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NAME:
Mrs. Jenifer M. Smith
SCHOOL:
Wissahickon Middle School
CLASS:
Warriors 8th Grade Language Arts
SCHOOL PHONE:
215-619-8110 ext 2226
EDUCATION:
Mrs. Smith received her Bachelor's Degree in English Literature/Secondary
Education from Cabrini College in 1999 graduating with a 3.97 GPA. At
graduation, she was both the English Literature student of year and
the Secondary Education student of the year. In May of 2005, Mrs. Smith
earned her Masters in Education with a concentration in Language Arts from
Arcadia University. She has attended many conferences on such topics as:
Junior Great Books, differentiated instruction, walk throughs, reading and
writing workshopping, reading comprehension in middle school, teaching with
block scheduling, technology in the classroom, and teaching students with
ADD/ADHD/ODD (The Nurtured Heart Approach).
WORK EXPERIENCE:
After graduating Cabrini, Mrs. Smith taught 10th and 12th grade
English/Literature at Phoenixville Area High School. She taught many
different levels of students ranging from Foundations to Honors. She also
helped produce the school's literary magazine "The Gazebo." Mrs. Smith
joined the Wissahickon Middle School faculty in August of 2001 teaching 8th
grade Literature. In the spring and summer of 2003, Mrs. Smith had the
pleasure of collaborating with several other teachers to research and write
the new curriculum for the Integrated Language Arts course. From 2003-2006,
she also served as the Language Arts Department Chair. During the 2006-2007
school year, she took on the role of Student Council Advisor, a position she
plans on keeping. One of her favorite extra-curricular roles is that of
Reading Olympics coach. Her team, The Lit Wits, are yearly blue ribbon
winners! In November of 2007, Mrs. Smith earned the distinction of being a
National Board Certified Teacher.
GOALS FOR 07-08 SCHOOL YEAR:
1. To create a community of readers and writers in the classroom.
2. To help all students experience success.
3. To show students how to think and not what to think.
4. To have fun while doing numbers 1-3!
PERSONAL INFO:
Mrs. Smith is a member of the community residing in the District. Her
family is fully vested in the District as her husband is a groundskeeper for
WSD, and her two daughters attend Wissahickon Middle School (one in
seventh and one in eighth). Some of Mrs. Smith's hobbies include reading (of
course!), creative writing, camping, and hiking, and her obsessive passion
is rock climbing. Everyone wants to know a Language Arts teacher's favorite
piece of writing, and Mrs. Smith has a couple:
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Othello by William Shakespeare
...and she must confess... anything by Stephen King!!
Mrs. Smith wants students to be as excited about reading and writing as she
is. She wants them to read for the deeper meaning in texts, become
stronger, more fluent readers, to apply what they see as readers to their
own writing. She wants them to leave the course liking literature and
wanting more and seeing writing as a pleasure not a chore.
Essentially Mrs. Smith's main goal for the class is to help students become
readers for life, for she truly believes that the study of literature makes
us fully human.
The course goals are all aligned with the PA Standards and are as follows:
1.1.8 Learning To Read Independently:
Students will read a variety of literary selections that represent relevant
and interesting topics to adolescents. They will become active readers who
apply before, during, and after reading strategies independently, which
focus on factual comprehension, vocabulary development, as well as
interpretation and analysis of fiction and nonfiction texts.
1.2.8 Reading Critically in all Content Areas:
Students will learn a variety of comprehension and vocabulary strategies
that will enable them to read critically in all content areas.
1.3.8. Reading, Analyzing, and Interpreting Literature:
Students will access their background knowledge as well as their
understanding of literary elements and devices allowing them to interpret
and analyze both fiction and nonfiction texts.
1.4.8 Types of Writing:
Students will write for a variety of purposes, both formal and informal,
which will include the following types of writing: creative, narrative,
persuasive, and informational.
1.5.8 Quality of writing:
Students will use all steps of the writing process in order to produce
pieces of writing with distinct focus, clear organization, appropriate
content and style, as well as proper grammar and mechanics.
1.6.8 Speaking and Listening:
Students will participate in small and large group discussions, prepare
and deliver oral presentations utilizing multimedia, and actively listen and
respond to others’ thoughts and ideas. Students will listen and respond to
literature read aloud. Various modes of media will be analyzed for bias.
1.7.8 Characteristics and Functions of the English Language:
Through word study, students will understand that the English language is a
living language with its roots in Greek and Latin. They will recognize
foreign words that have been assimilated into the English language.
1.8.8 Research:
Students will access and analyze print and electronic sources in order to
complete a research project/paper with proper documentation.
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