Several years ago, a student candidly expressed frustration with how the climate crisis was discussed at our school: “Teachers have us read an article or a poem that kick up all these feelings of despair. And…that’s it. That’s the end. Instead of just making me sad and angry, why don’t they give us tools to […]
Metaphor for the win on this last of our Poetry Pauses for Hope series.
What can a new moon teach us about hope?
Hope can be complicated, and today’s poem explores that.
A recipe poem serves as a mentor text for students to think about what hope requires.
March 25, 2025 The college entrance essay: Should we teach it or shouldn’t we? This year, the guidance department of our high school, New Directions Secondary School in the Bronx, NY, asked me if I could teach a unit on the college entrance essay in our Juniors English class. In my career, the college entrance […]
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 […]
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 […]
Use nature as your guide for writing. Come join Abigail in her beat this month which offers ways to get involved in the beloved Write Out event going on– and ideas to spark your students writing all year long.
I heard Dance Monkey for the first time after watching the NYT analysis. My response was limited to “catchy and cool”. All my mentor texts are new to my ELLs and they read them for the first time when I bring them to class. Their response is similarly limited to “nice and good”.
moving writers 