A few weeks ago, I attended a webinar from Matt Glover and Carl Anderson on Writing Workshop. At the end of the webinar, Carl held a live conference with an amazing middle grade student. She wanted some help with her poem about her family’s annual trip to the beach, this summer during the pandemic. “How […]
I’ve received many emails over the past few weeks about my 2014 post on The American Teenager Project, a book by Robin Bowman that showcases hundreds of interviews and photographs of teenagers around the world. In this post, I share how I’ve used this project to kick off writing workshop at the beginning of the […]
Today’s guest writer Emily Sommer walks us through a mentor text by one of our favorite pop culture writers, showing how it makes for a truly instructive piece for students learning the art of rhetorical analysis. Emily teaches AP English Language and Composition, AP Seminar, and Mythology at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Hills, Michigan. […]
As is our habit, we are taking the summer away from the blog to read, write, and recharge. We’ll be back in late August with new content, but for the summer, let’s take a journey down memory lane as we visit our ten most-read posts from the previous school year! It’s never too late […]
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 […]
Let’s talk small group writing instruction, an oft-underutilized tool in the secondary writing classroom but a mainstay of primary grade writing workshops. I still remember the special feeling of being called by my first grade teacher to the U-shaped table at the back of the room, and then dutifully returning to my desk to practice […]
All morning I watch the clock. With two children underfoot and a sink of dirty dishes, I watch it tick closer to 2:00. I play magician with my son and rehearse some ideas for our meeting. In a moment of quiet, I jot down a few thoughts I want to share. I double check […]
As teachers we plan for the writers in front of us every day, but what about the students who aren’t in front of us? The students who are sick at home, at an away game, or visiting the doctor? In my early years of teaching, absent students created a lot of stress for me. “What […]
In this series, I am breaking down essential writing teacher habits and routines to help simplify your teaching life and create more space so you can do what you do best: actually teach! Today we’ll explore how to find “just-right” mentor texts, a topic requested by several readers. Please let me know what other topics […]
I started this morning as I begin nearly every weekday morning when my writing alarm goes off: throw on my oversized sweater, tiptoe down the stairs (being oh-so-careful to avoid the stairs’ creaks and cracks so my babies don’t wake up, rending my writing time null and void), hit the coffee maker’s switch, light the […]
