Jeffrey Taylor teaches 6th grade English/Language Arts and Social Studies core classes plus one Language Arts Enrichment class at Lowell Middle School in Oakland USD, Oakland, CA. Jeffrey was a former student at Lowell and through teaching he believes he can give back to his community.
Jeffrey knows every child can learn. His classroom has technology in every corner where all activities are project-based with students actively engaged. Teachers in his school call him “Mr. T” for Technology. He realizes that most of his students have had little exposure to technology and its uses especially in the curriculum. So Jeffrey spends all waking hours designing projects and activities that use technology to meet content standards and improve student achievement. He has been recently honored with an award for his teaching and use of technology in the classroom through the California Technology Assistance Program (CTAP). Congratulations, Jeffrey!
Jeffrey also encourages other teachers to use his activities and collaborates with them. He teams with Lila Morris, another 6th grade core teacher at his school and also a My eCoach Online member, so more students have access to the resources in his classroom and projects developed on the Internet. Both he and Lila are a wonderful resource and examples for other Lowell teachers where they are now redesigning their professional development time to include team teaching strategies and the use of technology in all curriculum areas. Teachers at his school and others in the district are using his projects. Jeffrey and Lila have presented at CLMS (California League of Middle School) Conference several times to large crowds with rave reviews.
Making a Difference Sixth grade students begin this project by watching the movie "Pay it Forward." This gives students a foundation for the project. Students will look at the world as a whole and see how they can make an impact on it.
Becoming an Author Students will become authors when they write and publish their own books. Through this process, students will be learning the components of a story like setting, plot, characters, conflict, rise in action, conclusion. They will use this new undersanding of how to build a sotry by writing a story of their own using these elements. Students will then read their books to elementary school students.
African-Americans Impact America Students will watch the PowerPoint presentation "African Americans who have changed America. Then students will select a person or event to research. Students will create a PowerPoint slideshow based on the information from their research. They will also create a biographical storyboard. The PowerPoint presentation and storyboard will be used to make an oral presentation.
Me, Myself, and I The Me, Myself, and I is a twelve part project that will take the entire marking period to complete. This project will require that the students do much work outside of the classroom.
I'm a Poet, Don'tcha Know It! There are many different types of poetry. I have identified three types of poetry on this page. The web sites on this Web Resource List will guide students in writing their own poetry.
