Kelly E. Tumy is a consultant in Texas, former president of TCTELA, one of five editors of the journal English in Texas. She was a 20-year high school English teacher, 8-year district coordinator, and a 6-year county-wide curriculum director. You can find out more about Kelly here or connect with her on Instagram @kellyreads_tx What draws your attention […]
Category: Books That Move Us
Mentor Text Wednesday: Three Dragons in Three Styles
Mentor Text: Three Dragons in Three Styles from Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer Techniques: Background – I’ve had Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook on my shelf for a minute, but I recently pulled it off, and while my students read independently, that’s what I’m reading. And taking lots of inspiration from. Wonderbook is a wonderful exploration of the intricacies […]
Books Made for Sticky Notes: Analysis in the Wild
When I read nonfiction, I usually read through two lenses: a reader interested in the topic and a writer interested in the craft. I’m pretty much always on the hunt for those little gems that give both student and teacher writers a glimpse at what writing for authentic audiences and purposes can look like. The […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: Excuse Me AsI Kiss The Sky
Mentor Text: Excuse Me As I Kiss The Sky by Rudy Francisco Techniques: Background – I am one of the teachers that teaches right until December 22nd. And we’ve got our provincial assessment back this year, which takes place the week we return from the holiday break. And I’m a parent with a couple of kids […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: How A Poem Moves
Mentor Text: How a Poem Snapshots a Moment of Drama by Adam Sol Techniques: Background – I try to build little brain breaks for myself into the school day. That’s been vital these last couple especially challenging years. Access to a digital library has been incredibly helpful in this regard, as I don’t have to remember […]
The Benefits of Writing 2: Discovering the Power of Words
…In our classrooms, we can read for meaning, discuss meaning, and allow students to write things that mean something to them.
Mentor Text Wednesday: Pants: A Note
Mentor Text: Pants: A Note by Brian Doyle Techniques: Playing with conventions Expressing a single idea Using footnotes Background – This spring, I found myself really reflecting on the fact that I use a lot of heavy pieces in the classroom. I think we all do – they do the heavy lifting for us. They’re rich […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: The Anthropocene Reviewed
Mentor Text: ‘Super Mario Kart‘ from The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Techniques: Introduction Narrative Metaphor Review Background – How often do we set something aside, but never quite make it back to it? I tweeted, way back when I first read it, which was, admittedly, a while after it seemed like everyone else had, that […]
What I’m Thankful For: Small Writing & Big Thinking
These days, everything seems big. The problems are enormous, the exhaustion is shattering, and the challenges are endless. It’s no wonder I keep finding myself feeling totally overwhelmed. Whenever I realize that I’m sitting in an overwhelmed space, I’ve found that something that’s helpful to me is to break the enormity down into smaller pieces. […]
Poetry and Picture Books (for big kids – and grownups, too!)
My beat this year is about taking care of the grownups, and well, this year that’s turning out to be even more of a monumental task than I could have imagined it would be. It doesn’t feel like there’s a lot that I can say about professional learning that would even scratch the surface of […]
moving writers 