Becky Cassell
China Spring Elementary School
China Spring, Texas

Becky Cassell teaches her fourth graders utilizing the �5-E Instructional Model� (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation).  She believes the teacher must set the stage with investigative experiences and engaging environments.  With emphasis on parent involvement, enthusiasm, and hands-on learning, she incorporates the scientific method as a way of thinking across the curriculum.

�As an educator, I try to stay motivated, updated, and excited with new ideas and approaches. . . the joy of discovery and process of learning is a lifelong skill.  We can all be our own best teachers, discovering and exploring our ever-changing world with wonder, making the most informed positive contributions to our own neighborhoods, when creative teachers, in all walks of life, inspire and empower us.�

Highlights:

• Organizes an overnight field trip to NASA in Houston, Texas.
•  Portrays Albert Einstein to teach students about atoms, electromagnets, and nuclear reactors.  She simulates an astronaut�s flight experience to guide students through the development of space stations.
• Enhances learning process by transforming classroom to complement the lesson plan.  She has turned her classroom into an underwater ocean environment, a NASA flight simulation room, a science lab in the early 1900s, and a mine.
• Initiates whale adoptions for students while studying �The Voyage of the MiMi.�
• Utilizes visual wrap-around classroom environments including gentle light and soft sound to facilitate learner engagement
• Selected as Educator of the Year, Hunt County,Texas, 1992.