One-Handed Catch by M.J. Auch My rating: 4 of 5 stars Loved Norm and feel blessed to know so many students who have Norm’s compassion for himself and for others. It is beautiful to read about a family communicating, noticing each other’s struggles and triumphs …
Write into Your Life’s Arguments (a Personal Argument Essay)
Narrative, argument, informational. We may teach these genres as though writing can be contained in just one of these forms in part because that is how the Common Core State Standards segregate writing. I can’t imagine writing an informational piece without someone’s story to add …
Letting Literature do the Work: How I Started an Inclusive Literature Workshop
I have taught middle school ELA for over a decade. My first year, I tried Nancie Atwell’s reading workshop model. My second year, I tried it again. I struggled to implement Atwell’s model. I followed her guide from In the Middle, but there seemed to …
Revision Days: Making Time to Read and Respond to Feedback
When I wrote last week about cheating with my no-grades classroom, I talked about how I was using narrative feedback (written and verbal) to communicate with students about their learning and how, for the most part, the revision part was not happening. I was reluctant to …
I’m a no-grades cheater.
“You can’t just declare that you have a growth mindset,” said Dweck. “Growth mindset is hard. Many educators are trying to skip the journey.” To do it right, Dweck says that many teachers have to change how they teach, offering more critical feedback and giving …
Reading as Activism: Bearing Witness to Trauma and Genocide in YA Lit (NCTE)
Reading as Activism: Bearing Witness to Trauma and Genocide in YA Lit Saturday, Nov. 21st, 11:00-12:15 PM, Minneapolis Convention Center, 205CD Five teachers discuss the importance of reading global literature, share their experiences reading unimaginable stories of genocide alongside students, and lead round table discussions …
Reading Art to Access Hope, Wonder, and Significance in Writing (NCTE)
Please join my round table discussion at NCTE this weekend: Reading Art to Access Hope, Wonder, and Significance in Writing Friday, 11/20, 2:30-3:45pm, Minneapolis Convention Center, 208CD Here is an overview, a sample lesson, and a few writing samples: Art can offer a grand and …
The Winston Community Story Project
Beginning The Winston Community Story Project this week with seventh graders. We will be interviewing the people within and beyond our school to bear witness to the stories that make us who we are. Every story, every life matters. Today, I am unpacking and charging …
I have an announcement to make
Dear Sarah, I’m writing with the good news that your contract for Genocide Literature in Middle and Secondary Classrooms: Rhetoric, Witnessing, and Social Action in a Time of Standards and Accountability has been fully countersigned. Indeed, friends, I have a signed contract to publish my …
A captive audience and 2 minutes
If you had the attention of a thousand students and two minutes, what short film would you select to show and why? In our writing class, I occasionally use short videos to inspire writing, practice a writing skill, or illustrate a literary concept. For example, …