Falling in Love with Words: A Journey Through Language and Literature with Leana Phipps

On October 24, Friends Seminary celebrated the art and craft of teaching at the 16th Annual Art of Teaching Lecture, presented by Middle School English teacher Leana Phipps. Her lecture, titled “We Are the Storytellers: The Power and Beauty of Language,” was both a reflection on her 20 years at Friends Seminary and a celebration of the English language as a tool for deep thinking, empathy, and personal expression. Phipps shared insights into her own love of reading, a passion that she has been cultivating since childhood—charmingly depicted through family photos and memories, including the affectionate nickname “Duckus Bookus.”

Leana brings a rich background in English education to her role at Friends Seminary. She holds an M.S. in Teaching Adolescent English from Fordham University (2005) and a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University (2000). Prior to joining Friends, she taught English for three years at a public high school in the Bronx. Since arriving at Friends, she has been instrumental in curriculum development, co-authoring a 5th-grade advisory curriculum in 2015, and she actively engages in professional development.

In her Grades 5 and 6 classes, Phipps guides her students on a journey through language, helping them become not only better readers and writers but also better thinkers and empathetic individuals. The fifth-grade curriculum, for example, focuses on the pillars of literacy—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Here, she introduces her students to analytic writing, empowering them to express their ideas with clarity and purpose. A key part of this journey is the exploration of ancient texts, like Gilgamesh, which ties directly into their World History studies, keeping history alive and connected to the present. This interdisciplinary approach enhances students' comprehension of historical contexts, cultivating a sense of continuity across time and cultures.

In sixth grade, Phipps deepens the focus, encouraging students to engage with texts not only with their minds but also with their hearts. This emotional engagement is especially significant when students read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, often their first introduction to the Holocaust. By navigating these powerful narratives, students begin to understand literature as a bridge to empathy, allowing them to experience feelings and realities beyond their own. Phipps’s approach to storytelling places high value on empathy and understanding as the essence of reading and learning. As she often reminds her students, literature is about connecting us to one another, helping us understand the reasons behind human emotions and actions.

Phipps also emphasizes the artistry in storytelling, guiding her students to explore essential literary techniques like character archetypes, "showing versus telling," and sentence variety. This effort culminates in the popular “publishing parties,” where students share their creative works with family and peers, blending writing and visual arts in a celebration of their literary accomplishments. This project showcases the boundless creativity of 11- and 12-year-olds and exemplifies Phipps’s belief that every student has a unique storytelling voice.

Another highlight of Phipps’s lecture was her unconventional approach to fostering a love for words and storytelling. She reads aloud to her students, a practice that many middle school teachers overlook, and shares short stories to foster their appreciation for language. Through these practices, she invites students to “fall in love with words,” guiding them to become thoughtful and compassionate storytellers who understand the transformative power of language.

Her lecture also delved into the transformative impact of her 2017 sabbatical, which inspired the development of her Roots: Vocabulary for Life program—a cornerstone of her teaching philosophy. Phipps discussed how this research-based middle school vocabulary curriculum, which she later published, has become an essential part of her approach to teaching. Driven by a search for a vocabulary curriculum that both engages middle school students and aligns with research on language processing, Phipps developed Roots to boost functional vocabulary and enhance reading comprehension.

At the core of Roots is the concept of “word consciousness”—an understanding of word structure through prefixes, suffixes, and classical roots. Phipps helps students view complex words as puzzles, encouraging them to break down terms into meaningful parts rather than seeing them as intimidating. For instance, students learn to analyze roots like "civ," "spect," or "chron," paired with related vocabulary such as fortify when studying the root fort.

The curriculum also incorporates a cumulative approach, revisiting previously learned material in new contexts, which research shows is essential for retention and mastery. This method aims to produce confident readers who see unfamiliar words as “beautiful puzzles” to be deciphered rather than obstacles to avoid. Ultimately, Phipps’s Roots program equips students with the skills they need to approach language with curiosity and resilience, preparing them for lifelong success as readers and learners.

Leana Phipps’s lecture was an inspiring reminder of the lasting impact of teaching English as more than a subject—it’s a journey toward self-discovery, empathy, and a lifelong love of learning. Her approach reminds us all that, at its core, teaching English is teaching thinking, and to think deeply is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our students.

The Teri Hassid Art of Teaching Lecture is in recognition of Teri’s 40+ years of service to thousands of students, mentorship of hundreds of teachers and her always collegial and respectful partnership with administrative colleagues. The Art of Teaching Lecture series was created and endowed as part of the Lift Every Voice Campaign. Teri is a Lower School Head Emerita who retired from Friends in 2014 (and returned to Friends in 2016 as a Middle School Head leave-replacement for a semester). She began her career at Friends in 1978 as a Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. She left in 1982 and returned in 2004 to serve as Lower School Head.

Previous award recipients include:

Dr. Shayri Greenwood: The Joy in Discovering the Story (2022-23)

 

Isabel Dominguez: The Joy of Art (2021-22)

 

Stefan Stawnychy: Reckoning with American History (2020-21)

 

Steve Borowka: Drama Through The Stages: Life Skills and Learning Opportunities For All Students (2019-20)

 

Nadim Bawalsa, Balal Joundeya, Joseph Sills, Anna Swank Bothwell: Celebration: Friends Commemorates 10 Years of Arabic (2018-19)

 

Susan Schwartz: The Intersection of Collaborative Relationships And Brain Science (2017-18)

 

Sue Beyersdorf: Multiplying A Love for Mathematics (2016-17)

 

John Byrne: “Accidental Educator” From Ireland to Friends (2015-16)

 

Lauren Cohen, Elizabeth Grossi, Hassan Wilson: Education As A Journey Inward And Outward (2014-15)

 

Christel Johnson: Domina-Virgin-Mater-Trix, Ancient Labels Contemporary Struggles: Tracing The Feminine From Homer To Hilary (2013-14)

 

Courtney Retzler: The Wonder Of Metamorphosis: Monarch Butterflies And The Minds Of Children (2012-13)

 

Charlie Blanc: The Living Constitution: Teaching Law At Friends (2011-12)

 

Fred Schubert: The Atom: A Subtle And Fruitful Idea (2010-11)

 

Maria Fahey: The Teaching Metaphor And Shakespearean Drama (2009-10)

 

Daphne Taylor: Quilt Drawings (2008-09)