This document summarizes the teaching experience and philosophies of Shantel VanderGalien, an English teacher and literacy coach. She teaches writing at the high school and junior high levels. Her goals include teaching 21st century writing skills, focusing on the writing process over content, and providing resources for a successful teaching career. She emphasizes argumentative, informative, and narrative writing styles and using mentor texts, rubrics, and modeling writing. She connects reading and writing by teaching reading strategies and having students mimic texts. Her desk must always contain snacks, hygiene items, and positive notes for herself and students.

1. Teaching:
High School to Jr. High
Shantel VanderGalien, NBCT
English Teacher & Literacy Coach

2. Goals
1. Teaching Writing in the 21st Century
2. Don’t be married to the content, be married to
the process
3. Have resources to start a successful career in
teaching

3. My Story
*Calvin College
*Wyoming Park - 2004, teaching honors 11th gr.
*Rogers, Innovations
*Park - Wyoming Junior High in 2012

4. Common Core Writing
1. Argumentative Writing - C3WP
2. Informative Writing - This I Believe, Examples
3. Narrative Writing
*All forms of writing ask students to create writing
that is organized, clear, and coherent.

5. Writing Philosophies
1. Always provide mentor texts.
2. Always have a rubric. Creating one together is
even better.
3. Always write with them.
4. Scaffold. Help. Teach. If their writing sucks, it’s
YOUR fault. Bottom line.

6. Reading & Writing Are Connected
Teach students to Read Like a Professor!
Invitations to Notice, Appreciate, & Mimick

7. Things to ALWAYS have in your desk:
1. Chocolate - not for the kids, for YOU! Also, for
your colleagues.
2. Snacks - ok, these can be for the kids, but also
for you.
3. Floss/toothbrush
4. Deodorant!
5. Notes/cards/positive affirmations

8. Resources for Further Reading & Research
1. Bad Ideas About Writing
“...we benefit from thinking of writing instruction as a means of helping students
improve their abilities to engage in public discourse in all its varied forms. What
writing teachers have known for generations is that writing is not an end in itself—it is
a method of invention that gives shape to our view of the world and empowers us to
engage in discourse with our fellow humans. There are few things more important
than that. There is no literacy crisis. Instead, the concept of literacy continues to
become more complex as we expect people to know how to produce and understand
texts in multiple forms, whether written, visual, or otherwise. Like all human
institutions, education is inherently flawed, and teachers, students, parents and
others must always consider ways and initiatives to improve literacy education.”