Maryland Teacher Librarian Melaney Sanchez creates innovative experiential learning activities for her elementary school students. She was featured recently in an issue of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Magazine. Photo credit: Bay Weekly
One of the most valuable resources in our nation’s educational community is our Teacher Librarians. And one of the best of them is Melaney Sanchez, who works at an elementary school in Calvert County, Maryland. In fact, she was featured recently in an issue of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Magazine.
Melaney works with students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade at Mount Harmony Elementary School. There she supports the schools teachers as she works with students at every grade level throughout all their years at the school. And she is passionate about the work. “I adore my job and the possibilities it brings for programming an cultural arts,” she declares.
As a Teacher Librarian, Melaney creates experiential learning activities, and has especially focussed on activities that bring President George Washington and Mount Vernon into the curriculum. She organized a “wax museum” where fifth grade students chose to portray key historical figures such as Paul Revere, Deborah Sampson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and others. The students prepared a monologue, and when approached, they speak as that figure and remain in character to answer questions. “Historical figures must come alive to motivate students to ask for more,” Melaney asserts. “When students care they will seek more knowledge, more books, additional websites, and more experience in and out of school,” she continues. She notes that the effort encourages students to become lifelong learners.
The innovative Teacher Librarian also presents lessons that include debates between American patriots led by George Washington and loyalists led by King George. “They throughly enjoyed learning about how Washington used spies to outwit the British,” Melaney observes.
Melaney earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies, Language Arts, and Early Childhood Education from the University of Michigan, Flint, in 1992. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Instructional Leadership from Notre Dame of Maryland University in 2012. Her career as an educator spans 26 years.
