My AP Researchers are moving fast this year–they’re on a wild roller coaster barreling towards the Research Proposal Loop-de-Loop and it’s probably fair to say a few of them are already wishing they hadn’t had that third corn dog before they hopped on the ride. It’s okay though; they’ll all end up on solid ground […]
The excitement of the holidays thrums through our hallways and all of the festive delight creates a unique frenetic energy that is a joy to be around. Teachers, however, will attest to the difficulty in harnessing this energy into focused writer workshops, especially when December also means state testing, late-night choir and orchestra concerts, the […]
Happy Thanksgiving, Moving Writers family! We are especially thankful for you this holiday season — not only your support of our work here, but, more importantly, your constant support of students in the classroom! As we move full-throttle into the holiday season, we have a number of new PD opportunities, including special options to gift […]
Mentor Text: dedications of poems I cannot write by Joseph Fasano Techniques: Background – I am very much lamenting the slow decline of Twitter as a teaching resource and community. Yet, as frustrating as it is, I hang on. Honestly, what I’m sharing this week is part of the reason. I’ve loved what Joseph Fasano has […]
Nancie Atwell calls theme “the chilliest mind Popsicle” of all the writing lessons that young writers need to learn, and I couldn’t agree more. (Atwell, 2015, 101) Theme is one of the toughest lessons I have had to learn to teach in both reading and writing and by the time I did, I not only […]
Source Friends, we made it!! Shocktober is in the rearview mirror and Thanksgiving break can be seen on the horizon. There is nothing I love more than the week leading up to a break for two reasons: 1. Umm… it’s THE break (no cap) and 2. It’s a week full of students coming and going […]
Mentor Text: Every Song on ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ Ranked by Veracia Ankrah Techniques: Background – I have a couple of pursuits that I feel like I’m constantly developing, filing texts for future use, and stockpiling ideas. The music writing pursuit is one nearest and dearest to my heart. It’s pretty rare that students don’t […]
We are ALL too busy and have too much to teach for any classroom routine to only serve one function. Independent reading is a tentpole in many of our classrooms, working to build reading passion and stamina simultaneously. But what if that same independent reading time could do even more? What if it could teach […]
Like most English teachers, my AP Literature and Composition students have a special kind of scorn for AI writing. And it makes sense: They are some of the most skilled writers in the school, and likely they feel threatened by technology that claims to replicate the skill that helped propel them to academic success, often […]
Revision is the vegetable of the writing process. And, as such, we have to build capacity for revision — like building capacity for eating broccoli — by finding ways to sneak it in. I’ve been doing this in quick 10-minute bursts this year that I call Reflection + Revision. Here’s how it works: Here are […]
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