Meet the Teacher!

Hi y'all! My name is Laurah J. and I'm the author behind The ESOL Odyssey and Tools for Teachers by Laurah J.

I just turned 30 this year! I've been married for nearly 8 years to a wonderful man who I met at 18.

I'm licensed to teach ESOL PreK-12 and Middle Grades Language Arts. I spent 3 years teaching grades 6-8 ESL Language Arts in Charlotte, NC. Then we moved to the Washington, DC metro area. I spent two years teaching Elementary ESOL before moving into a coaching position with the ESOL central office.

I absolutely love my job as a coach. I love developing activities for my teachers, sharing ideas, and helping them to think outside the box and try new things. Most of the activities that I create are designed for Mainstream teachers who serve a lot of ELL students! They also work great for ESOL teachers.

A few of my favorite things
Dr. Pepper
Vampire Fiction (but no sparkly vampires!!)
Fall Leaves
Rainy Days (when I don't have to go outside)
Campfires
Sleeping in a tent

If you weren't a teacher (coach), what would you want to be?
That's a really hard one because I love my job. I guess I would have to say author or translator. I have degrees in Journalism and Foreign Language, so it makes sense :D

Three little words that describe you.
Creative. Determined. Odd.

Finish this sentence: "_______, said no teacher ever!"
I really love spending my own money out of pocket for supplies, said no teacher ever!

It's your birthday and you can invite anyone dead or alive to the party. Who would you invite?
My grandmother and grandfather. I really miss them a lot. I'd definitely invite my parents, family and all of my closest friends. As far as historical figures, I might be interested in inviting Plato and Socrates.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would be the title?
Wow. This is a super hard one. I'd hope it would be something along the lines of "Odd girl makes her dreams come true". Haha that sounds super lame!

What is your favorite quote or saying?

You get to pick one superpower. What is it?
Invisibility. Hands-down!

If you had to sing a song on American Idol, what would it be?
Probably, "House of the Rising Sun".

Are you a morning person, or a night owl?
Definitely a night owl. I do my best thinking late at night. Take a look at my post history! The early ones are pre-scheduled!!

What is your favorite resource that you've created in your TpT shop?
That would probably have to be my Common Core Non-Fiction Read-and-Write Activities. These are monthly sets of differentiated reading and writing activities aligned with CCSS. There are four readings per month, and each reading comes in three levels. Each leveled reading also comes with a corresponding leveled writing response activity. These activity packets are already differentiated and are great for monthly test-prep, assessment, and reinforcement of Common Core skills. Each reading is related to the month, and delves into interesting new topics for students. Check out my most recent- Common Core Non-Fiction Read and Write Activities: September. Below are some pictures of January and February packets in action!

Share something we might not know about you!
I do historical reenactment with my husband. We are part of a group that reenacts an Iron Age Celtic Tribe. We spend many weekends (and even weeks) each year attending events!

JOIN UP WITH THE LINKY!