If you’ve read any of my articles before or know me as a teacher, you know I try to provide authentic, real-world experiences in my classroom whenever I can. I love when I have the opportunity to make some cross-curricular connections between ELA and other content areas, especially if the topic is applicable to life […]
Tag: featured
Build Your Bookshelf: Young Adults Literature and Their Maps
Kelly E. Tumy is a consultant in Texas, former president of TCTELA, one of five editors of the journal English in Texas. She was a 20-year high school English teacher, 8-year district coordinator, and a 6-year county-wide curriculum director. You can find out more about Kelly here or connect with her on Instagram @kellyreads_tx What draws your attention […]
A Peek into this Summer’s Camp Rewrite
Nearly eight years ago, I heard Rebekah O’Dell speak at a conference here in Los Angeles, and I was immediately struck by something. She didn’t sound like most keynote speakers. Instead of staging some sort of expertise, she was sharing her enthusiasm. As she talked about the possibilities that could be found with bursts of […]
A New Tilt on Art Can Spark Earth Day Conversations
Planning for Earth Day conversations can give educators pause. In the attempt to create a sense of urgency for climate action, we might decide to subject our students to a parade of dire statistics. This onslaught of information can have the opposite effect: instead of moving students from inaction to action, we can inadvertently move […]
A Guide to Narrative Writing Genres
Do students in your school write a personal essay of some kind every single year? They do in the three schools I’ve taught in. In fact, narrative writing — especially nonfiction, personal narratives — are perhaps the most ubiquitous piece of writing taught in every school I’ve ever visited. How can we differentiate that — […]
Writing into the Eclipse
There are so many wonderful eclipse resources out there but this month I wanted to put a resource in your hands of some pretty beautiful writing that you can invite in your own classroom. Being that it is April, what a time to celebrate our beautiful nature with poetry. And while nature is doing […]
New Moving Writers PD for the Testing Season
You can almost hear the collective intake of breath among teachers nationwide as March 31 turns into April 1 and many of us stare down the reality of imminent testing. The incredible, brilliant Sam Futrell (full-time classroom teacher, author, president of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, Retro Report fellow, etc.) is offering two […]
Introducing: The Planning Series
Hey there, I’m introducing a brand new professional development series this spring that I think you’ll love! This three-session series helps you learn a process that will quickly and effectively plan writing units that are rooted in mentor texts. I’m MOST excited about session three — a one-on-one, by-appointment session where we plan a unit […]
Books Made for Sticky Notes: Analysis in the Wild
When I read nonfiction, I usually read through two lenses: a reader interested in the topic and a writer interested in the craft. I’m pretty much always on the hunt for those little gems that give both student and teacher writers a glimpse at what writing for authentic audiences and purposes can look like. The […]
Borrowed Forms, Borrowed Shells: The Hermit Crab Essay
Lately, I’ve been interested in what educators do to invite playfulness in the classroom. When we create conditions for playful experimentation, we can lower the stakes for communicating about a serious topic. In fact, we may lower an entire drawbridge, allowing students to enter into an imaginative space previously regarded as a formidable realm, where […]
moving writers 