Hey there, new teacher! I hope you’re hanging in there! This is right around the time of the year during my first year of teaching when I learned teaching writing is a lot harder than it looks. By the end of first quarter, I had tried my hand at a writing assignment or two and […]
This year on Moving Writers, my “beat” returns to poetry as a foundational element of a writing classroom. Each month’s post will examine how we can learn about an aspect of writing from a specific poem or poems, then look at what it might sound like to extend those ideas to a writing lesson in […]
One way to provide an entry point for students who often feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the climate crisis is to explore a text pairing that puts ideas in conversation with each other. This juxtaposition can bring key concepts into relief, as well as help students articulate the priorities of each writer because there […]
As an American now living and teaching in Canada, I’ve had to learn a lot in a short period of time. I’m teaching a self-contained 3rd + 4th grade class this year, which means I’m teaching Social Studies, and the American Education system doesn’t really give us all that much about our neighbors to the […]
A mentor text doesn’t have to be an entire article or lengthy passage. Sometimes just a couple of sentences provides a writer with the guidance and inspiration they need to move forward as a writer. This year, I’m continuing to use a few full-length mentor texts in each unit of writing, but I am also […]
In Sharon Olds’ poem “Ode to Dirt,” the speaker opens with an apology, explaining I thought you were only the background for the leading characters—the plants and animals and human animals. Thinking about parts of nature in isolation from other parts is an all too familiar tendency. The act of overlooking the role of soil […]
Our newest book, A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts, 6-12, comes out in just two weeks! For a limited time, you can get 40% off the list price by pre-ordering and entering the code MENTOR at checkout! And if you pre-order, we’d love to have you join our book club! Just email us your payment […]
Watching Faith E. Briggs navigate the ruts, inclines, and down hills as she runs through three national monuments – public lands protected under the Antiquities Act – makes for a vivid and immersive viewing experience. Her exploration of what it means to be a conservationist amid the threat of rolled back protections for public lands […]
The image of the braid is powerfully suggestive of attempts to reconcile threads that are sometimes difficult to reconcile. In this way, the braided essay can be a helpful teacher: an exercise in creative nonfiction that encourages non-linear storytelling. Three narratives are brought together by connecting words or images that puts the threads into conversation […]
Mentor Text: Geek Wisdom edited by Stephen H. Segal (excerpts) Techniques: Using quotations Writing an Introduction Background – This year has presented many challenges hasn’t it? In the midst of it all, the work goes on, doesn’t it? I’ve actually found myself in a weird balance of developing new lessons and leaning on past planning, […]
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