moving writers

November 25, 2021November 24, 2021Paige Timmerman

First Year Teacher Support: The Power of Talk

When I decided to write a blog for new teachers, I should have begun with this piece of advice. What I’m going to share with you is nothing new or nuanced. I’m sure other teachers (myself included) have already said this 1,000 times on this blog. There are whole books on this topic that dive […]

Continue Reading "First Year Teacher Support: The Power of Talk"
November 23, 2021November 22, 2021megankortlandt

What I’m Thankful For: Small Writing & Big Thinking

These days, everything seems big. The problems are enormous, the exhaustion is shattering, and the challenges are endless. It’s no wonder I keep finding myself feeling totally overwhelmed. Whenever I realize that I’m sitting in an overwhelmed space, I’ve found that something that’s helpful to me is to break the enormity down into smaller pieces. […]

Continue Reading "What I’m Thankful For: Small Writing & Big Thinking"
November 22, 2021November 22, 2021Xochitl Bentley

Writing a Climate Victory Garden

Louise Maher-Johnson’s poem, “Notes from a Climate Victory Garden,” offers a series of calls to action, as seen in the poem’s opening: Rebalance: Greenhouse Gases (CO2,N2O, CH4, H2O vapor) with photosynthesis. Recognize: Plants cool by evaporation, ground cover, shade, and precipitation Replant: Lawns with Victory Gardens, as in world war past. Organized by lines beginning […]

Continue Reading "Writing a Climate Victory Garden"
November 19, 2021November 19, 2021Brett Vogelsinger

Learning From Poems: Music

Teaching students to hear the music in words, we can help them create writing that is not just efficient, accurate, and clear, but also playful, dramatic, and arresting.

Continue Reading "Learning From Poems: Music"
November 18, 2021November 17, 2021stefaniejochman

The Presents of Mind: I’m Thankful for… Letters!

Last month, I introduced two new means of reflection–a set of brainstorming questions inspired by Reading with Presence and a “poetry prescription” activity–that I hoped to implement in the weeks that followed. Today, I’m here with an update. Readers, they worked! The poem analysis letters inspired by The Paris Review’s “Poetry Rx” column were full […]

Continue Reading "The Presents of Mind: I’m Thankful for… Letters!"
November 17, 2021November 16, 2021noahteach

Inquiry Lab: Anchor Charts that Help Students Go Further

Welcome back to the Inquiry Lab! In my last post, I shared ways I teach and coach students to nudge each other toward deeper learning. Today, we’ll get into ways the teacher can leverage a workshop approach to similar effect, especially when it comes to inquiry work. It all begins with effective anchor charts. To […]

Continue Reading "Inquiry Lab: Anchor Charts that Help Students Go Further"
November 10, 2021October 8, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

Using Reading Responses to Think, Write, and Talk About Race

A Portrait of an English Department’s Racial Reckoning: Using Reading Responses with Critical Race Theory K. Keener (www.kakeener.com) has taught English in a variety of contexts across four continents and all levels for 21 years in total. She began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe and most recently taught at Horace Greeley High School […]

Continue Reading "Using Reading Responses to Think, Write, and Talk About Race"
November 9, 2021October 14, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

RIP, Mentor Text Dropbox

This is a love story. In 2012, Allison and I applied for the same job at a local high school. One position. Two of us. We had never met and were not remotely aware of one another’s existence even though we had shared a couple years at the same university. On a Monday, I got […]

Continue Reading "RIP, Mentor Text Dropbox"
November 4, 2021November 4, 2021Abigail Lund

Can Our Secrets Connect Us? PostSecret Confessions

This months post @msablund takes us through a writing move that helps us build community by sharing our secrets. This lesson also extends beyond personal writing but can be a template for content and beyond.

Continue Reading "Can Our Secrets Connect Us? PostSecret Confessions"
October 28, 2021October 26, 2021Paige Timmerman

First Year Teacher Support: Setting Small Goals

Hey there, new teacher! I hope you’re hanging in there! This is right around the time of the year during my first year of teaching when I learned teaching writing is a lot harder than it looks. By the end of first quarter, I had tried my hand at a writing assignment or two and […]

Continue Reading "First Year Teacher Support: Setting Small Goals"
October 22, 2021October 22, 2021Brett Vogelsinger

Learning From Poems: Imagery

This year on Moving Writers, my “beat” returns to poetry as a foundational element of a writing classroom. Each month’s post will examine how we can learn about an aspect of writing from a specific poem or poems, then look at what it might sound like to extend those ideas to a writing lesson in […]

Continue Reading "Learning From Poems: Imagery"
October 20, 2021October 20, 2021noahteach

Inquiry Lab: Teaching Students to Nudge Each Other Toward Deep Learning

Welcome to the Inquiry Lab! In this series, we’re thinking through how we can use the workshop model to teach inquiry work, in any subject (writing included, of course). For the last year or so, I’ve been rethinking the way we teach into group work and partner collaborations. To that end, here at Moving Writer’s, […]

Continue Reading "Inquiry Lab: Teaching Students to Nudge Each Other Toward Deep Learning"
October 18, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

Even More Fall PD from Moving Writers!

But wait! There’s more! Last week, we announced two brand new professional development experiences — an on-demand course to help you develop curiosity about words and phrases in your students and an upcoming live webinar focused on environmental writing and helping students become climate stewards through writing experiences. But that’s not all! We’re rounding out […]

Continue Reading "Even More Fall PD from Moving Writers!"
October 18, 2021October 18, 2021Xochitl Bentley

Environmental Justice, Comic Book Storytelling, and Seed Work

In Charlie La Greca and Rebecca Bratspies’ environmental justice comic, Mayah’s Lot, the image of the aspen seed is prominent. The titular character intends to plant an aspen seed in a garden she secretly tends on a vacant lot, just before finding out a corporation’s plan to transform the lot into an industrial toxic storage waste facility. […]

Continue Reading "Environmental Justice, Comic Book Storytelling, and Seed Work"
October 14, 2021hattiemaguire

How Do We Research? Two Ways I’m Hitting the Reset Button

Last year turned everything I thought I knew about teaching and learning upside down, and I don’t want to rush back to old practices. To avoid that, my blog focus this semester is on places where I want to hit the reset button. In September I reset by reading Writing Rhetorically and figuring out how […]

Continue Reading "How Do We Research? Two Ways I’m Hitting the Reset Button"

Recently …

November 25, 2021November 24, 2021Paige Timmerman

First Year Teacher Support: The Power of Talk

When I decided to write a blog for new teachers, I should have begun with this piece of advice. What I’m going to share with you is nothing new or nuanced. I’m sure other teachers (myself included) have already said this 1,000 times on this blog. There are whole books on this topic that dive […]

November 23, 2021November 22, 2021megankortlandt

What I’m Thankful For: Small Writing & Big Thinking

These days, everything seems big. The problems are enormous, the exhaustion is shattering, and the challenges are endless. It’s no wonder I keep finding myself feeling totally overwhelmed. Whenever I realize that I’m sitting in an overwhelmed space, I’ve found that something that’s helpful to me is to break the enormity down into smaller pieces. […]

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021Xochitl Bentley

Writing a Climate Victory Garden

Louise Maher-Johnson’s poem, “Notes from a Climate Victory Garden,” offers a series of calls to action, as seen in the poem’s opening: Rebalance: Greenhouse Gases (CO2,N2O, CH4, H2O vapor) with photosynthesis. Recognize: Plants cool by evaporation, ground cover, shade, and precipitation Replant: Lawns with Victory Gardens, as in world war past. Organized by lines beginning […]

November 19, 2021November 19, 2021Brett Vogelsinger

Learning From Poems: Music

Teaching students to hear the music in words, we can help them create writing that is not just efficient, accurate, and clear, but also playful, dramatic, and arresting.

November 18, 2021November 17, 2021stefaniejochman

The Presents of Mind: I’m Thankful for… Letters!

Last month, I introduced two new means of reflection–a set of brainstorming questions inspired by Reading with Presence and a “poetry prescription” activity–that I hoped to implement in the weeks that followed. Today, I’m here with an update. Readers, they worked! The poem analysis letters inspired by The Paris Review’s “Poetry Rx” column were full […]

November 17, 2021November 16, 2021noahteach

Inquiry Lab: Anchor Charts that Help Students Go Further

Welcome back to the Inquiry Lab! In my last post, I shared ways I teach and coach students to nudge each other toward deeper learning. Today, we’ll get into ways the teacher can leverage a workshop approach to similar effect, especially when it comes to inquiry work. It all begins with effective anchor charts. To […]

November 10, 2021October 8, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

Using Reading Responses to Think, Write, and Talk About Race

A Portrait of an English Department’s Racial Reckoning: Using Reading Responses with Critical Race Theory K. Keener (www.kakeener.com) has taught English in a variety of contexts across four continents and all levels for 21 years in total. She began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe and most recently taught at Horace Greeley High School […]

November 9, 2021October 14, 2021Rebekah O'Dell

RIP, Mentor Text Dropbox

This is a love story. In 2012, Allison and I applied for the same job at a local high school. One position. Two of us. We had never met and were not remotely aware of one another’s existence even though we had shared a couple years at the same university. On a Monday, I got […]

November 4, 2021November 4, 2021Abigail Lund

Can Our Secrets Connect Us? PostSecret Confessions

This months post @msablund takes us through a writing move that helps us build community by sharing our secrets. This lesson also extends beyond personal writing but can be a template for content and beyond.