Excitement!

Thank you to Fund for Teachers! 

Fund for Teachers is a national program that encourages teachers to design a "Dream Field Trip" that will help them to improve their instruction in the classroom.  I am excited to be a grant winner for the summer of 2012!

For my project, I will be learning more about how to analyze paintings, and I will be connecting the study of paintings to the study of poetry in my AP English Literature and Composition classes.  It is my hope that through a careful "breaking down" of various paintings, my students will be better equipped to work on closely reading poetry in preparation for the AP exam.

Originally, my proposal included me taking a course at Oxford University called "Learning to Look at Paintings."  However, when I found out that I won the grant on March 30th, the course was already full. 

The new plan is this:  I will be taking an online class on analyzing art (Art 183:  Art of the Renaissance through the Modern Era) through the University of Wisconsin Extension.  Then I will be traveling to England from August 2-12, and I will be taking a class called "Reading Twentieth Century Poetry" at Oxford.  While in England, I will also be visiting Oxfordshire sites like Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds.  On my last day in England, I am planning to visit the Olympic Games taking place in London!