Welcome to the Podcast
Empower Students Now
The Truth About Programs: 4 Programs That Changed Me That I Eventually Quit
Quitting programs. I've followed and quit so many programs in my life! Diets, work out routines, parenting guides, teaching curriculum. Programs are everywhere we turn. Dictionary.com defines "program" as: a plan of action to accomplish a specified end. In this blog...
What does workshop actually look like in a secondary classroom?
I get a lot of emails every week asking a wide range of questions. One question that seems to come up over and over again is, what does workshop actually look like in a secondary classroom? Here's the simple answer: workshop can look however you want it to look. You...
Your First Mini Lesson of the School Year: How Workshop is Like Playing Fortnite Battle Royale
There are so many things we need to accomplish the first week of school. We need to get to the content but we also need to teach students about how our class will run and build relationships and community too. Now you may feel a bit overwhelmed at this point. Not to...
Life Changing Podcasts and Books for Teachers
Teaching is such a demanding job that requires constant energy. And when school ends abruptly it can leave us feeling empty and looking for ways to fill the void. Here is a big lists of podcasts and books that can help!
Noise Levels in the Workshop Classroom: What They Are, How to Teach Them & How to Hold Students Accountable to Them
Kids love to talk to each other, they are human and humans are social! In a classroom of thirty plus secondary students how can we balance allowing that innate need to talk with maintaining a quiet, productive atmosphere? The answer: noise levels. If you are a middle...
5 Common Distracting Student Behaviors During Writing Workshop & What to do About Them
Teaching writing is so hard! There are many reasons why, but one of the main reasons is distracting student behavior! With a plan in place, your ability to handle the distracting student behavior can improve. No matter what though, it is important to realize that...
How to Write Your Own Mini Lessons
Teachers are busy and don’t have time to go looking for mini lessons. If you do have time, here are The Best Places to Find Mini Lessons Online. However, if you you don’t have time, like most teachers on planet Earth, then you’ll want to come up with your own mini lessons.
5 Exciting Ways to Introduce Your Writing Unit!
Table of contents: Give Student ChoiceMake it a ContestThrow a PartyPublish Student WritingUse Last Resort TacticsSo you want to excite students about your upcoming writing unit? Before I wrote this post I asked some 7th and 8th grade students this question: What...
Places to Find Mentor Texts That You May Not Have Thought Of!
The phrase “mentor text” is pretty new. Ralph Fletcher, a guru in the writing instruction world defines mentor texts as, “Any writing that you can learn from…”, this definition is so satisfying. It’s satisfying because often, one of the biggest challenges about being a writing workshop teacher is finding mentor texts. But, this definition opens a plethora of texts up to us.
5 Fun Activities to do with Your Students the Day After Coming Back from a Long Break
Coming back to school after having two weeks off (or the summer off) can be really rough for students and teachers. The last thing anyone wants to do is get right back to work the first day back. It’s important for us to reconnect with our students, have some fun and listen to what they’ve been up to the last few weeks/months. Here are five activities that can help you do just that!
I’m More than an English Teacher
Don't have time to read? I received an email recently (I love receiving emails from teachers who read my blog!) asking me a really interesting question... Do you do workshop all year? I immediately yelled (in my mind) NO! In this moment, it occurred to me that my...
The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Workshop
Many secondary teachers, like you, are beginning to realize the power of running their English classes using writing workshop. Maybe you keep seeing references to it on Pinterest or in Facebook groups. Maybe a teacher friend is trying it and finding success. Or maybe...