6th Grade Learning Anywhere Week 1-2

Hi!!

Welcome to 6th grade ELA with Mrs. Cook-Lyons. I am super stoked to be teaching at Sterling Middle School this year!!

About Me

I'm originally from Peoria.  In my early years, I attended Woodrow Wilson Primary followed by Concordia Lutheran.  As a young child, I enjoyed catching butterflies and reading fantasy books. During my middle school years, several of my teachers had us take notes from the start of class until the end of class.  My hand would ache and I never felt like I retained any information.  That's when I decided I wanted to become a teacher, then I could make learning fun and memorable. Middle school is also the time that I developed a passion for basketball. For highschool, I attended Richwoods and participated in Girls' Basketball, Cross-Country, and Track. I was also a member of the National Honor Society.   After graduating high school, I attened Eastern Illinois University and earned my degree in middle level education with a minor in English/Lit. 

After obtaining my degree from EIU in 2006, I was hired by PSD 150 to teach 7th grade reading at Sterling Middle School in the mornings, and act as a 1st-5th grade reading intervention specialist at Tyng Primary in the afternoons.  At the conclusion of the school year, I decided I wanted to see the country and  have new experiences.   I sent out several resumes to warmer, Southern states and was hired by Public Schools of Robeson County in rural North Carolina.  During my tenure with PSRC, I taught one year of 6th grade self-contained and two years of 6th grade ELA.  After three years, I began to miss the creature comforts of the city and moved to Raleigh, NC.  I was hired on as a 7th grade ELA teacher for Wake County and remained at Holly Ridge Middle School for four years.  During that time, I coached boys' and girls' soccer and girls' basketball.