During the KF interview process, we had to provide a sample lesson plan. I chose one that covered a topic that I am especially enthusiastic about, the hydrofracking debate in North Carolina. This topic allows me to bring students into a current events situation and create their own opinions about the subject.

My mentor has asked me to further develop this short lesson plan into a full curriculum unit. We are really excited about integrating the news articles that have been published in our local area in recent weeks. For example, The Fayetteville Observer recently ran a six-part series on the fracking debate in the area. Also, there are transcripts of the recent town hall in Sanford. Finally, we have that express-pass piece of legislation that recently made its way through our legislature in North Carolina.

The challenge for me at this point is finding how to fit all of this new information and these new lessons in my current curriculum piece without losing coherence.

The school that I am teaching at this year is BRAND NEW. It opened its doors this past year (2013-2014), and I totally expected top-of-the-line in the technology department. Every classroom is equipped with a SmartBoard. Math, Social Studies, and ELA are allocated one teacher PC and three student PCs. Science classroom teachers, on the other hand, are provided with only a single teacher-issued laptop.  Every grade level is assigned a class set of laptops on a mobile lab  cart, so every class gets the opportunity to use the technology once every two weeks or so. My answer to this is to regularly write mini-grants to try to increase the technology that is available to my students. So far, I have been able to purchase 5 tablets for my classroom.