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Name: Mrs. Rodrigues' 2nd Grade Classroom
Address: US

curious

mind >>>

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
~ Walt Disney

Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.

~ Bryant H. McGill

About Mrs. Rodrigues

Mrs. Rodrigues is an award-winning teacher who has a combined teaching experience of 13+ years in Portugal, Italy and the USA, working with children of all ages and ability levels.

In Portugal, Mrs. Rodrigues majored in Design of Communication. After moving to the United States of America in 2001, she became an educator through motherhood and further studies in the fields of Elementary and Special Education (MA).

Mrs. Rodrigues is also certified in Art Education, having illustrated two books and taught several art workshops at the Children's Art Studio, a place where she lends wings to children's imaginations.

For her, there’s nothing more enjoyable than sparking children’s curiosity, creativity and love for learning. Mrs. Rodrigues' lesson plans always follow three simple rules:*

1) Curiosity comes first,

2) Embrace the mess and

3) Practice reflection.

*Inspired by Ramsey Musallam through the TED Talk "3 Rules to Spark Learning" (video available on the Parents page).

In Mrs. Rodrigues' classroom, students are given the opportunity to expand a variety of skills with predominance on the higher-order thinking skills of analyzing, evaluating and creating (revised Bloom's Taxonomy).

In addition to the English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies PA standard-based curriculum related activities, students explore topics of their interest while deepening their knowledge and creating something new. Children are also given problems to solve in creative and collaborative ways. They are encouraged to take risks and make mistakes, draw conclusions and effectively communicate those conclusions to an audience.

Mrs. Rodrigues believes the classroom is a lab of social change. She says, "The future is in the hands of today's most creative, critical, analytical, confident and empathic children. My job as a teacher is to foster all those qualities. The students' job is to discover their uniqueness and maintain a growth minset*."

*In "The Growth Mindset" video by the Khan Academy (available on the Parents page)

In the Classroom

“It is a privilege to work with Carla on a daily basis. I marvel at Carla’s insight for bringing to the forefront many creative and research based ideas affording students the opportunity to participate in activities that would enrich, extend and challenge them in their learning process. Her passion and enthusiasm to support every student in his or her individual journey, stressing avenues to be a successful learner, is quite evident by her desire to work closely with many district, school and grade level teams."

Marla Kinney / Instructional Support Teacher (30+ Years of Teaching Experience)

"My husband and I appreciate everything that you've done for [our son] this year. We were so thankful that he had you as his teacher. You recognized his inner strengths and mind and really saw him for the special guy that he is. I think in life you have a few teachers who stand out in your memory. March is filled with such wonderful teachers. But, I truly believe [our son] will particularly remember his time with you in second grade. I know that I've asked a lot of you as a teacher and I am so grateful that you always made time for all of our concerns. [Our son] really had the opportunity to feel special, valued and to shine. We will be forever thankful."

Janine F. / Parent