analysis – moving writers

November 1, 2021October 31, 2021mrfitzfinkle

Reading As Writers: Big Picture and Closeup

Great student writers, the ones whose work I can’t wait to read, notice what writers do and begin to see how it all works together.

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021stefaniejochman

The Presents of Mind: Time to Inflate the Water Wings

I often find myself telling students, particularly my seniors, that I am “throwing them into the deep end.” As the year begins, I may assign a task that’s beyond their skill or comfort to see how they perform. If things go awry, I try to figure out where the gaps are and fill them. As […]

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021Starian Porchia

Bios, Threads, & Retweets: Moving Writers with Twitter Simulations

We know that writing strategies are everywhere. And, I am amazed at the amount of writing skills and strategies that are embedded into social media platforms. Although the student writer may not actually notice the author’s craft and intention that goes into well-crafted tweets, they are there in abundance, and I realized recently that these […]

April 12, 2021April 11, 2021Starian Porchia

Bridging Gaps Through the Power of Writing Through the Eyes of the Student

I have had a lot of conversations this year with teachers about expectations for students, specifically 9th grade and high school students, and it is clear that not everyone agrees on what the expectations should be for writers at the secondary level. Which, honestly is ironic considering the amount of standards and standardized assessments that […]

December 18, 2020December 17, 2020Brett Vogelsinger

Thinking Smaller

I am proud that under normal circumstance I can choreograph a lot of “movement” into a single class period, but for this year, I am learning to embrace the fact that I cannot. I need smaller, simpler moves in a writing workshop that we can learn together and execute well. Otherwise, frustration will prevail.

September 24, 2020Jay

Mentor Text Wednesday: The Connect

Mentor Text: The Connect podcast featuring Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano Techniques: Summary Introduction Highlighting Resonant Elements of a Text Criticism of a Text Exploring Connections Brainstorming Peer Conferencing Background – Like many of us, spring brought about a shift to remote learning. A regular habit of mine became looking for the silver lining in […]

September 24, 2019September 23, 2019hattiemaguire

Balance in the ELA Classroom: Setting the Tone

Last June I discovered a woefully neglected plant in my house. My husband urged me to toss it out, but I was sure I could bring it back to life. Sure enough, by August, a little sun and tlc had it flourishing again. I posted the comparison pic on Twitter and someone pointed out that […]

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019stefaniejochman

Writing Our Way In…to a Quick Lesson for Tomorrow!

My beat this year is all about exploring how students can write their way INto texts and use their writing (or others’) to learn more about literature. If you’re looking for new ways to use writing in a literature study or hoping to blend writing workshop into a course where it doesn’t seem like a […]

April 24, 2019April 23, 2019Michael Ziegler

TFMTF: Thanos, Endgame, and other Writing “Marvels”

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 […]

February 12, 2019September 21, 2020Kristin Bond

Skill Building through Real World Relevance in an AP Classroom

Student: Why are you going to India, Ms. Bond? Me: For a conference on how to be a better teacher and person (my typical response). Student: Is it for AP? (She is one of my go-getter AP students) Me: Not specifically. Student: Did you have to go to a conference for our class? Me: Yup. I […]