Reading a few conversations online recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the urgent need for us as teachers to do some hard, internal work of unpacking the identities we bring to the classroom. More and more lately, I’ve seen teachers get defensive in conversations… Read More
All posts filed under “Blog”
Disrupting Texts as a Restorative Practice
One of the wonderful things that the #DisruptTexts chat has brought is opportunities to talk with teachers about what disruption can look like in the English classroom. Yesterday was one of those days as our team was invited to talk with teachers at an NCTE… Read More
A thought experiment on our reading lives
I‘ve been in a serious writing slump over the last year or longer. I don’t know what it is. I joked with a friend that since I’ve been engaging and thinking more on Twitter that I’ve only been able to think in 240 characters at… Read More
Strategies to Dig Deeper
Thank you so much to Dr. Aileen Hower who asked me to be a part of Millersville University’s Summer Literacy Institute this year! Loved working with such a great group of teachers on their last day on writing strategies to get to students dig deeper.… Read More
Heinemann Fellows Capstone Presentation
In June 2018, the second cohort of Heinemann Fellows presented their action research Capstone presentations in Portsmouth, NH. No words will ever fully capture the way this experience has transformed my professional and personal life. I will forever be grateful to Vicki Boyd and Ellin… Read More
Writing in Response to Reading
In April 2018, I was honored to present on behalf of the PA Writing and Literature Project at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit Spring Dinner to a group of educators from the local area. Click HERE to see view the full slide deck. NOTE: Permission… Read More
Student-Led Mentor Text Talks
We have officially arrived at the point in the year where panic ensues. The fourth marking period is here and there is still. so. much. to. do. And with the additional pressures of AP and state testing season, to say I’m feeling overwhelmed would be… Read More
Teach This, Not That: Disrupting Texts in the Secondary Classroom
My dear friend and Heinemann Fellows colleague Dr. Kim Parker and I presented at the Spring 2018 Gathering for The Educator Collaborative. Our workshop focused on disrupting texts in the secondary ELA classroom. Full video below.
Leaning into Difficult Topics: Toward an Informed Stance
After the Parkland school shooting in February, we witnessed something tangible shift in our discourse about school safety and gun regulation. Nationally, we saw and still see young people like the Parkland student survivors stand up and make their voices heard, including the CNN sponsored town… Read More
Using Listicles for Literary Analysis
Whenever my students and I come to the end of any novel study, I’ve always struggled with finding that perfect and elusive “closing” activity—the lesson that can somehow do justice to our novel study before we move on to the next text. While we often… Read More
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