My notebooks are an important part of my process as a teacher, and as a writer. They are places that allow me to collect my ideas, and to work them through. I keep one on the go constantly, in my satchel. It comes to every PD opportunity with me, and is often open on my […]
Author: Jay
Mentor Text Wednesday: Can You Tell Me How To Write About A Show?
Mentor Text: ‘Sesame Street’ Isn’t Just The Best Kids’ Show Ever, it’s Also Genuinely Funny and Clever by Nathan Rabin (pdf / via SplitSider) Writing Techniques: Writing pop culture criticism Structuring a critical piece Utilizing tone and voice Incorporating media into a digital text Background: This will mark Nathan Rabin’s second appearance in this column […]
Scores – A Sounding Board for Inspiration
In the madness of prepping to present at our provincial PD day, I almost forgot to write something this week. Luckily, one of my presentations is about using the things you really like in the classroom, specifically pop culture. Reading my contributions to Moving Writers, that’s not a surprise at all. This summer, like many […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: The First Line
Mentor Texts: Collections of great first lines from literature from Gawker , The American Book Review, A YA list from The Huffington Post, funny ones via ShortList, and can one list lists with out including a BuzzFeed list these days? Writing Techniques Writing Exposition Establishing Tone Reflecting Upon Writing Background My Grade 11 class and […]
Title Talk
In June, I had an epiphany of sorts. I started really thinking about titles. Some background first. In the province I teach in, Manitoba, our Grade 12s write a provincial assessment. It’s the closest thing we have to high stakes testing, and although I do have some concerns about it, I actually quite like the […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: You Don’t Know Me, But…
Mentor Texts: Excerpts from Nathan Rabin’s You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me Writing Techniques: Writing Memoir Taking Risks Humour Background: Early in the school year, my Grade 12 classes are traditionally neck deep in memoir. Each student is reading one, and we are writing a variety of memoir based pieces. I get […]
The FrankenEssay
I’ve spent the last few years of my career as an English teacher working on reclaiming the word essay. Students, for many reasons, react badly to that word. It’s not just because our assigning of it means they have to do some work, there’s something there. My theory is that a lot of teachers have […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: The Snowy Lambeau
Mentor Texts: Snowy Lambeau – a poem by Gord Downie Writing Techniques: Writing Poetry Reflecting on Craft Background: The preamble is a bit of a tale this week. If you’re a Canadian reader, then you understand what Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip mean. If not, Downie is the singer of The Hip, a band […]
The Whole Class Novel
There is a lot of debate about the use of whole class novel instruction. I don’t really want to get into that, because like on most things, I see both sides, and just wind up hanging out on the fence. Well, sort of. I actually believe in limited use of the whole class novel. Here’s […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: Found Photos
Mentor Texts: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Snaps by Rebecca Kraatz (Clifford, Gordon, Leonard) Writing Techniques: Creative Writing Graphic Storytelling Writing Memoir Background: As a kid, summer was often unlimited time to read. I still use as much of my summer in that fashion. Aside from being an awesome way to […]
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