A fresh approach to Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the thing with feathers
Category: Writing Workshop
A Goodbye (of sorts) from Moving Writers
Allison and I started Moving Writers, the blog, nearly 12 years ago on the Monday we returned to school after attending NCTE. We named it as we walked through the courtyard to our classrooms. “It’s not about making better writing,” Allison said. “It’s about growing better writers.” We began with an aggressive posting schedule of […]
Student Design Board Games: An Alternative Assessment
Each Spring as I begin to move into my final units of the school year, most of the summative assessments that I’ve designed for students have been written assessments. Some years I’ve added in Socratic Seminars or other discussion formats. Other years we’ve had presentations. But, often I’m looking for some other assessments that break from these molds […]
Primary Sources and So Much More
Greetings this Monday morning. It’s March—the month of Spring Breaks—and teachers could not be looking forward to anything more after some long months to start the year. May your breaks be restful and productive for YOU, and may you find time to rejuvenate to make it all the way to the end of the school […]
Using Artificial Intelligence for Differentiation
Show of hands… how many people feel that the need to differentiate in your classroom has become more intense? Here at my public high school in New York City, in the Bronx, working with students who are over-aged, under-credited, working with students who’ve had some disruption to their education…the differentiation needs have become overwhelming. What do […]
Love is in the Air: How I (Attempt to) Build a Love for Books, while Students Build Reading Stamina
Feb 11 2025 Ashley Anderson Source Roses are red, violets are blue. My students loathe reading. I’m sure yours do too. To say that I love reading is an understatement: I devour books. Reading is like breathing for me. So many of the stories I have read influenced who I am today. Books were my first […]
Artful AI Moves for Teaching Writing: A New Live Event!
Our dear Brett Vogelsinger has a NEW BOOK coming to the world in 2025 — all about using not fighting AI in our writing instruction. He’s hosting a new live (and recorded) webinar next month to help all of us get started. Here’s his description: As a teacher of writing during the last two years, […]
Moving Writers’ Guide to Authentic Writing in Each Mode
I’ve been working on an 11-page digital primer to begin changing the way we think about research-writing. No more semester-long research papers, rife with inauthentic, teacher-driven rules and procedures. Here’s a place for all of us to start. Grab a copy of the guide and then join us for a webinar (sent to your inbox […]
A Time for Reflection: How Data Reflection Leads to Student Growth
Source As this year draws to a close, taking time to reflect is natural. As teachers, reflecting is just as important for our students, as it is for us. However, I have struggled with finding a “student reflection” that gives both the student and I real, honest feedback that we can turn into action. Data […]
Putting on Your Game Face: Card Games for Building Literary Analysis
I’m a frequent teacher, sometimes poet and occasional gamer. Once in a while, these identities collide. One such collision produced what I’m sharing today: Explicate, The Poetry Analysis Card Game. Before we get into the details, let me say, this is free to download and use here. But, if for some reason, you want to […]
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