Gracie Sanders TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
In one sentence, I am a teacher because I believe every child deserves a place they feel safe learning and growing in.
My teaching philosophy stems from Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs. This motivational theory essentially structures how I’ve built my classroom management and guided my instructional style
graciensanders@gmail.com
(972) 523 - 3031
Wylie, TX
Self-actualization
Esteem
Love & Belonging
Safety needs
Physiological
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The first priority in my classroom is to ensure each student feels safe and comfortable learning in the space. My first step in addressing the physiological and safety needs of the students was to incorporate flexible seating. Even at the High School level, I found a flexible seating arrangement builds trust in student-teacher relationships and students are more comfortable in the classroom. This technique was especially helpful for my students with ADHD or other focusing issues, as they could find a place where they felt comfortable with minimal distractions.
My next priority is to ensure each student leaves my room feeling important, listened to, and loved. I find building relationships in the classroom is the most effective way to address the Love and Belonging, as well as the Esteem needs of each student. I get to know each student on a personal level through questionnaires, open drawing responses, and conversation very early in the year This allows me to set each student up for success through projects, groups, and lessons because I understand and cater to their interests. Group work, project-based learning, and discussions play a major role in my instructional style to develop communication and critical thinking skills for real-life situations.
Other aspects that I include in my classroom to assist students in their Love, Belonging, & Esteem needs are establishing Community Agreements and Classroom Norms together as a class, including an affirmation station, and goal-setting with student-teacher meetings.
As an adopted child myself, I understand personally how children can be raised in all different types of homes and families. My goal in my classroom is for each student to feel comfortable in a positive environment to allow for long-term learning and growth.
Gracie Sanders
Gracie Sanders
Why I continue in Education:
In my limited teaching experience, what I have loved most is building relationships with individual students. In 2023 I had a new student who was in foster care. He was very shy and did not speak in class for 7 weeks. Those 7 weeks we sat quietly as I helped him with the assignments. Then one day, he waited until every other student had left the room and said, “Have a good weekend”. While 4 words may not be a big deal to most people, I was so excited I cried and ran to celebrate with my fellow English 2 teachers. The most rewarding feeling is seeing students grow, not only academically, but as young members of society with dreams and aspirations to achieve.
Here is a small group of anonymous messages my students answered when prompted by the district with a survey, “Does Ms. Sanders care about you?”:
“She takes time to talk to us on a personal level and make sure we're doing good ”
“She is very understanding and creates a comfortable environment for the class”
“She's always there for you when you need to talk or not to talk.”
“She's nice and always says that she cares about us and for her students.”
“When I walk into her room and I see her there, She makes me smile, and also she makes me laugh ”
Gracie Sanders
(972) 523 - 3031
graciensanders@gmail com Wylie, TX
bit ly/3KzWTwA
Hello! I’m Gracie, and I am a teacher because I want to facilitate learning by teaching through creativity and love. While I try to incorporate student interests into learning whenever possible, my personal goal every day is to provide an example of empathy, patience, and forgiveness to my students Maintaining this philosophy has allowed my to build meaningful relationships, respect, and open communication in my classroom
WORK EXPERIENCE
THEATRE ARTS TEACHER
Wylie East High School
August 2023 - May 2024
Create meaningful lesson plans based on the Curriculum Plan & Teach 5 separate subject levels
(Tech Theatre 1, Tech Theatre 2-4, Theatre 2-4, Production Tech, & Mainstage)
Facilitate student learning of lighting, sound, projection, carpentry, and costume equipment & use
Maintain communication between Directors, Students, and Parents
Attend Conferences: TxETA & Texas Thespians
Assist in the success of 3 major productions including: Grease the Musical (Technical Director), The Hungry Holiday Games: Murder Mystery Dinner (Director), & A Monster Calls (Technical Director)
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER
Wylie Independent School District
General: Janurary 2023 - Present
Long Term: March 2023 - May 2023 English 2
Participate in ARD and PLC meetings
Assist with STAAR preparation and testing
Follow lesson plans set by the teacher
Maintain classroom-management
PRE-SCHOOL TEACHER
University Heights Baptist Church
July 2021 - February 2022
Follow the curriculum set by the Preschool Minister
Organize creative, age-appropriate, and curriculumrelevant activities
Communicate with Parents & Guardians
SKILLS
Creative Collaboration
Leadership & Team Building
Marketing Skills
Organization
Problem-Solving
Proficient in Microsoft Office, Canva, & Google Suite
Project & Production Management
Relationship Building
Theatre Operations
EDUCATION HISTORY
Sam Houston State University
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre
August 2019 - December 2022
Graduated Cum Laude in Theatre with a concentration in Design and Technology
Acted as Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, Scenic Designer, Assistant Stage Manager, Assistant Lighting Designer, Light board Op, Run Crew, and Costume Crew
Member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority
Texas Teachers of Tomorrow
Teaching Certification
In Progress
Currently enrolled with ToT to obtain certification in admission areas Theatre (EC-12), Social Studies (7-12), and Core Subjects with STR (4-8)
RECOGNITIONS
Kennedy Canter American College Theatre Festival
Excellence in Stage Management Recognition in 2022 for the production of Antigone
REFERENCES
McKenna Tooke
English 2 Team-lead
Wylie East High School
mckennatooke@gmail com (214) 676 - 7584
Patrick Pearson
Director & Asst Professor
Sam Houston State University patrickpearson@shsu edu (936) 294 - 3394
Nicholas Graves
Scenic Designer & Assoc Professor
Sam Houston State University nag023@shsu edu (936) 294 - 4033
Classroom Management Techniques
Creating a Classroom Community
As a secondary teacher, I found students appreciate structure and consistency. This past year I used a daily warm-up which created a schedule for how class would run and students began to appreciate the drawing time.
Another valuable community-creating technique is celebrating and displaying student work in class as an accomplishment.
Finally, instead of telling kids “no” or “put your phone away”, using positive redirection like “Could you try to get this section completed” or “What if we do this instead” builds respect between myself and the student because they don’t feel embarrassed.
Prevention Techniques
Create Community Agreement & Classroom “norms” as a class. I believe this collaboratively created agreement establishes a mutually respectful learning environment through the process of co-creation and transparency.
Communicate and Model the importance of positive relationships and a safe learning environment,
Community Agreement Questions:
How should I treat my classroom? How should I treat my peers? How should I treat my teacher? How should my teacher treat me?
Classroom Management Techniques
Reinforce Expectations
Individual: Redirection, Positive Feedback, Private Conversation
Group: Review classroom procedures and expectations, provide verbal and physical reminders, & celebrate accomplishments as a team.
Beyond the Classroom:
Communicate with guardians via email, phone calls, & newsletter.
Differentiation
Complete a goal-setting meeting between student & teacher to establish what each student needs to be successful in the classroom expectations and lessons.
Continuously track student data to share with guardians or in ARD meetings.
Sample Lesson Plans
Careers in Theatre
In this lesson I was most proud of how it connected to both the student’s personal interests and their potential future in a theatrical career.
Sample Lesson Plans History of Theatre
In this lesson I was most proud of how creative the students were as they incorporated multiple styles and eras into one creation.
Click here to View Lesson Presentation
Back-to-School Assignment
This Playbill assignment was extremely informative! Throughout the class time students work on the project, I can walk around and get to know each student by asking about their Cover & Title!
This helped me practice memorizing names in that first week of school to quickly build mutual respect. This also allowed me to asses what each students personality was like which was helpful in making seating charts and creating pairs or groups for projects. In class, I created my own playbill with the students. It was a good way to let the students learn more about me!
Sample Lessons
Scene Shop Safety
Click here to View Lesson Presentation Stage Lighting
Click here to View Lesson Presentation
Sample Lessons
In the Spring of 2023, I had the opportunity to be a long-term substitute in an English 2 classroom for the last 9 weeks. In those 9 weeks, I got classroom experience with Advanced, On-level, & Special Education students, as well as worked with inclusion teachers, participated in ARD meetings, & prepared students for the English 2 EOC STAAR test. These are a few examples of the lessons I prepared with the help of the other English 2 members.
Figurative Language
Sample Lessons
During my long-term substitute position in English 2, I was tasked with preparing the students for the STAAR exam. Along with lunch tutorials, we prepared in class on both the Extended Constructed Response and the Short Constructed Response. It was important students could recognize which type of prompt they had, read all the information provided, and respond in the correct formatting.
Extended Constructed Response
Click here to View Lesson Presentation
Short Constructed Response
Click here to View Lesson Presentation
Technical Direction
Wylie East High School presented GREASE School Edition in October of 2023. As co-technical director, I lead students in scenic design, lighting design, and property design. I ensured students properly used the machinery and technology necessary to complete each project.
Photos by Basil Bouras
Technical Direction
Wylie East Theatre Department presented A Monster Calls in January of 2024. As co-technical director, I lead students in scenic design, lighting design, and projection design. In this project, we learned how to do projection mapping using PowerPoint.
Photos by Basil Bouras
Director
Wylie East Theatre Department presented A Hungry Holiday Games: A Murder Mystery Dinner in November of 2023. As Director, I had 2 casts that I lead in auditions, rehearsals, tech calls, and performances.
