After thirty-seven years as an English teacher at Pleasantville Middle and High School in New York's Westchester County, I retired this past spring. I have always loved the opportunities to combine creativity with learning, and have crafted lessons that inspire and challenge students. Among the courses I have created, implemented, and taught: English 7,8, 10,11, and 12 (Regents and Honors Levels) Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Creative Writing I and II Writing Workshop Science Fiction Film Study Mystery and Crime: Fiction and Film. I hope my lesson ideas work for you and your students!
I have always tried to vary my approaches to learning about writing, literature and informational texts, speaking, and listening. Depending on the lesson material and the composition of the class, I combine group discussion, group work, modeling for writing assignments, peer review sessions, multimedia/technology resources, activities drawn from current events--anything that engages the kids!
Publications: • Safe at Second (Philomel, 1999) (Listed, American Library Assoc. Best Books for Young Adults 2000, Best Books for Reluctant Readers 2000) • Overnight Sensation (Atheneum, 1994) • One of the Boys (Atheneum, 1992) (Listed, American Library Assoc. Best Books for Young Adults 1993) • “Britain’s Educational Drama.” English Journal, September 1987 • “Teaching the Biography from the Inside Out,” English Journal, October 1989 • “Migration’s End,” Ploughshares, Fall 1980 • “The Heart of His Act,” TriQuarterly, Winter 1980 • “Rapture,” Intro, Spring 1978 Awards, Workshops, Presentations: • Teacher of the Year, Pleasantville Union Free School District, April, 2013 • “Tapestries and Blue Notes” (w/ Dr. Mary Ann Cappiello), National Conference for Teachers of English Annual Conference, New York City, Nov. 2007 • New York State English Council Keynote Speaker, Albany, NY: “Keepers of the Spark,” “Science Fiction in the Classroom,” Oct., 1992 “Jugglers of Change,” Oct., 1994 • Speaker, Folger Shakespeare Library Summer Study Institute, Washington, D.C., July 1993 • Creative and Expository Writing Workshops and Author Talks, Harrison, NY; Rochester, NY; Farmingdale, NY; Pelham Manor, NY; Briarcliff Manor, NY; Mahopac, NY, 1993 – present • New York State English Council Teacher of the Year, 1991 • “Britain’s Educational Drama,” National Conference for Teachers of English Annual Conference, St. Louis, Nov. 1988 • “The Biography: Teach it from the Inside Out,” National Conference for Teachers of English Annual Conference, Los Angeles, Nov. 1987 • “Teaching the Biography,” New York State Reading Association Annual Conference, Kiamesha Lake, NY Nov. 1986 • Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator, Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Young Authors Conference, 1986 – present • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Study, “Science Fiction and the Future,” summer, 1985 • Fulbright Teacher Exchange (London, England), September 1983 – July 1984
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 M.F.A. in English/Creative Writing, May 1978 • Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401 B.A. in English with Honors, May, 1974
Yet to be added
7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Creative Writing, Writing-Expository, Vocabulary, Specialty, Social Studies, U.S. History, Arts & Music, Drama, ELA Test Prep, British History, Gifted and Talented, Critical Thinking, Literature, Writing, Writing-Essays, Poetry, Informational Text, Close Reading