Ed Student Earns SoftChalk Recognition

Jessica Kirkland, a School of Education & Human Development MSEd-Individualized Focus student, has been recognized by Softchalk as an honorable mention lesson plan developer. Kirkland developed her lesson, I, Too: Bringing to Life the Voices of African-American Writers, when completing EDU 647: Projects in Curriculum and Instruction in fall 2016. SoftChalk is “the leading provider of content authoring software for educators in K-12, colleges, universities and medical programs,” according to the company’s website.

Her lesson is hosted on the SoftChalk Cloud at https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/wZ9Jlf0jVzSgpy/html.

Kirkland’s project includes a variety of pieces written by various African-American authors across a span of literary eras. Each author and a corresponding piece of writing were selected for their relevance to Virginia Standards of Learning and Advanced Placement exams. Each piece of writing featured in “I, Too” is accompanied by suggested places to visit that provide additional context and understanding.

Kirkland hopes that when exploring their community with family members and contemplating the writings featured in “I, Too,” students will make cross-cutting connections that not only reinforce their understanding of literature and language, but will foster academic, social, and cultural awareness.

The 2017 SoftChalk Lesson Challenge Winners Showcase page provides a full list of the four winners and the four honorable mentions in this year’s SoftChalk Lesson Plan challenge.  Additionally, Kirkland presented “I, Too,” at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Brainstorm Conference at James Madison University in April.