In my last post, I wrote about trying to balance the role of coach and consultant in my role. It’s one that’s inherent for anyone in a leadership role. How do you know when to offer your own thinking vs. when to step back to support as someone else wrestles with theirs? It’s a tricky […]
This semester I’ve been chronicling my first-ever experiment with Genius Hour and its intersection with the regular machinations of our writing workshop. You can catch up on the other posts in this series before diving into this wrap up! ________________________________________________________________________________________ Genius Hour, and the school year, are almost over. My students are writing their final […]
As much as I hate to admit it, I was not much of a reader in high school. It’s not that I didn’t like reading. I did. I just didn’t know what to read. My friend would buy books every now and then and pass them along to me. I would read them and enjoy […]
Moving Writers Survives Thrives at the End of the Year In September I wrote a post about beginning the school year slowly and avoiding the instinct to “hit the ground running.” Today’s post is about that very same thing, except it’s May, so we’re thinking about ways we can begin to slow down and close […]
There’s a John Lennon song that addresses an issue that teachers know all too well: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making [lesson] plans.” Even the most responsive and differentiated approaches can fall victim to the different kinds of chaos that life throws our way (Technology, I’m talking to you). On top […]
You can feel the anxiety in the air. A buzzing current at present, but one that will steadily increase in intensity as the days close in on the AP Language and Composition exam (May 15th). So my focus right now is on my juniors—a group of 21 bright, young individuals who I have worked with […]
This semester I’m sharing my experiment with bringing Genius Hour into my writing workshop. You can catch up on the rest of the series here. I don’t have many crystal-clear high school English class memories, believe it or not, but one of them is sitting in the library with my 11th grade class, a stack […]
Ever since I read Write Beside Them, I have been on the hunt for the perfect primer to writing workshop — the big, broad strokes. The definitions of all the workshoppy words in one place. Ideas for how to set up the classroom. The gist of what a mini-lesson should sound like and what students should […]
All year I’ve been writing about teaching research writing. I’ve been teaching two research-heavy classes (AP Seminar and a class called The Incubator) and it’s forced me to zero in on what I’m doing to help my students see the relevance of developing solid research skills. It has pushed me to think about the why […]
Friends, it’s almost time. Moving Writers is hosting its second annual 100 Days of Summer Writing — a mentor-text driven writing exploration for teachers and students alike! But we need your help! We need to compile (at least) 100 mentor-text-inspired writing invitations! And we want YOU to contribute a verse! Here’s how: Find some mentor […]
It’s never too late to start writing workshop. Even if it’s May. Even if you only have a tattered, borrowed copy of Write Beside Them, the encouragement of a bunch of Twitter colleagues, and a twinkle in your eye. Even if you’ve never made time for writing in class and you’re worried they might throw tomatoes if […]
Not every administrator “gets” writing workshop (she says laughing at the biggest understatement ever). But a couple years ago, one of my admins, who didn’t really “get” writing workshop, complimented our program saying, “Well, I’ll tell you this. These are the most reflective students we have ever had. They can write reflectively for pages!” While that’s […]
I’ve been a film fanatic since college, so my Twitter feed has a disproportionate share of film criticism amidst all the excellent educator voices. One of the better sites I’ve discovered for film coverage is Film School Rejects (Twitter handle: @oneperfectshot). They often just tweet singular frames from films which makes for great visual analysis […]
This semester I’m bringing readers into my latest classroom experiment: a Genius Hour project that keeps writing workshop at its heart. Previously in this series, I have given a bit of introduction and context for the project, shared how we find, develop, and pitch ideas, and talked about the role blogging plays in our projects. […]
In one of her posts not so long ago, Hattie outlined a case for teaching a modern satire piece–a riff on the infamous A Modest Proposal. In her piece, she argues that there are three reasons the piece was worth examining in class alongside the original. I’d like to revisit two of those today as […]
This semester, I’ve been writing a series of posts about the role of vulnerability in coaching. The idea is, if we’re not aware of the underlying vulnerabilities in our conversations and our practice, we’re not going to be able to grow. So far, I’ve written about two different vulnerabilities that I’ve recognized in teachers and […]
In my last post, I wrote about trying to balance the role of coach and consultant in my role. It’s one that’s inherent for anyone in a leadership role. How do you know when to offer your own thinking vs. when to step back to support as someone else wrestles with theirs? It’s a tricky […]
This semester I’ve been chronicling my first-ever experiment with Genius Hour and its intersection with the regular machinations of our writing workshop. You can catch up on the other posts in this series before diving into this wrap up! ________________________________________________________________________________________ Genius Hour, and the school year, are almost over. My students are writing their final […]
As much as I hate to admit it, I was not much of a reader in high school. It’s not that I didn’t like reading. I did. I just didn’t know what to read. My friend would buy books every now and then and pass them along to me. I would read them and enjoy […]
Moving Writers Survives Thrives at the End of the Year In September I wrote a post about beginning the school year slowly and avoiding the instinct to “hit the ground running.” Today’s post is about that very same thing, except it’s May, so we’re thinking about ways we can begin to slow down and close […]
There’s a John Lennon song that addresses an issue that teachers know all too well: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making [lesson] plans.” Even the most responsive and differentiated approaches can fall victim to the different kinds of chaos that life throws our way (Technology, I’m talking to you). On top […]
You can feel the anxiety in the air. A buzzing current at present, but one that will steadily increase in intensity as the days close in on the AP Language and Composition exam (May 15th). So my focus right now is on my juniors—a group of 21 bright, young individuals who I have worked with […]
This semester I’m sharing my experiment with bringing Genius Hour into my writing workshop. You can catch up on the rest of the series here. I don’t have many crystal-clear high school English class memories, believe it or not, but one of them is sitting in the library with my 11th grade class, a stack […]
Ever since I read Write Beside Them, I have been on the hunt for the perfect primer to writing workshop — the big, broad strokes. The definitions of all the workshoppy words in one place. Ideas for how to set up the classroom. The gist of what a mini-lesson should sound like and what students should […]
All year I’ve been writing about teaching research writing. I’ve been teaching two research-heavy classes (AP Seminar and a class called The Incubator) and it’s forced me to zero in on what I’m doing to help my students see the relevance of developing solid research skills. It has pushed me to think about the why […]
Mentor Text: The Breakfast Club’s letter from The Breakfast Club Techniques: Self-expression Choosing Form Collaboration Background: This time around, I have something different for you. In our English department, we teach thematically. Each course has an overarching theme which connects the things we do. It’s a wonderful way to organize a course, and has paid numerous dividends over […]
