Jennifer Samaniego Expert Guru

Biography Jennifer Samaniego is a certified secondary English teacher currently teaching middle school in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. Since she believes teaching isn’t just a career, it’s a calling, for the past eight years Jennifer has chosen to work at public school campuses where over 90% of the students are deemed economically disadvantaged. She has extensive experience working with students who are in programs such as English as a Second Language (ESL), gifted and talented, and special education. An academic team leader at her campus, Jennifer holds daily meetings with a team of teachers who see the same group of 130 students throughout the school day. The team meets with special education teachers, counselors, administrators, school district personnel, and most importantly, parents, to address students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. Besides collaborating with her team members, Jennifer works with other campus teachers to specifically address the academic needs of English language learners through her role as a SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Coach. She was elected 2006-2007 campus Teacher of the Year. She has at various times served as department chair, a member of the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC), and held an elected seat on the campus site based decision making committee. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a valid Texas teaching certificate in Secondary English, Secondary English Language Arts, and English as a Second Language. She also has Gifted and Talented certification as well as training in research based writing instruction from the New Jersey Writing Project of Texas. Outside the classroom, Jennifer is a wife, a mother of two sons, and an adopted mother of three dogs.

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Teachers Must Learn To Work Well With Others

To the uninitiated, teachers are a solo act, planning for themselves, working by themselves. To the well informed, a hefty part of teaching is working with others--fellow teachers, administrators, parents, community representatives, student teachers, university researchers, literacy coaches, and more. Use good manners with everyone, from your students to school board members. You'll build a reputation of decency that will make others more willing to go out of their way to help you.

Lesson Plans

The inevitable question "What are we doing today?" should only be asked by students. If you find that you are the one asking yourself that question every morning as the tardy bell rings, you need to step up your game. Teachers often complain that students arrive unprepared to class, yet some teachers show up unprepared to class and are shocked when behavior problems arise or students are uninterested in lessons. Planning is the cornerstone of good teaching. Some questions to consider while planning: What concept is the lesson addressing? Is this concept a required part of the curriculum? How will I assess students' understanding of this concept? How will I prepare students to be successful on that assessment? Prepare your students and yourself for success in the classroom by taking the time to plan ahead.

Be A Flexible Teacher

You spent all weekend planning the perfect lesson. You have visual aids, manipulatives, a demonstration, a special speaker. Suddenly, RING! RING! RING! the fire alarm goes off. All your planning, your effort, ruined...Or is it? When you deal with unscheduled interruptions or unexpected events with grace, you're teaching your students to do the same. Besides, an interruption can become what educators call a "teachable moment". An unexpected assembly can be a chance to discuss good listening skills. A blown out overhead light bulb is an opportunity for extra review for tomorrow's test. Be flexible or you'll definitely snap in the eventful, unscripted life of a classroom teacher.