Director of Teaching & Learning Miles Azzeh's Academic Spotlight: 9th-Grade ELA Teachers
Our Lansing USD 469 teachers are incredible at engaging our students in fantastic learning opportunities to reach their full potential every day in our district. To highlight and bring recognition to this great work, Director of Teaching and Learning Miles Azzeh will be regularly shining a spotlight on a stand-out teacher through "academic spotlights."
April 12, 2022 Academic Spotlight by Mr. Miles Azzeh:
This week's Academic Spotlight goes to our 9th-grade ELA teachers at LHS: Kelli Jo Henderson, Millie Leonhard, and Liberty Usera! This may be surprising to hear, but not every 9th grader is ecstatic about reading Shakespeare. Shocking, I know! However, the 9th -grade English team worked together to create an engaging anticipatory set to lead into their Shakespeare unit:
"The English 9 classes at LHS have worked collaboratively to bring the Elizabethan Era to life as they begin their Shakespeare Unit. In groups, students researched, created a visual aid, and assembled a display representative of what one might see in a museum. Multiple topics were covered, such as The Tudors, Social Life, Weapons, Foods, and more within the Era, to help gain knowledge of what society was like before tackling "The Bard's" works. It was a fun endeavor to see the students become mini experts on a given topic and see what they could bring to life via their visual aids." - Kelli Jo Henderson.
The students brought their topics to life in an interactive and easy-to-understand way, making the process worthwhile and enjoyable. I was impressed with how informative the students were when showcasing their exhibits, particularly when I afforded them the opportunity to elaborate on their research.
Congrats to Kelli, Millie, Liberty, and their exceptional students for being this week's academic spotlight!