Why do students ask questions? Why do any of us ask questions? I believe we ask questions to find out, to get answers, to learn. If I wonder about the meaning of a word, I may ask someone what it means. I may look it up in a dictionary or online. I ask. I get an answer. I learn. I recently read a post in LinkedIn that included a question like this: “Why do teachers think we are 'talking back'…when we are just trying to reason things out by asking questions?” Why, in

“The invitations arrived without explanation, and that was what made them so irresistible. Each envelope was made of thick cream-colored paper, sealed with black wax and addressed by hand. Inside was a single gold card bearing only six words: YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO ATTEND.” These words begin a story so well-crafted and vivid that I needed to share it with someone else. So, I asked my husband to read it. He was shocked to find out that Julia, the author, had j

After a year without Summer Writing Club, it was good to have my basement classroom filled again. Twelve students in Session One and thirteen students in Session Two joined me for four days in a row, two hours each day. We wrote fiction. A lot of fiction. Summer Writing Club had truly returned. And with this return came a new prompt. It seems that whenever I spend time in my husband’s workshop in our basement, I come out with a new writing prompt. This hap

I announced my retirement on the first day of school. This was a decision I made over the summer. When parents came to see me during Back-to-School-Night, I let them know that their children will be writing a lot more fiction this year, reading a lot of my favorite literature, and having fun in our class. I said I could do all of these things because it was my last year, “and I can do whatever I want!” They laughed. I did too. But now, with only two more months to go

My classroom is filled with conversation. This does not mean that we are always involved in serious discussion. Sometimes we are. While reading Fahrenheit 451 , we talk about some very serious things. While reading Zach’s Lie and Jack’s Run , our conversations tend to be weighty. Other times—many times—some of our best conversations begin with off-topic comments and thoughts. These thoughts lead us from idea to idea. Eventually, we come back to our actual plan for the

It is nearly August, and time to write my letter of introduction to the students I will work with this year. Because I teach 6 th , 7 th...

For years, I planned closely with my history counterparts to do cross-curricular units of study. English and history overlapped and...

We had finished our unit of tall tales, and there was one more day until Spring Break 2024. The easy thing to do would have been to give...

My last day of school was May 28, but my summer break did not really begin until June 17. As soon as school ended, Summer Writing Club...

When we returned to school from Spring Break, my seventh-grade students began reading and reacting to stories of slavery in the United...

I am often asked the question: “Don’t you get bored doing the same thing every year?” My answer is, “No,” because I don’t do the same...

One Monday, about two weeks ago, a near-parade of seventh-graders came through my classroom door before school with bags of sticks, logs,...

What do you remember about your 6th or 7th or 8th grade English class? Do you remember clearly that argument essay you wrote? How about...

I have been teaching for a long time. The past two years were the first in my career that I was given the chance to intentionally loop...

It is summer. School is out. The weather is warm. What have I been doing? Writing fiction with students from 6th through 10th grade....

You may recall from my September 2022 post, that I begin each year with a letter of introduction to my students. I actually try to do...

“Whoa. This is intense.” “I never got this much feedback before.” “You really liked this?” “Last year, all we got were circles on a...

The students I teach see things and know things that I never thought about at their age. I didn’t have access to 24/7 news, social...

Our entire school had spent over three hours in standardized testing in the morning. Immediately following this time, one of my 8th...

In the first days of school, I need to build a relationship between me and my new students. And I need to do it right away. There is a...