At an ILA panel on Saturday, graphic novelist Gene Yang shared how much superheroes and comics meant to him and for his reading life when he was growing up. The panel, titled “Disrupting a Destructive Cycle,” focused on how we can work to disrupt the… Read More
All posts by “Tricia Ebarvia”
Slice of Life: Embarrassment
It was the first day of class, and we talked about embarrassment. Not in the “share your most embarrassing moment” get-to-know/team-building exercise way. One of the most embarrassing moments of my teaching was when I went to school with two different shoes on. And as… Read More
How do we challenge our students—and ourselves—as readers?
Like most English teachers, one of the things I love most about the summer is time to read for pleasure. While my favorite reading spot in the winter is that comfy corner on my sofa, in the summer, nothing beats sitting poolside, the sun warming… Read More
Heinemann Fellows Symposium: June 2017
Link to my presentation given at the Heinemann Fellows Symposium in June 2017.
4 Ways of Looking at a Mentor Text: Incidental Comics
The school year is winding down—and I find myself thinking more and more of warm poolside days—yet everywhere I turn, rich mentor texts seem to come my way. I’ll find something and think, “Oh, that would have been perfect to use with ____” or “That… Read More
Fearless Reading (and Analysis)
Ever since the NCTE Convention in November, I’ve been thinking a lot about the theme of advocacy. How can we advocate for our students—and the teaching practices that we know will best serve them? How can we help students advocate for themselves—on their own behalf… Read More
Argument in the Wild: Reading & Writing from Media-Rich Texts
The idea that “everything’s an argument” seems almost too obvious these days. After all, talk to almost any adolescent today and it’s clear how aware they are of the ways in which they are constantly being persuaded, whether it’s an editorial from the Wall Street… Read More
Slice of Life 29: Post-it Ideas
Sometimes the best lesson ideas come to me at the most unexpected times, which is usually when I grab a post-it note to write it down and stick it on my desk, next to my computer, somewhere I’ll find it again. Two “post-it” ideas today:
3 Favorite Writer’s Notebook Prompts
I have a confession. I didn’t always use a writer’s notebook, either as teacher and especially as a student. It’s hard to remember what that was like—Where did I keep all my thoughts? How did I keep track of it all? Writer’s notebooks—or journals—were something… Read More
Slice of Life 14: Disruptive Teaching
“If you’re not challenging systems of power and privilege, then you’re perpetuating them.” I’ve heard this line in some version over the last few months, at various workshops and other PD, including more than one NCTE session last fall. I’ve been thinking about it a lot,… Read More
Tricia Ebarvia 
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