Ms. Thompson's Classroom

My Philosophy:


Just like the "X-Men" logo above, my philosophy symbolizes diversity and connectedness. I believe in helping students maximize their potential educationally via engagement, love, support, nurturing, challeging and fun! It is my goal to help students become leaders (yes everyone can be a leader), grow and become valuable members of their community. My students will hopefully become independent thinkers, community builders, act peacefully and demonstrate accountability when necessary. My educational philosophy is inspired by great leaders of our past and present, amazing teachers I've had and my community. Powerful thinkers who have inspired my vision are: Deepak Chopra, Bruce Lee, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Lucille Ball.




Useful Educational Websites to Share:

RESOURCES:
http://www.howardzinn.org	Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 - January 27, 2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People's History of the United States, “a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories.”
http://www.restorativejustice.org/	This site offers a ton of resourceful information on promoting peace, building community and helping offenders take accountability through restorative practices.
http://www.poets.org	Fantastic literature from the Academy of American Poets
http://nytimes.com	Resourceful articles from the popular newspaper.
http://www.hmh.org	Houston's Holocaust Museum offers resources on this tragic time in our history.
http://www.edweek.org	America's most respected source for education news and insight.
http://www.upfrontmagazine.com	A teen version of New York Times articles specifically designed for engagement.
http://www.pbs.org	Multimedia resources & Professional Development for America's PreK-12 educators.
http://www.britannica.com	A powerful and expansive online encyclopedia.
http://www.teachingforchange.org	Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write and change the world.
http://www.biography.com	This site offers biographies on famous people.
http://www.espn.com	The world's #1 source for sports information, sports education and articles.
http://www.ithaca.edu/wise/hip_hop/	A resource for using hip hop as an educational tool.
http://www.blackhistory.com	A website devoted to the history of Black America and suppressed notables.
LESSON PLANS:
http://www.lessonplans4teachers.com/templates	Printable templates are available for teachers via this site.
http://www.lessonplanet.com	Thousands of lesson plans which allow you to share and borrow from other teachers.
http://www.educationworld.com	Offers high quality lesson plans and materials.
http://www.famouspeoplelessons.com	EFL / ESL Lesson Plans Using Biographies And Profiles - From Sean Banville
VIDEO:
http://teachertube.com	Teachertube offers educators a chance to see educational clips.
http://www.youtube.com	YouTube is an awesome site for video clips of almost anything!