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
All posts tagged “mentor texts”
Oh the Places You’ll Go: Mentor Text for Writing About a Meaningful Place
Each year, my students compose a series of brief writing pieces—each one describing a person, place, or thing. Currently, students are working on their “person” essay—a personal essay inspired by the beautiful mentor text, “The Stranger in the Photo is Me” by Don Murray. The… Read More
Never a day without a line
“Never a day without a line,” Brenda repeated. In the summer of 2011, I had the pleasure of participating in the PA Writing and Literature Project Summer Invitational Writing Institute. Although I’d been teaching for several years by then, my experience with the writing project… Read More
Zen Teaching
NOTE: This post was originally published on MovingWriters.org. Follow the link at the end to continue reading. Now that it’s officially August, I’m starting to feel what I suspect many teachers feel this time of year—the all too familiar mix of anxiety and anticipation. While I… Read More
Structure as Mentor Text: How Can We Organize Ideas Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay?
I’m so happy to share that starting this week, I will be a regular contributor to MovingWriters.org, a site dedicated to “move our student writers forward in their craft.” Moving Writers was founded by educators Allison Marchetti and Rebekah O’Dell, authors of the marvelous book, Writing with Mentors. I’m… Read More
Finding Moments Worth Writing About
It’s just after 7:20 a.m. and my students are settling into their seats. Although it’s early, this class is lively, with students generally willing to try out whatever their English teacher has planned for them that day. This morning, I pass out cream-colored quarter sheets of… Read More
Notice & Note, then Write: A Blueprint
I’ve been doing more thinking about how to use Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading to invite students to write. Since my last post on the subject, I’ve thought about how this would actually work―practically speaking―in my classroom. (If you are new to Notice and Note, read more… Read More
From the Classroom: What Does Real-World Writing Look Like?
Speaking on a panel at the NCTE Annual Convention last fall, author Cris Crutcher commented, “Reading Shakespeare is an academic exercise. It’s not one that’s going to get me to love reading.” Though I disagree with him about Shakespeare―I think studying Shakespeare can give us tremendous insight into… Read More
Notice and Note: Invitations to Write
I ‘ve been rereading Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading as I look to teach and apply the signposts with my 9th graders (we introduce the signposts within the first few weeks of school). At the same time, I’ve also been reading the 3rd edition of Atwell’s In the… Read More
Mentors
I’ve been giving a lot of thought recently to this word—mentor. I’m one of those people who believe in signs. If the universe wants you to know something—to do something—the universe will find a way of making sure you know about it. And so it… Read More
Tricia Ebarvia 
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