Denig wins 1st at State

On April 29, 2022, junior Chi Denig went to State for early education and teaching, where she competed against 16 other students and placed first.

Denig qualified for State by an opportunity provided by her classes at the technical campus at the College of Lake County. She took a qualifying exam on different teaching strategies and child development.
At State, Denig participated in a series of assessments based off what she was learning in her classes at the tech campus.

“I did a four question interview, a career readiness assessment, and a read-aloud story. I made a lesson plan and a lesson. While reading and presenting my lesson, I had to act as if there was a room full of children present,” Denig said. “That part was definitely difficult because it was just me and a judge.”

Denig created an interactive lesson with the story “A Kitten’s First Full Moon” to engage the hypothetical children. The judges tested her knowledge on different learning styles, her career readiness, the usage of technology in the classroom, and communication with the students’ parents.

“My next plans as of right now is to hopefully attend nationals in Atlanta at the end of June, hopefully place again there, and continue tech again next year in Early Education and Teaching II. Beyond that, I hope to major in either Early Education or Elementary Education in college,” Denig said.