A few weeks ago I outlined my peculiar teacher headspace this year as I face the challenge of teaching AP Lang after years of working to perfect English 11, a course I helped design from the ground up and continue to approach eagerly every day. In that post I outlined my major goal for the […]
Category: analytical writing
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 […]
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 […]
The Enneagram Meets the ELA Classroom
Ever heard of the Enneagram? How could implementing personality types into ELA help your students better analyze characters and create authentic characters? I take you through some moves in this MW piece
“I Think” the ultimate writing stem
The powerful words I think can open a world of inquiry in our classroom especially in the science and math classroom. How can you use predictions and hypothesis in your classroom to generate critical writers? Abigail shows you some moves you can make!
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.
Zoom Out, Zoom In, Transfer
In my first semester beat, I’m exploring the life-saving power of routines–but not just any routines. I’m talking about routines that make life easier, more efficient, and more familiar–even in the most daunting of times (cough, 2020, cough). I’m talking about routines that allow students to thrive whether you are teaching in person, virtually, hybrid, […]
True Crime During Class Time: Engaging Writers Using a Crime Scene
Everyone is obsessed with true crime lately. True crime podcasts, true crime TV shows, true crime movies, true crime documentaries. I feel like every time I turn around, I see another preview for another true crime series on Netflix. And, here’s the thing, I’m totally down for it. My podcasts, my list on Netflix – […]
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 […]
