Back in the dark days of COVID school, my social studies colleague, Sam Futrell, and I started making videos for our students — the tiniest of mini lessons that may, perhaps, help them be able to write successfully on their own from home, or when they had an extended absence, or when they were sitting […]
Tag: featured
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 […]
HEA All Day
If you’ve paid much attention to BookTok or even the shelves at your local bookstore, you’ve probably realized that romance is having a moment. And that moment extends far beyond the days of grocery store paperbacks with Fabio on the cover. Whether through cozy holiday stories, contemporary meet-cutes, or sweeping romantasy series with swords and […]
Teaching Game Design for Hope
I’ve been thinking about hope lately. It’s winter here in New York City. There are certain things about the season here that feel hopeful: the smell of Christmas trees on some street corners where lots have popped up, the twinkle of lights along the railings of brownstones, and even some of the neighborhood dogs have […]
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 […]
Teaching Grammar with Mentor Texts
One of the most common questions I get asked when I speak with teachers is “Okay, but how do you teach grammar?” And this mini-course is my answer to that! Yes, I use mentor texts to teach grammar just like I use mentor texts to teach any other writing skill. But in this course, I […]
Coaching Call with Rebekah: How Can Teachers Gather Data About Students in English?
In my twenty years of teaching, I have been in many IEP / 504 meetings and participated in the writing of student goals. And, always, the more qualitative nature of English is a challenge. It doesn’t make sense, for instance, to write a goal necessitating a student to “correctly identify the main idea of a […]
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 […]
moving writers 