Mrs. Cooper's Bio
This is my 18th year of teaching in the Chicago Public Schools and my 14th year at Decatur. In my 18 years of teaching, I have taught everything from 1st grade to 8th grade! Literacy & Social Studies are passions of mine and I am very excited to be teaching 5th grade English Literacy and Social Studies this year.
I received my undergraduate degree from DePauw University in elementary education and history. Later I attended DePaul University and received my master’s degree as a reading specialist with a focus on learning disabilities. I'm excited to be utilizing my background in history & literacy in my classroom on a daily basis. I'm lucky to be able to teach two of my favorite subjects this year!
When I'm not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, figure skating, and doing needlepoint. I also am very excited to be having my first child this fall!
Posts
The PARCC test in Illinois has been replaced by the The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) for students in grades 3-8. The computer adaptive assessment measures the same Illinois Learning Standards test content and mimics the format as its predecessor while reducing testing time by one-third. Please click here to access a parent letter and learn more from CPS.
We will begin IAR testing in your child's homeroom Monday, April 1st from 8-11 AM and it will continue until Wednesday, April 3rd. Please help make sure that your child arrives to school each day on time and is well rested. Thank You!
4th grade students participated in a gallery walk of their end of book projects for Al Capone Does My Shirts.
4th grade student works on a model of Alcatraz as part of his end of novel project for Al Capone Does My Shirts.
6th grade student uses quotes from our text to help illustrate imagery used in our novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
6th grade students engage in learning stations to develop background knowledge about the Holocaust before starting their new novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
4th grade students create advertisements for the laundry scheme in our novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts.
Students analyze character traits & actions to determine motivation in 5th grade.
Katherine Cooper
5th Grade Literacy & Social Studies Teacher