Welcome to our NCTE Session, “Poetry is Not a Luxury” and the pre-write for our monthly Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s …
How Teachers Can Make Sense of Our Current Book Banning Moment
by Henry “Cody” Miller I am writing this blog post in early February 2025. The last few weeks have been filled with headlines that cause despair and frustration: radical executive orders that mandate the erasure of BIPOC narratives and attempt to ban LGBTQ people from …
From Guide to Guerrilla: Teaching Anti-Racist ELA in Restrictive Times
by Dr. Michelle M. Falter Five years ago, my co-authors, Chandra Alston, Crystal Lee, and I published Becoming Anti-Racist English Teachers in the spirit of national reckoning. The call was clear: Listen. Reflect. Read. Interrogate. Act. For a brief moment, anti-racism moved from the margins …
Press Play: 10 Ways to Gamify Poetry
by Stefani Boutelier Who doesn’t enjoy a game? Whether a gameboard, a video game, an athletic competition, or a mental challenge–we can all connect to some form of engagement through gamification. I have had the pleasure of “playing with ideas” as I’ve been collaborating, learning, …
Demi-Sonnet
This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. The next Open Write is June 21-23. Our Host Sarah J. Donovan, PhD, is a former junior English …
Heritage Poems
This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. Our Host Sarah J. Donovan, PhD, is a former junior English language arts teacher of fifteen years and current Associate Professor of Secondary …
Forgiveness or Unforgiven
This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. Welcome. This year — May 2025 to August 2026– we are going to do just three days a month for the Open Write. …
Teaching by Doing: A Step-by-Step Approach to Student Success
Welcome to “Tens of Reasons to Teach,” a celebratory series honoring 10 years of Ethical ELA by sharing the wisdom, strategies, and inspiration that shape ethical and inclusive English language arts instruction. Here is Dr. Leilya Pitre’s celebration. Leilya Pitre teaches at Southeastern Louisiana …
A Decade of Writing, Teaching, and Community: Reflecting on Ten Years of Ethical ELA
In early May 2015, I started this blog as a way to document my teaching experiences after earning my doctorate. Unlike many who pursue a PhD and then transition into academia, I made the deliberate decision to stay in the classroom as a junior high …
Congratulations, Verselovers 2025!
This has been Verselove, and together, we have created over 6000 poems and responses that did not exist in the world before then. A very heartful thank you to the hosts that have inspired and supported our writing this month: Jennifer Guyor Jowett, Leilya Pitre, …
Holding Hands with Poems
Welcome to Verselove—a space for educators to nurture their writing lives and celebrate poetry in the community. Each day in April, we come together to explore the power of poetry for both heart and mind. Write with care, for yourself and your readers. When responding, …