Mrs. Zahara Lake Travis High School 2015-16. Grew up in Georgia Lived in Austin since 1990 Two daughters (both LTHS graduates) One spectacular grandson.

Mrs. ZaharaLake Travis High School

2015-16

Grew up in Georgia Lived in Austin since 1990 Two daughters (both LTHS graduates) One spectacular grandson (Leo) Graduated from Denison University in Granville, OH Masters in Library and Information Science from

University of Texas Certified to teach English, Social Studies, and Special

Education 16th year of teaching – all at LTHS Avid reader and gardening enthusiast Team Lead for English 1 LTHS Teacher of the Year 2014-2015 I love to teach! I especially love freshmen.

Freshman year is an enormous adjustment for most students. It should feel safe and exciting. I want students to be challenged, but to feel comfortable asking for help. I want all their attention in class, however, I don’t want them to spend hours on English homework every night. My goal is to teach them skills so that reading and writing will be a positive experience. If students are attentive and use class time and CAVTime wisely, I am confident that we can achieve that goal with less homework than has historically been assigned to freshmen.

Introduce freshmen to high school resources

Help students develop study and organizational skills

Develop reading skills through close reading, annotation, and analysis

Build writing skills for future successDevelop vocabulary and grammar skillsIntroduce students to new literary works

Short Stories by Ray Bradbury, O. Henry, Doris Lessing, and Edgar Allan Poe

Non fiction selectionsGrammar and diagrammingWriting and editingVocabulary in contextVocabulary skills (roots, prefixes, suffixes, etc.)To Kill a MockingbirdNightSelections from The OdysseyThe Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Every student needs one.150+ page college rule spiral preferredMost classwork is done in them.Some homework assignments are done in

them.Students have a stamp sheet that shows

progress .If you want to monitor progress between

grades (every 5 stamps), check my website.

track homework and classroom assignments in the Response Notebook

class set stamp sheet on brown rolling cabinet front left in classroom

website shows how many boxes should be stamped

will be collected after every 5 assignments for a daily grade

Students place their cell phones (and other electronics) in the caddy by the door. Each student is assigned a number for the year.

I also place my cell phone in a slot.For the last few minutes of class, students may

use their cell phones to update calendars, hear messages, answer texts, etc.

If you need to reach your student during my class, please call my classroom at 512.533.7752.

This policy has made such a difference in productivity!

Before school at 8:00 (usually by 7:30)CAVtime every dayAfter school by appointment Many questions can be answered through

email. I encourage students to email me at [email protected] when they need clarification or help.

If you are able (and haven’t already), please consider donating 1-2 of the following for classroom use:

Package of pens/pencilsTissues Colored pencilsColored/construction paperPost it notes

Thank you so much if you have already sent things.

Communication is everything. If you have a concern or information that would help me be an effective teacher for your student, please contact me. I am happy to correspond or meet.

E-mail is the best way [email protected]

School telephone 512.533.7752 I listen to messages at the end of each school day.