Hey there, new teacher! I hope you’re hanging in there! This is right around the time of the year during my first year of teaching when I learned teaching writing is a lot harder than it looks. By the end of first quarter, I had tried my hand at a writing assignment or two and […]
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 […]
This year on Moving Writers, my “beat” returns to poetry as a foundational element of a writing classroom. Each month’s post will examine how we can learn about an aspect of writing from a specific poem or poems, then look at what it might sound like to extend those ideas to a writing lesson in […]
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 […]
Welcome to the Inquiry Lab! In this series, we’re thinking through how we can use the workshop model to teach inquiry work, in any subject (writing included, of course). For the last year or so, I’ve been rethinking the way we teach into group work and partner collaborations. To that end, here at Moving Writer’s, […]
Last year turned everything I thought I knew about teaching and learning upside down, and I don’t want to rush back to old practices. To avoid that, my blog focus this semester is on places where I want to hit the reset button. In September I reset by reading Writing Rhetorically and figuring out how […]
This months beat Abigail takes you through a Remix using “dating profiles” Students create matches which allow for students to deepen their understanding of characterization, comparing/contrasting, and creating an engaging writing lesson. This one really can expand any content area.
When we know we’re not alone, writing (and life) can be a little less daunting.
Catch up on my series this fall. Last month I shared mini-mentors for review writing! Sadly, some students only write in response to prompts in English class. Whether it’s daily journaling prompts or larger essay prompts, these students miss out on one of the toughest parts of an authentic writing practice: developing ideas. Still, both […]
As I began preparing for my 10th year in the classroom, I realized I’m in an interesting place in my career. I by no means consider myself a veteran teacher; I still have so many lessons to learn and experiences to be had before I’m wise. It honestly feels like it was just yesterday that […]
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