Katie+Gonzalez

=Welcome! = == =

= A Little Bit About Me: = My name is Katie Gonzalez and I teach at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside California. I am currently in my tenth year of teaching science at King.

I am also a wife and a mother to two amazing little boys! I guess my love of science extends out of the classroom because my family and I enjoy the outdoors and spend much of our free time doing different activities out in the big wide world. We camp, hike, fish and even go butterfly hunting with my dad who is an entomologist by hobby.

I feel it is important to experience what you teach. As a Biology teacher, I literally teach the study of life. I don't feel as though I could do that effectively if I did not go out and see the diversity of the living things in this world.

I also feel it is important to have student make connections about what they are learning. I actually like when kids in my classroom ask "Why do I need to know this?" beacuse I feel that in a class like Biology you are living what you are learning and I can always make a connection in that way. Take this silly video below as an example. It is appropriate what with Mother's Day creeping up on us, yet it demonstrates some very important principles of Biology and how these things can affect something as ordinary as being a mother.

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= Class Information: =

= = I am teaching six classes this year. I have three Honors Biolgy, courses, one General Biology and two Anatomy and Physiology classes. I am very busy, but luckily I work with great teachers and we collaborate all the time. This really helps us all to be the best we can be in our classrooms. But, being a good teacher is more than simply teaching the material. I strive to help prepare my high school age kids for what is coming after graduation. That is why another thing that is important for me to include in my classroom curriculum is the incorporation of technology. Today's students are growing up in a digital age. They need to be shown examples of how technology can be utilized to convey information. For this reason I use power point often in my classroom presentations. A lot of the video I show is often embedded in the power point presentation. I also encourage students to utilize the online gradebooks to find out their grades so they can learn to track their progress on their own. This becomes a very helpful tool for parents as well. = Where to find me: = = media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=9301+Wood+Rd+Riverside+ca+92508&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=26.316024,56.337891&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=9301+Wood+Rd,+Riverside,+California+92508&z=14&ll=33.884568,-117.333624&output=embed" width="425" height="350" align="center"

= Class Calendar: =

Things are going to be a little out of the ordinary this week due to STAR Testing. We will be on a block schedule to accomodate testing starting this Tuesday, April 19th. Below is a calendar to help you know where you should be each day, as well as information as to what is happening in class each day:

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