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With Rhoades’ partnership with Ball State University, many student teachers walk through the doors. Maisy Russell was one of those student teachers in the Spring of 2018. During her student teaching, she wowed her third-grade team with her creativity and determination to connect to students, especially with the use of technology. This was recognized and she was offered a position on the fourth-grade team for the 2019-2020 school year,
As we all know, the 2019-2020 school year was a year unlike no other. The year started off normal. This is where Maisy exhibited her outside of the box thinking in getting students excited about learning. She was always tying in current ideas to the classroom to get students to buy-in. Then COVID-19 happened and we had to turn it all into virtual. Maisy shifted to the digital platform and created many digital resources to help student engagement.
This brings us to the 2020-2021 school year. Again, another year unlike any other due to COVID-19 and construction, regardless it was Maisy’s second year of teaching. She had gotten her first year under her belt and felt more confident as a teacher. She came in this year with a virtual classroom, just in case we had to go virtual again. She was going to be prepared this time around, as much as possible at least. Bitmoji’s were created for her and her students and put around the room to welcome her students back.
With our ELA Unit 2 Project coming up, Maisy Russell wanted to find something that the kids could relate to. She figured that anything incorporating social media would be a hit. She created an Instagram template for kids to create an account for an endangered animal which highlights the animal’s diet, habitat, and adaptations. This was rolled out to fourth-grade students yesterday and they are extremely excited to begin their unit project.
Maisy is always searching for ways to connect technology and the real world with the curriculum to get students motivated to learn. Her passion is contagious.
Written by Lisa Wilson, Rhoades iTEC Teacher