❈ Samples ❈
"This is a great start. We can't wait to read the [finished] manuscript. [Megan] has a great voice."
Client feedback for a decodable text
❈ Instructional Design Work ❈
In the spring of 2020, our preschool was closed by the State of New Jersey because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, it was unclear if our facility would stay open, so in a panic, I started to get my resume together, updated my LinkedIn profile, and began to figure out what my next move would be if our school closed. Since my favorite part of teaching was always lesson design, I decided to look into what I would have to do to break into educational writing. It took a while to take off, but eventually, I was able to make this career turn into a reality!
Early Childhood and Primary School Education:
- In Defense of the Science of Reading, a short article discussing the issue of reading instruction in American schools
- Decodable and Leveled texts for emerging readers, including "Meg Sees the Joy", a decodable text that I wrote and illustrated
- Sample assessment questions for lower and upper elementary school students, along with a selection of paid assessment projects I worked on
- The Kindergarten Science Curriculum that I created to use in my classroom, including the course's Scope and Sequence, a sample unit and lesson plan, and sample ancillary materials
- The Kindergarten Readiness Report, a list of overall learning objectives used to assess my students that I created in place of a Pre-K report card. It was created based on the input from local Kindergarten teachers. This was used for five years, and during that time, we were consistently commended for having the best-prepared Kindergarteners in the area.
- This Pre-Kindergarten "Self-Study" Homework Program was created in response to changing attitudes about preschool homework and coping with COVID-related attendance issues to allow parents to "self-study" our reading and math programs during extended absences.
Secondary Education:
- Writing a Historical Argument, a five-day unit plan that introduces and guides middle and high school students through a document-based essay, including an essay prompt, supporting documents, a sample historical argument written by a historian, and a scoring rubric
- Sample assessment examples for middle school ELA and Social Studies students
- Leveled texts for high school students where I wrote vocabulary test passages on grade level (using Lexile scores), a second differentiated passage adjusted for a grade lower, and created six assessment questions for each passage
❈ Content Writing❈
Educational Content Writing
While the instruction of students is the primary work of a teacher's day, teachers spend a lot of time communicating by word. Every week, I found myself writing a large amount of content meant to keep the lines of communication strong between my classroom and the parents of my students. Coupled with my blog and maintaining the school's website, my experience in educational writing is extensive.
- Schooling Tiny Humans, a blog for teachers working in locally-owned, non-corporate daycares
- In Defense of the Science of Reading, a short article with a short history of reading instruction in the United States
- Bright Start Early Learning Center, a website for a local preschool in New Jersey
- Lunch Policy for the Pre-Kindergarten Program, a school policy notice to parents
- How We Use Seesaw, a school policy notice to parents
Community-Based Content Writing
Education is not the only field that I feel strongly about. As a certified Social Studies teacher with a minor in Political Science, government issues and politics have always been topics of great interest. More importantly, I've always been particularly drawn toward government and nonprofit organizations that work to make the community a better place for its residents. It would be an honor and a privilege to help further a great cause.
Community-Centered Content Writing:
- Frequently Asked Questions for a local party rental business
- Why You Should Turn Your Lawn into a Meadow for Native Pollinators, an article for improving the environment
- Winning Over a Semi-Feral Cat, a how-to guide for prospective adoptive cat parents
❈ Copywriting & Marketing Work ❈
In 2019, it became apparent that competition was becoming steeper in our area as more schools opened. We decided to get ahead of the situation by creating a marketing campaign that targeted our community directly. I added two new sections to the website that exist solely to convince potential customers to come to our school. Then, I used these new sections to market directly in local Facebook groups that our target audience frequented. During this campaign, we saw record numbers in our enrollment despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Website Marketing:
Social Media Marketing:
- Facebook Marketing Campaign for Bright Start ELC on its local community Facebook boards
- Facebook Business Page and Seesaw Class App Posts for Bright Start ELC
- Caldwell Event Outfitters Opening Month, a press release created for another local business posted to its local Patch.com page
❈ Web Content & Blog Writing ❈
During the summer of 2008, my current employer approached me about developing a website for their school. This was my first big writing and coding project. Since then, I have updated their website several times, run their social media, and written information for our customers and prospective enrollees.
Website Content:
- Preschool Class Information from the Bright Start ELC website
- School Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from the Bright Start ELC website
- Frequently Asked Questions for another local community business
- Website Content for a local preschool
In February 2018, I created a blog, called "Schooling Tiny Humans", targeting teachers in small, locally-owned preschools who lack access to the national curriculums and other ancillary materials of chain schools, providing discussion on pertinent issues within the profession and distributing realistic resources that can be used in any preschool classroom. As of December 2020, Schooling Tiny Humans is now hosted via LinkedIn's hosting service.
Blog Posts:
Like what you see?
You can check my LinkedIn profile for additional writing samples for each entry in my full-length resume.