To parents and students,
Welcome to my 6th and 8th grade English Language Arts class. I am so excited for this school year and look forward to making our class interactive, academically driven, and unforgettable. A little about my professional background, this will be my 5th year as a teacher. I did my student teaching at MacArthur Fundamental and since them have worked at a K-8 Elementary School, a High School, and most recently I was at Spurgeon Intermediate for the last two years. In the past, I have had many responsibilities including being EL Coordinator, GATE Coordinator, ELA Department Chair, and PBL Lead. I like to stay active within the school community and usually find myself being involved. I went to Cal State Fullerton for my two bachelor's degrees, one in English and one in Child Development. And I also received my Credentials at CSUF. A few years ago I completed my Masters in Teaching and Learning at Chapman University.
I currently live in Santa Ana with my husband and my dogs, Miso and Sunja. I enjoy hiking, crafting, and traveling on my free time. I grew up in Santa Ana with my mom, dad, and sister. My family immigrated to The United States when I was 2 years old from Vietnam. Ever since then, we have made Santa Ana our home. When I was in 3rd grade I attended Jackson Elementary School, down the street from Centennial Park. As you will see throughout the school year I have a lot of love for Hello Kitty and anything glittery, pink, and flowery. I hope to have a strong community within our class with an emphasis on tolerance, respect, and communication.
This is going to be an exciting year. 6th Grade will be working on several novels along with short stories, poetry, and non fiction texts. 8th Grade students will also be reading a novel, website designing, short stories, poetry, and non fiction texts. There is a lot planned for this school year.
My contact information:
Email: vikki.pham@sausdlearns.net
Or through the MacArthur front office:714.568.7700
Instagram and Twitter: @missespham
Snapchat: missespham
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September 21, 2018
Showing off our new bulletin board with our nice and heroic coats of arms. The coats of arms represent the Class Craft Teams in our class.
September 5, 2018
It is the beginning of the school year, with a new group of students. Here is a brief tour of my classroom. From wall to wall student work to new coats of arms for our Class Craft Teams.
October 4, 2017
6th Grade students wanted to share some positive thoughts. Especially with all the events happening in the news, they are writing notes for everyone.
August 30, 2017
6th Grade students begin the school year working on their citizenship and social responsibility skills. Parents, you can monitor your students by logging into the CLASS DOJO link with your childs' specific code.
August 14, 2017 - First Day of School
My first school day at MacArthur Intermediate! Everything went beautifully and students spent the class period writing. Within the week, students tried doing a Circle Test, a test for creativity. I wanted to see how creative students can be when given the chance to think (and be artistic) outside of the box. They all did very well.
April 13, 2017
7th Grade ELA students are starting the a novel unit today. We will be studying The Clay Marble by MinFong Ho. Click here for a copy of the parent letter that was sent home to students.
March 28,2017
Today is the first day of EdCafe and almost the last day of the Superhero Unit. Students did very well and had a blast presenting their global issues to their fellow superhero league-rs.
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March 15, 2017
The superheroes are about done with their sidekick stories and images. I will be handing these out during 5th Grade Parent Night at Spurgeon next Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 4:30pm. Below is the 2nd Transmission sent to 5th graders at Jackson, Monte Vista, and Fremont Elementary.
February 10, 2017
A special tanks to Mrs. Arroyo from Monte Vista Elementary School for sending our class these awesome photos of the Sidekicks working. Team work!
February 7, 2017
The start of a new semester calls for the start of a new PBL unit. From monsters to superheroes the 7th graders are destined to spend the next couple of months finding their superhero self. For the past two weeks students are preparing their websites for the incoming sidekicks that will be working with this class of superheroes. With a special thanks to Mrs. Wallstedt, Mrs. Arroyo, Mrs. Martinez, Mrs. Lowe, and Mrs. Mejiajung from Jackson Elementary, Fremont Elementary, and Monte Vista Elementary Schools' I was able to arrange a sidekick for each of my 7th grade students. Below is their first transmission through the "Communication Star".
January 19, 2017
The MAP test and DWA test will be taken in our classroom all week (1/23 - 1/27). Students are color coding their paragraphs to solidify their understanding of the Jane Schaffer 5 paragraph writing format.
December 23, 2016
7th Grade students presenting to their 6th grade peers; thus giving a preview of what they will be doing in 7th grade ELA next year.
December 16, 2016
These are some pictures of exhibition night. Many of the student attended with family and friends eagerly listening to the stories written by groups of students.
December 15, 2016
Spurgeon Intermediate is having our PBL Exhibition Night from 5:00 - 6:30pm
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December 13 - 14, 2016
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Writing has taken over the notebook pages of the classroom this past week. With color coding and sentence starters guiding students through the tough terrain of words - the students followed through and made it work. We have been debating if we would walk the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon through our writing this week. Below is a video of students reasoning with each other about what they would write in their commentary for the evidence that we gathered together.
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December 12, 2016
Today after learning the Jane Schaffer Paragraph students had time to play with QR codes in the classroom. The QR Codes hang long wall paper in our classroom and students were able to obtain a new monster story with just a click of their QR Code reader. A big hit is our scary Dreadful Trumph monster from my 5th period class.
November 29 - 30, 2016
The students are finally done with their projects! The monsters are housed in the Glass Room at Spurgeon and will welcome any visters willing to walk through our gallery. Accompanied with the posters are QR codes leading to the student websites. The websites feature the monster stories, commercial, and documentation of group work. Thursday and Friday the students were prepared to present to their 6th grade peers. The whole experience was exciting and all guests enjoyed the trip through our scary exhibit.
November 3, 2016
For the past couple of weeks, students have been studying monsters intensely through the PBL unit - "Lessons from Monsters". The unit began with a study on aliens and human mob mentality by reading "Monsters are due on Maple Street" and then to the inner psych of a questionable 1st person speaker in Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee", and now we have landed our minds on the door steps of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein".
September 8, 2016 - back to school night message
August 24, 2016
Welcome to the new school year! This is my syllabus below.
March 29-31, 2016
Day 1 -3 of our Superhero EdCafe Presentations.
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March 21, 2016
Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Nava, and myself will be teaching a summer enrichment program from June 20th to July 21st on The Immigrant Experiences of Santa Ana. Please talk to either of us if you are interested.
February 17, 2016
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Gunnary Sergeant Wilson, Captain Ramiro Aceves, and Sergeant Marcis Pereda from the US Marine Corp were invited into our classroom today to speak to the students about the Marine Corp. These representatives spoke to students about confidence, team work, and many other aspects of the Marine Corp that can also be seen in the characteristics of comic book superheroes. Students had the chance to ask questions about what heroes have inspired these men to join the Marine Corp, how they see themselves and their work as being heroic, etc. Thank you to all three men for coming into our classroom and really opening our eyes to the commitment that exists in the Marine Corp brother/sisterhood.
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February 10, 2016
Sergeant Jesus Lopez from the US Army was a guest speaker in our classroom today. He brought his experience and his knowledge about the Army and its heroes into the classroom and all of my 7th grade students were highly engaged. The students had insightful questions that helped expand their understanding of modern day heroes, especially ones serving in the armed forces. We really appreciate Sergeant Jesus Lopez for coming to our class. Thank you!
February 3, 2016
Today, Petty Officer Guiang visited our 7th grade classroom to talk to all students about the US Navy. Our guest speaker was specifically invited into the classroom to further expand student understanding of real life heroes and their responsibilities. Students took notes and asked questions about what qualities he thought are heroic, his role models, etc. Thank you Petty Officer G for coming to our classroom!
January 4th, 2016
Students reviewing the plot pyramid collaboratively using the whiteboard tables and emoji's.
December 7th , 2015
Today, Dr. Robert Castro from Cal State Fullerton to speak to students about immigration. This is a bookend to the PBL unit on Syrian Refugees. Students got to learn more about immigration procedures and how this looks like for Syrian refugees.
Thank you Dr. Castro for coming to speak with us today!
Thank you Dr. Castro for coming to speak with us today!
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Today we talked about the events that happened in Paris last Friday. By the end of Friday, we will be taking this down and sending it to the French Consulate in Washington DC. #PrayforParis
Monday, October 26, 2015
Students completed their first EdCafe today.
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Friday, September 25, 2015
Students using PADLET to brainstorm about what GREATNESS looks/sounds/acts like.
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Monday, September 21, 2015
We will be using Google Classroom to submit digital assignments throughout the year.
These are your class codes:
Period 1 = dp9zbi8
Period 2 = tfteqw
Period 3 = gxm4o6g
Period 4 = 8862we9
Period 5 = ts653gw
Friday, September 18, 2015
A big "THANK YOU" to all of the families that attended Back - To - School Night yesterday night. It was my pleasure to meet you and speak to you about the wonderful things we are doing in my class this year.
To parents and students,
I will be communicating with parents and students most Fridays (after school) by texting you short messages about reminders, assignments, due dates, and other school events. It is one of several ways to stay connected. The system will NOT allow me to see your phone number nor enable you to reply to me.
How to sign up for REMIND:
Step 1: Open your text message capability
Step 2: Enter TO: 81010
Step 3: Text in the message @pham7
Step 4: Press SEND
Step 5: The system will send you a message asking you for your name. Please reply with your first name and last initial.
Ex. John Smith = John S.
Vanessa Lang = Vanessa L.
*parents: Please indicate who you are - in relation to your child
Ex. John S. Mom
Vanessa L. Uncle
I will be communicating with parents and students most Fridays (after school) by texting you short messages about reminders, assignments, due dates, and other school events. It is one of several ways to stay connected. The system will NOT allow me to see your phone number nor enable you to reply to me.
How to sign up for REMIND:
Step 1: Open your text message capability
Step 2: Enter TO: 81010
Step 3: Text in the message @pham7
Step 4: Press SEND
Step 5: The system will send you a message asking you for your name. Please reply with your first name and last initial.
Ex. John Smith = John S.
Vanessa Lang = Vanessa L.
*parents: Please indicate who you are - in relation to your child
Ex. John S. Mom
Vanessa L. Uncle
Scholastic Activation Code: MJ6PB
