Erika Alvarado - ELA

Mrs. Alvarado Meet the Teacher by Erika Alvarado

English Language Arts 6-8 adopted McGraw Hill StudySync. StudySync resources align to the district curriculum by helping students develop their abilities to analyze complex texts, identify and effectively use textual evidence, reason critically, and communicate thoughtfully and purposefully - the must-have skills for college and career readiness.

English Language Arts 9-12 adopted MyPerspectives by Savvas, a resource which aligns to the district curriculum by helping students develop their abilities to analyze complex texts, identify and effectively use textual evidence, reason critically, and communicate thoughtfully and purposefully - the must-have skills for college and career readiness.

English Language Arts 6-12 adopted No Red Ink Premium, a resource which aligns to the district writing curriculum by helping students develop their abilities to analyze complex texts, identify and effectively use textual evidence, reason critically, and communicate thoughtfully and purposefully in their writing, which is a must-have skill for college and career readiness.

Teachers may choose to include a supplemental book for students to read in order to add depth and interest to the instruction of the AZ state Standards. The books on the following list have been approved for teachers' use in the classroom. Parents can reach out to their child's teacher to find out which of the books on the list the teacher will be using: DVUSD Novel List

This online program builds stronger writers through interest-based curriculum, adaptive exercises, and actionable data.  Along with the grammar lessons and practice many teachers already use in our district, this program has expanded their writing tools, lessons and exercises, including narrative, informative, argumentative, as well as literary analysis, rhetorical analysis and SAT/ACT writing types. Access the list here.

CommonLit is a teacher-founded nonprofit that provides schools with high-quality instructional resources as assessments for grades 3-12.

CommonLit 360 offers reading, writing, vocabulary grammar, discussion, and related media lessons for students.

In Leadership Class, you will learn what it means to be a leader and then put it into action.

There are 3 main components to the leadership class:

• Leadership Articles
  • Every 2 weeks you'll be given a new skill/characteristic that leaders exhibit to research and explore, then exhibit with your buddies and in your teams.  
• Buddies
  • Each week we will meet with our first-grade buddies to help them with reading, writing, and sometimes math or science. You will have 1-3 littles that you develop a relationship with and help support each week. 
• TEAM (Teamwork Engaged Active Motivate
  • You will be put into a team that supports our school as a leader. I have 4 teams for sure and some optional teams that we may develop depending on the class size to ensure that we are creating the most support on our team. The 4 guaranteed teams are: 
    • New TOROS Crew: Your job is to help new students transition to Union Park. You will have to come early (8am) somedays to help show them around campus using our TOROS passport to ensure they know the TOROS Expectations in each place, ending at their classroom. You will introduce them to their teacher and make sure they feel ready to go. You will also help prep the New TOROS swag bags and make sure they get to the teachers so they can give it to them when they walk in. You may have to help other teams if there aren't new students coming! Your contact person will be Mrs. K in the office. 
    • Super TOROS Squad: Your job is to teach TOROS lessons around campus to help us meet our monthly goals for TOROS behaviors. So if there were a lot of issues in the cafeteria last month you will create a lesson about behavior in the cafeteria to help the students remember the TOROS expectations in the cafeteria. Then you would teach the lesson to every class in k-6 in that month and then reflect on what worked and what you need to add, remove, or change for the next months' lesson. Your contact person will be Mrs. Klay. 
    • Bulletin Board Bunch: Your job is to create and set up the student board in the office each week. You will create canva art to promote different things happening at Union Park that week so students have a place to look and find out what is going on. All work will need to be done and submitted to your contact person by THURSDAY of each week so she can print ahead of time. Your contact person is Ms. Owen. 
    • Get up and Go Group: Your job will be to help wherever is needed around campus to ensure teachers are able to focus on teaching. This may be hanging up artwork, organizing books, helping with fluency, cleaning up a mess, packing things up, etc. You must be ready to do anything at any point in class because it will always be different. Your contact person will be Ms. Haehl. 
    • Other teams that may be started based on need and size of class: Announcement Team, Teacher Assistants, Community Service Teams

I look forward to a wonderful semester making a difference with you!