Before I started facilitating regular maker experiences in my classroom, I had quite a few reasons in mind for not pursuing this type of instruction. I didn’t think I had the right space set up. I didn’t think I taught the right subject (I was a reading teacher at the time), and I didn’t have the funds for what I thought were the right materials. I also didn’t know what it “should” look like...
It was workshop week at the high school where I teach sophomore English and a ninth-grade literacy course. I was just beginning a year where I taught part-time and consulted on adolescent literacy with area districts the other part of my day. I should have anticipated that workshop week would be hectic. I would be busy getting my own classroom and lessons set up but would also be prepping and...
In honor of Banned Books Week, let’s talk about how we can use book challenges as an opportunity for growth in our school communities. The question of what our kids read in school is one that is increasingly contested and elicits very strong emotional responses from caregivers, educators, students, and the general public. Book challenges can create angry divisions in a school community and...
I can still remember the groans I would hear when I told my sixth graders it was time to learn about poetry. Poetry often brings out emotion, although as their ELA teacher, I have to admit that I was hoping for an emotion other than disappointment. Poet Kwame Alexander states that poetry gives students the freedom to “express themselves in many different ways by experimenting with different...