Wade and Hope King are teachers at the world famous Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta Georgia . They have been married for six years and have taught together in public school prior to teaching together at RCA . Mr . King currently teaches 8th grade Ancient Civilizations as well as 5-8 current events . He also serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at RCA . Mrs . King teaches 5th and 6th grade reading and 5th grade science at the Academy . Mrs . King is also known around the country for her innovative ways of transforming her classroom . She has a fantastic following with her blog and her Instagram . She is the founder of “ Get Your Teach On ” a K-5 educators conference .
Wade and Hope teach differently , but they have one thing in common . The are committed to setting up their classrooms and environment to engage the students . Hope is often quoted in saying she “ sets the stage , to engage ”. Where Wade walks around the room with his electric guitar to uses song and competition in his classroom , Hope loves to transform her environment . They have different strengths and talents and recently have been using one another to combine their talents to transform the King Wing at RCA .
Last school year , the Kings combined their talents in ways they never thought possible . Combining rigorous content with fun and excitement left lasting impressions on their students . Some examples include Super Mario to review science and social studies , NASCAR for teaching forces and motion using STEAM , Pirates of the Caribbean to review ELA , SCIENCE , ANCIENT HISTORY , and Math , and Jurassic World to teach living organisms and math . These are just a few examples of how they set the stage to engage .
Last year Wade wanted to try out a room transformation on his own . Hope had guided him on room transformations for a year and he wanted to challenge himself on what he considered a weakness of his . He is a firm believer in focusing on your talents and interests and how much you can improve in your profession . However , you aren ’ t growing unless you are uncomfortable .
So , Wade decided to combine an interest of his with a weakness . It was at that moment he decided to introduce his students to the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from the 90 ’ s . Now , most people would probably shake their heads at this idea . But , incorporating who you are in your content can inspire and motivate your students . Hope and Wade say if you aren ’ t passionate about the content you are teaching , be passionate about how you teach it .
Mr . King started to introduce his students to the Power Rangers in connection with human rights and drone usage . He would show brief clips of the show and connect it with real world application . His
STEAMed Magazine
11
January 2017 Edition