Note: Today’s post marks the beginning of a new beat for winter–reducing decision fatigue in the writing classroom. So many of us pour our energy into lesson and unit prep, grading papers, reorganizing the classroom, setting up conferences and other writing teacherly tasks that we have very little energy to do the most important work […]
We came back from school this week and my students in AP Seminar are diving headfirst into a big research project. They’ve done some researching, started annotating sources, done a lot of thinking…so now what?
At first glance, it might seem like we are “just hanging out”: I am wildly waving my arms in the corner of the classroom, talking to a student about his latest, greatest idea. Meanwhile, Charles and Bowen are in the hall talk-writing. (Talk-Writing (n.) — the condition of chatting and writing at the same time.) […]
So far this year, all of my writing on Moving Writers has been dedicated to Research Writing. I’m teaching two sections of AP Seminar this year, so I spend lots of time guiding students through research. I know the traditional research paper often gets a bad rap as “boring”, but I think there are lots […]
Mentor Text: Tournament of Hearts by The Weakerthans Techniques: Extended Metaphor Background- Last weekend was a real treat. Amid the madness of kids’ activities, Christmas concerts, staff parties, and, well, the seeming sustained chaos that is normal life, my wife and I snuck out for a date. One of our favorite songwriters, John K. Samson, […]
Twas the day before winter break And all through the class All the students were antsy Wishing for time to past fast. Now the crux of it all Is we are in the midst of a unit Work has to be done over the break In order to be ready to revise and tune it. […]
I’m interrupting my regular series this week to share a few writing ideas to round out the last week of the 2018-2019 school year. Many of us will struggle this week to hold the attention of our vacation-bound students, and while maintaining our regular schedule can be the perfect antidote to candy-crazed kids, spicing up […]
Today’s guest writer is Jennifer Brinkmeyer, who teaches Reading Strategies and U.S. Lit Honors in Iowa City, IA. Jennifer loves teaching students how to commit rebellious acts of literacy. She is constantly seeking ways to bring her writing life into the classroom to help students validate their own writing lives. Today, Jennifer shares about teaching […]
As an MTSS support coach, I’m constantly reminded that students at the losing end of the achievement gap are very rarely deficient in their ability to take an academic interest in a subject. But when a student’s reading and writing gaps are so far behind grade level that traditional assessments bar them from demonstrating their […]
My beat this fall is all about exploring how students can write their way INto texts and use their writing (or others’) to learn more about literature. If you’re looking for new ways to use writing in a literature study or hoping to blend writing workshop into a course where it doesn’t seem like a […]
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