Drawing on literature that connects students lives and experiences to the Language Arts curriculum, AC emphasizes the use of "skills" for a variety of purposes and applications. While assessment is purposefully build into the culture of her classroom, she also makes sure that the skills students are learning are presented as meaningful and useful beyond the classroom. Believing that the difference between those students who are successful and those who are not is the ability to apply what they've learned in different situations and contexts, AC works to provide multiple ways for students to connect skills learned with their lives through literature and writing. Provided here is an example of a lesson outside the core curriculum that was intended to help students connect the skills they had been learning with literature that was meaningful to their lives.