Lessons By Sandy

I have been teaching elementary students since 1994. I've taught third grade for 16 years, and have been the librarian for a PreK-5 elementary school since 2009. I absolutely LOVE what I do!

I whole-heartedly believe that when it comes to teaching, you have to reach a child's heart first. Once you have established a sincere relationship with your students, their learning will naturally follow. I also believe it's vital to show students how much fun learning can be, and to connect their learning to the real world. I accomplished this by creating collaborative, multi-sensory units of study that gave my students an opportunity to use higher level thinking and problem solving skills. Our class motto was "Find your happy place!", and I strived every day to make sure that each student succeeded in this endeavor.

I was awarded several 3M Ingenuity Grants for over $13,000 that I used to purchase additional supplies for varying units such as: 2003-2004 = 3rd Grade Inventor’s Workshop for $1229.59 2004-2005 = Our Backyard Science Lab for $3500.00 2004-2005 = Soil, Plants, and Animals, Oh My! for $2000.00 2006-2007 = Math Stations for Learning for $3500.00 2007-2008 = Attracting Student Scientists for $3500.00

I received my degree in Elementary Education from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. I also have a specialization in Reading, and a master's degree in Library Science from the University of North Texas.

I have always been fascinated with literature, and reading was always one of my passions. Throughout the years, I accumulated quite a collection of novels or picture books that helped students understand concepts or skills. Over time, I began to realize that my passion for books needed a more thorough outlet, which led me to pursue my master's degree in LIbrary Science. If you'd like to learn more about what's going on in our library, follow my blog at Lessons by Sandy