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Resource Room Humanities
6th and 7th Grade
Ms. Diers

kadiers@seattleschools.org
Phone # 252-8977
Availability: 9:40 to 10:30, as well as after school

Teacher Bio:

This is my fourth year teaching at Denny. As I grew up in the Rainier Valley of Seattle and attended the Seattle Public Schools as a student, I am thrilled to be teaching at a school rich with diversity and committed to eliminating the disproportionality gap. Outside of school I’m an avid runner, swimmer, and snowboarder. I also enjoy reading, especially books that take me to new parts of the world.

Standards Taught in Class:

Course Description:

This course engages students in reading, writing, and social studies through the use of Scholastic’s READ-180 Program and Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop. Reading and writing units are taught around global themes, such as Immigration, Natural Disasters, and Child Labor, to name a few. The learning experiences planned will enable students to view concepts, issues, events, and themes from the perspective of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. For 6 th graders, world geography and history will be taught alongside the themes, and for 7 th graders, North American Geography and history will be a focus.

The day starts with a read-aloud where I model fluent reading and demonstrate reading strategies. Whole-group instruction follows, with twenty minutes of themed reading instruction where students interact through writing, partner and whole-class discussion, and vocabulary activities. Students have the opportunity for 20 minutes of independent reading next, where they try the strategies modeled earlier in class. I spend this time conferencing with students and sometimes pulling together small groups to work on specific skills.

During the second hour, three days a week, we spend the time engaged in writer’s workshop, where students have the opportunity to write stories from their own lives, learn new strategies from mini-lessons, and fine-tune their writing with the help of a partner. On Thursday and Friday, the major focus is working on social studies projects and activities, which build on the reading we do during whole-group reading instruction.

As a result of taking this class, a student will be able to self-select a “just right” reading book, demonstrate strategies to read with comprehension, and read for enjoyment. He or she will be able to generate topics, write, edit, and publish stories from his or her own life. And students will gain an understanding of global issues (historical and present-day) and feel empowered to make choices to better our world.

Assessments used in my class include:

Materials used in my class include:

My goal is to provide opportunities for all students to be successful and to enjoy learning through lessons that meet the diverse interests, unique learning styles, and strengths and needs of each student.