My AP Lit students and I are wrapping up our adventure together with William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. (You can read more about how this text fits into the year’s curriculum here if you’re interested.) This is the most challenging text they’ve … Continue reading
“Process all you heard today and set your intentions from here on out.” –Sara Ahmed I intended to write this post on the plane on the way home, but the internet wasn’t working. I reviewed my notes in my writer’s … Continue reading
As I’ve articulated already in this blog, our most important conversation about education right now focuses on equity. I’ve embarked on a bit of a listening tour recently for this topic. I’ve submitted no conference presentation proposals this year, but … Continue reading
This post has been percolating for a while now, ever since I left NCTE in Houston. Until now, all I’ve been able to cobble together so far are a few disconnected notes in my writer’s notebook: I need to sit … Continue reading
In a reading workshop, students often read their own books at their own pace, books that they choose themselves. While there is space for this kind of independent reading in AP Lit, whole class novels are also important. Discussion surrounding … Continue reading
I’m writing this while hanging out at Java Monkey in Decatur. Jay is strumming away on the guitar and singing his songs. We’re eating vegan cake, enjoying some wine. We actually ran into a former student of ours who now … Continue reading
One Year One Unit One Class This is the planning framework that Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher used today to walk us through their thinking about how to make sure they increase the volume of their students’ reading and writing. It was … Continue reading
In my incremental movement toward a high school reading/writing workshop classroom, one piece I’ve struggled with is the classroom library. I see photos of Penny Kittle’s classroom library, and I get anxious to create the same for my students. I … Continue reading
I recently went through the books on my shelves in my office at school. There on the shelf, back behind a stack of assorted novels, was Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It was not just any copy of this book. … Continue reading
I’m sitting in my living room in Colorado, the first day of Thanksgiving break coming to a close. I got home from Minneapolis last evening and opted for checking in my with my family over finishing this blog post (that … Continue reading
