Grade 4 Teacher
Mr. HamiIton feels fortunate to be surrounded by earnest, driven, and professional teachers at Graland. In his Grade 4 classroom, he likes when students slow down and analyze their own thinking while they read or write. Being metacognitive is the first step in being a really great critical thinker and problem solver.
Impacting Students
Fourth graders love to work fast, so some of my favorite lessons are the ones that require them to grind things to a halt. I love teaching students how to show the tracks of their thinking in the texts that they read. Annotating is a lifelong skill that spans every discipline and it's amazing to watch students realize that they can bring as much of themselves into a text as they can take from it. When I teach annotation we aggregate everyone's thoughts onto one master page. As the lesson goes on, the few furtive pen marks on each student's page start to grow and spread as they get permission from their peers to give back to the page in front of them. I'm always struck by the number of students who, even at a young age, feel like they are breaking the rules by interpreting the work in front of them or making outside connections. I love to break down that barrier for students and show them the value of creating something new and individual from each moment of reading.
Lifelong Learner
I'm very grateful for the continued professional development opportunities that Graland offers. In my time at Graland I've been fortunate to travel and attend the Baltimore Math Institute, the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project, High Tech High, and several workshops at PEBC here in Denver. I love nothing more than a week engaged in pedagogy, filling a notebook, and honing my craft. As a teacher of reading, I feel lucky to engage in parallel practice with students and work on myself as a both an author and reader. Engaging in that discipline side by side with students is one of the greatest joys of this job.
Favorite Graland Tradition
My favorite Graland tradition is the Permanent Art Collection. While I love finding out what new pieces are going to enter the collection at the assembly each year, what I really love is walking the halls filled with student art every day. I think it's so important for kids to see their academic and their creative work taken seriously and this year round exhibition does a wonderful job of honoring students. I love the feeling of coming across a piece of art I don't recognize in a room or hallway on campus that I don't usually come across.
Professional Passion
In the classroom I feel most passionate about providing students with an interdisciplinary education and teaching critical thinking skills that translate across all disciplines. Before thinking of themselves as mathematicians, readers, writers, or historians in isolation, I want to teach my students to recognize the universal thinking strategies that make them more active learners.
Fun Fact
I'm dual citizen of Canada and the US. I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Favorite Childhood Memory
Learning to water ski on Lake Okoboji, Iowa
Life Goal
Ride a stage of the Tour de France
Joined Graland in...
2017
Also Known As
English Department Chair
Hometown
Denver, Colorado
Education
Master's in English literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Bachelor's in English literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Bachelor's in anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Minor in the study of leadership from CU Boulder
Certificate in the study of leadership from CU Boulder
Impacting Students
Fourth graders love to work fast, so some of my favorite lessons are the ones that require them to grind things to a halt. I love teaching students how to show the tracks of their thinking in the texts that they read. Annotating is a lifelong skill that spans every discipline and it's amazing to watch students realize that they can bring as much of themselves into a text as they can take from it. When I teach annotation we aggregate everyone's thoughts onto one master page. As the lesson goes on, the few furtive pen marks on each student's page start to grow and spread as they get permission from their peers to give back to the page in front of them. I'm always struck by the number of students who, even at a young age, feel like they are breaking the rules by interpreting the work in front of them or making outside connections. I love to break down that barrier for students and show them the value of creating something new and individual from each moment of reading.
Lifelong Learner
I'm very grateful for the continued professional development opportunities that Graland offers. In my time at Graland I've been fortunate to travel and attend the Baltimore Math Institute, the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project, High Tech High, and several workshops at PEBC here in Denver. I love nothing more than a week engaged in pedagogy, filling a notebook, and honing my craft. As a teacher of reading, I feel lucky to engage in parallel practice with students and work on myself as a both an author and reader. Engaging in that discipline side by side with students is one of the greatest joys of this job.
Favorite Graland Tradition
My favorite Graland tradition is the Permanent Art Collection. While I love finding out what new pieces are going to enter the collection at the assembly each year, what I really love is walking the halls filled with student art every day. I think it's so important for kids to see their academic and their creative work taken seriously and this year round exhibition does a wonderful job of honoring students. I love the feeling of coming across a piece of art I don't recognize in a room or hallway on campus that I don't usually come across.
Professional Passion
In the classroom I feel most passionate about providing students with an interdisciplinary education and teaching critical thinking skills that translate across all disciplines. Before thinking of themselves as mathematicians, readers, writers, or historians in isolation, I want to teach my students to recognize the universal thinking strategies that make them more active learners.
Fun Fact
I'm dual citizen of Canada and the US. I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Favorite Childhood Memory
Learning to water ski on Lake Okoboji, Iowa
Life Goal
Ride a stage of the Tour de France
Joined Graland in...
2017
Also Known As
English Department Chair
Hometown
Denver, Colorado
Education
Master's in English literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Bachelor's in English literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Bachelor's in anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder
Minor in the study of leadership from CU Boulder
Certificate in the study of leadership from CU Boulder
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
