Happy December! Today, we have a request. Allison & I are hard at work on a new book with Heinemann, but we need your help. Actually, we need your voice. Literally. We want to know your burning questions about teaching with mentor texts. What do you just not quite get yet? What is standing between […]
One of my greatest NCTE joys have been the times members of the Moving Writers team have gotten to join forces at NCTE. I love these people — their deeply-felt philosophies about teaching writing to make a difference in children’s learning and lives, their practical, boots-on-the-ground, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that brilliance. Here are some of the resources from […]
When I first moved from teaching middle school to teaching high school, I brought my workshop practice with me. At first, I was worried that this type of instruction wouldn’t meet the needs of my high school students, but it didn’t take me very long to realize that it was exactly what they needed. And […]
Since I first wrote about how I use It’s Complicated: The American Teenager in the first week of school, this amazing book has gone out of publication. And sadly, my personal copy was borrowed and never returned, so I have not been able to help others who also can’t get their hands on a copy of the […]
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 […]
