pieces as a visual representation. It was a hands-on way to help them understand how fractions work, while having fun and being creative at the same time!

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In Advanced Drama, students learned about the history of The Laban Movement Analysis method. As teenagers grow, they become increasingly self-conscious of their bodies, and learning to appreciate what they can do with them is inspiring to watch. This exercise promotes confidence and creativity. We watched a slide show presentation and then got on our feet to do a movement-inspired improvisation incorporating what the students had learned. After the exercise we sat in a circle to have a feedback session. The students were incredibly insightful and thoughtful about their responses. One student spoke up and said that she actually found out something new about herself, how to calm her anxiety with releasing tension that she learned doing the improvisation. Students are going to work this new method into their scene and character work. I am really looking forward to seeing what they create.

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Matthew: For my class we did work with persuasive questions and noting thoughts of agreement and disagreement on the board and allowed students to share with popcorning thoughts. This had a few students come up to me and say how much they liked the activity not just for being fun but for being a way to put thoughts on the board for how they can agree and disagree with the prompt preparing for writing coming up.

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My students have been working on math problems such as 16 x 7. My students have been applying various strategies to solve this problem, such as a helper fact, a base ten diagram, or an array. It has been great to see them decomposing the larger number, in this case, the 16, into pieces such as 10 and 6. Then solve 10 x 7 = 70 and 6 x 7 = 42 and add these partial products to find the final answer 112. This has been an introduction to the distributive property. Each student uses their own strategy to solve. It is great to see them applying one or more of the methods we taught in class to solve these more challenging math problems.

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In middle school science, the end of trimester project is a biorama project, where students researched a biome, identified at least one symbiotic relationship, and built a 3D model (biorama) to showcase how species interact within their environment. This project pushed students beyond memorization, requiring them to synthesize information, apply ecological concepts, and creatively represent interactions between species.

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The Algebra 1 unit of functions is a vocabulary-heavy unit. Instead of simply having students write down the vocabulary words they needed to learn in their notes pages, I had them do multiple activities to help them develop their academic language. First, I had students work in pairs to come up with a definition of one of the words on our word walls. Then, they had to write the definition next to the vocabulary word on the wall. Afterward, they participated in a word tally activity where they had to take turns describing a function using as many words on the word wall in under a minute. In this activity, students needed to identify the different aspects of a function and then put all of the definitions together in order to describe what was going on in the graph they were looking at.

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I have been teaching students how to find the area of rectangles, giving them numerous strategies to break them apart and put them back together. I then gave the students complex shapes made out of combinations of rectangles to find the area of. There were many ways to solve the problems, and the students were tasked with choosing what strategies they would use and how they would implement them. It was fun to see students implement solutions I wouldn't even have thought of. They were really processing, putting everything together, and making it their own.

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Last week, the students staged a walkout protesting immigration policies, and one student in my ethnic studies class later shared that our lessons on identity influenced their decision to participate. They realized how their own background connected to historical movements for justice, applying their learning to real-world activism. This experience reinforced the importance of teaching for meaning—giving students the tools to analyze, evaluate, and take informed action.