Celebrate #FamilyLiteracyDay with Inspired Reads!

To celebrate the start to Family Literacy Month, parents on the Inspired Teaching team recommended inspired reads for you and your family!

Cosby, Senior Officer, Teaching & Learning: We love Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf, a great story about a character who charts his own (non-violent) path.

Aleta, Founder & President: When my daughters were young children, we loved reading the Madlenka stories–particularly Madlenka and Madlenka’s Dog by Peter Sis. The book builds in young children, and their parents, a sense of place. We learn we can be in a very small place and a very large place all at once. We learn the importance of context; everything matters: Madlenka’s discovery that her tooth wiggles is as important as the universe. As we read the book, we engage in Wonder-Experiment-Learn as we walk around Madlenka’s neighborhood with her and wonder about the context in which we live too.

Hetal, Director, Finance & Operations: We love to read The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin. My daughter and I read this book every night and I love it because it promotes using her imagination and curiosity.

Martha, Director, Development & Strategic Partnerships: My children and I always enjoy reading I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Mary, Interim Executive Director : My son Ian and I have been reading Carl Hiaasen’s books for young adults. I love Carl Hiaasen’s novels for grown-ups and it’s been fun to share his writing with my 11-year-old. We’ve read three so far and have enjoyed making predictions about what’s going to happen next, which characters we like best, and what themes we see coming up across the books.

Becky, Manager, Teaching & Learning: Good Night, Gorilla is my favorite book to read with my one-year old. It combines many of my daughter’s favorite things: animals, reading at bedtime, and hiding. I love it because the words are simple and minimal, so we can make up a slightly different story every night and talk about the pictures. My husband says he likes it because there are so many little details in the story, he and my daughter have fun finding them together. It’s fun, mischievous, and inspires our imagination.

If you have a favorite book you read with your family, that promotes one of Inspired Teaching’s four I’s (Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, Integrity), let us know! Tag us on Twitter at @InspireTeach.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.