Many of you know I've dabbled in writing comics here and there. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but it's fun. Plus, sometimes what I want to say just feels right when it's written in a comic format. (I'm even starting to think in comic format. No joke.) This one's my way of releasing the frustration… Continue reading Comic: “Choose Kind?”
Tag: writing
The Limits of Primary Writing Journals
Two years ago this April, I wrote a post for The Educator Collaborative's Community Blog that articulated my feelings about the need for educators to offer their student writers more "freedom" in their compositional work. It was called "Math, Literacy, and the Need for More Blank Paper," and, upon rereading the post, I'm happy to… Continue reading The Limits of Primary Writing Journals
(UPDATED!) Expecting Too Much–and Too Little–of Literacy Teachers
I was reading a professional text recently that, in many ways, moved me to nod my head so frequently as I was reading that I looked like one of those bobble head turtles that you find at every craft fair and flea market. There was so much I loved about what the authors had to say about… Continue reading (UPDATED!) Expecting Too Much–and Too Little–of Literacy Teachers
On Being Afraid to Write
There are things I'm afraid to write about. I'm afraid to write about my anxiety. About how it can sometimes debilitate me emotionally, socially, and physically. About how responsible I feel for passing my anxiety on to my children, particularly my youngest daughter. About how it prevents me from being my best self--as a friend, a… Continue reading On Being Afraid to Write
Hey Teach #3 (Comic)
Hello educator friends, Over the past several years--hell, for almost two decades now--I've been thinking a lot about how to express my discomfort with the dichotomous nature of a lot that we see, hear, and talk about in education. For example, I've written about growth mindset before here, and about the messages about learning we… Continue reading Hey Teach #3 (Comic)
The Heartache Kids
I wandered into a colleague's classroom today just as they were brainstorming some possible topics for writing in their writer's notebooks. As I found an empty seat, Mrs. K asked her students to open up to a fresh page in their notebooks and do some quick writing about one of the topics they had just… Continue reading The Heartache Kids
Write On: Short, Easy Ways to Nurture Your Writing Habit
I'm going to point out a nasty, embarrassing truth here: most teachers of writing are not themselves writers. That's not to imply that all writing teachers must be authors of their own books, or regular contributors to professional journals, or even fillers of countless notebooks year after year; after all, most teachers of science are not themselves… Continue reading Write On: Short, Easy Ways to Nurture Your Writing Habit
The Problem with (Most) Units of Study
There are hundreds of people making hundreds of thousands--some, even millions-- of dollars off of the business of developing units of study for reading and writing. As a classroom teacher, I was a fan of units of study, albeit ones that I personally developed each summer in between beach days while my kids were holed up in… Continue reading The Problem with (Most) Units of Study
Today’s Epic Fail
If you've read Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words or In Pictures and In Words, you know how powerful it can be to study mentor authors and illustrators and encourage students to notice, name, and try out their craft. I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to do just that with students since first reading… Continue reading Today’s Epic Fail
My So-Called Literacy Life 