Metaphor for the win on this last of our Poetry Pauses for Hope series.
Tag: writing workshop
Poetry Pauses for Hope: Day 4
What can a new moon teach us about hope?
Poetry Pauses for Hope: Day 3
Hope can be complicated, and today’s poem explores that.
Poetry Pauses for Hope: Day 2
A recipe poem serves as a mentor text for students to think about what hope requires.
Flash Proofreading Inspired by Rebekah’s Flash Revision
I tried Rebekah O’Dell’s Flash Revision and loved the results. Later in the unit, one of my students asked, “Why don’t you help me with a timer while proofreading too? It’s harder than revision.”
Preparing for the End at the Beginning of the Year
One of my greatest frustrations in teaching is waiting for – what feels like hours – as my students wade through their bags and files to find the draft or handout they’re looking for. The ticking of the clock slowly comes into my awareness and with every second, it gets louder and louder as I gather my wits together and desperately try to hold onto them while every part of me wants to scream.
Why Mentor Text Work Is Hard for ELLs
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”.
The Value of Water: A Real-World Research Project
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 […]
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 […]
moving writers 