Teaching is my Passion
There are many reasons that I teach. I love watching the light go on in a child’s eyes as they finally understand a concept they’ve been struggling with. I love discovering new ways to explain and show a complicated idea that makes it simple. I love collaborating with other teachers to find alternatives for oft-used lessons that will engage students all the more. But mostly, I love building relationships with students and teachers that encourage growth and empathy so that they feel safe and empowered to meet their potential.
This page will guide you through my philosophies, experiences, and the relationships I've cultivated as an educator these past ten years.
Ms. Raino-Ogden's Teaching Corner
Teaching Artifacts
ABOUTME
Hi! My name is Liza Raino-Ogden, or Ms. Raino-Ogden. I grew up in Lincoln Park in Chicago and have always loved the City. I attended St. Clement Elementary School and St. Ignatius College Prep and enjoyed every minute of it. After high school, I attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio where I majored in creative writing and minored in art. When I graduated, I decided to start my teaching career abroad in a small rural town in Thailand called Maemoh.
In Maemoh, I was able to teach English to students in 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grades and had the time of my life. From learning how to lesson plan on the fly to lunchtime chats with eager students to being "Miss Maemoh" in the Loy Kratong parade, every memory I have is precious. Some of the nicest people I have ever met lived among those rolling camel hills.
Once I returned, I began working at a company where I taught reading and comprehension, where I found happiness for three years. I spent time as a tutor, as an Office Manager, and as a Consultant. I learned more in those three years than I ever could have imagined. It was those three years that pushed me to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where I learned all I could about dyslexia, comprehension, and reading development, so that I could open up my own intensive reading non-profit, which I call The ReadEasy. I eventually began running my program through Harmony Community Cares in North Lawndale, where it continues to this day over the summers.
Finally, I began working towards my dual licensure in Special Education and Elementary Education at DePaul University in the fall of 2020, and have learned much more than I could have imagined. I cannot wait to begin my career as a classroom teacher in the fall of 2022.
Student Teaching Reflection
Lesson & Unit Plans
3rd Grade
3rd Grade Adapted ELA Lesson for Special Ed
3rd Grade Special Education Math Lesson
4th Grade
4th Grade Math Lesson
(Part of a Collaborative Unit)
5th Grade Unit Plan
6th Grade
Special Education Equivalent Fraction Lesson
(taught during student teaching)
Special Education Improper Fraction Conversion Lesson
(taught during student teaching)
7th Grade
Reading Comprehension
Decoding
Vocabulary
The ReadEasy
After I graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I worked hard to make my vision of a non-profit intensive reading clinic a reality. In 2018, that vision became a reality when I began running my clinic out of Harmony Community Church in North Lawndale. My roles here are to interview and hire tutors, identify and enroll students in need, administer pre and post reading checks to all students, write reading and comprehension lesson plans almost daily for each tutor to teach with their student, and to check in with each pair periodically to ensure the efficacy of my program and to monitor the students' growth. To find out more about that project, click the link below. You may also choose to view the results from each summer's session. I have loved running this clinic, and one of my biggest joys is sharing with both students and tutors how much the students' reading improved.