A great new discovery today: a new English teacher writing from the classroom and his own experience. substack.com/@tjwilson/no...

I just registered for this workshop with @escribescribe.bsky.social. You might want to check it out or share this along to others. cvent.me/aEe32e?sms=7...

Tom Newkirk—always worth your time to read and consider. Thanks to Julian Grisham for this www.juliangirdham.com/blog/thomas-...

Casper’s article of the day!

I have been working on an article about censorship lately and saw this in the NYT. It raises so many interesting questions--which is probably why it appeared in The Ethicist. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/m...

Gotta love this. youtu.be/QqAnpEWOse8?...

Oh... www.axios.com/2025/01/13/w...

I’ve had coffee with three former students this week: 20, 28, and 32. Such conversations provide a fascinating window on life, generations, and teaching. (I have 25, 30, and 32 year old “kids” but the conversations are always different when they’re your own!)

Best thing I’ll read today about attention, living, and learning: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/o...

Interesting new resource(s) re: close reading. John Guillory’s “Close Reading” press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... and this archive of close reading resources: www.closereadingarchive.org?utm_source=s...

Consider doing what I call a two-way reflection in Teaching Better Day by Day: reflect on the year ending and the think about the year to come. Or you could use these EOY questions from @jamesclear.bsky.social : jamesclear.com/annual-review

Think about this next time someone asks you what you do as a teacher: sketchplanations.com/the-three-br...

Overheard while shopping in Green Apple Books in SF this morning: “OH I thought that was the fiction section but it is the nonfiction section. I WISH more of what is on those displays was fiction!”

Excited to read this new book by Jeff Wilhelm, Michael Smith et al. Such smart guys and grateful for the years of presenting with them at NCTE:

I’ll be working on an article the next few days based on this presentation from NCTE this year titled “Teaching in Troubled Times. Not everything will make sense without my explanation but most of it should be understandable. bit.ly/JBTroubledTi...

I rewatched “The Godfather” last night and was reminded of this activity I adapted from Coppolla’s “Godfather Notebooks” where he talks about how he creates scenes from a book he reads: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/g9ahr...

As teachers approach half-time in their school year, now is the time to reflect, review, and renew. My Teaching Better Day by Day offers a many ways to help teachers to this important work. www.corwin.com/books/teachi...

Recommended Read: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/u...

Attention has my full attention these days. From The Atlantic: Many people believe that smartphones have ruined their ability to pay attention to what really matters in life, @kait_tiffany writes. Could a "School of Radical Attention" turn things around? www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

✨ This is a generous share. ✨

As you wrap up the school year, we want to leave you with some writing instruction considerations from @candersonwriting.bsky.social and @mattgloverwriting.bsky.social for the new year.

This story and her experience raise so many important and interesting questions: She graduated without learning to read. Now she’s suing her school.

Check out and be sure to share widely this info about summer NEH institute. I did two NEH summer institutes years ago. They were both transformative experiences. www.futurestoryproject.org/e

Spent entire day drafting different tables of contents for my next book. Spent hours looking at other TOCs. It is the important, often unobserved work that is an essential part of the process. Reminds me of the old tile games we played as kids. images.app.goo.gl/JfZ9BQmHQBTM...

Suggestions for Starr here anyone? Conferring as Starr describes it in a FB post is definitely differentiation.

Who’s on YOUR “panel of advisors” about that situation youre trying to desl with? sketchplanations.com/panel-of-adv...

"Everybody talks" is not a healthy standard for teachers to hold ourselves to. (Or admins to hold us to.) Healthy, realistic goals for class discussions matter. ascd.org/el/articles/...

The Best Posts & Articles On How To Teach “Controversial” Topics – Suggest More! larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/10/04/t...

bring it back

I love Annie Ernaux’s books. This is a thoughtful mediation on the role of the library in her development. www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/12...

From Ron Charles at the Washington Post: “A white paper soon to be released by Thorndike Press, a leading publisher of large print editions, indicates that books with a bigger font size can significantly improve students’ engagement and comprehension.” Can’t find report yet, but interesting…

🤖 My latest @Edutopia.org article explores why AI writing detectors aren't the answer. As an ELA teacher, I share practical strategies for encouraging authentic student writing. 📝 www.edutopia.org/article/ai-d... #EduSky #EduSkyAI

@larryferlazzo is just a blessing and boon to all teachers (Ann’s their students)

Excited to read John Warner's next book "More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI" due out in early 2025. www.amazon.com/dp/154160550...

I am slow-reading "The Last Human Job" by @allisonpugh.bsky.social She offers such a thoughtful examination about our work as teachers and others who do "connective labor." One is either a teacher or a technician, it seems these days. More about it here: www.publicbooks.org/the-unique-m...

Really appreciate this plea and post from @catherinelacey.bsky.social substack.com/@catherinela...

You can order R. Joesph Rodriguez’s book for 20% off plus free shipping at Heinemann.com. Promo code SCRIBES24

Currently enjoying free workshop with R. Joseph Rodriguez re: his new book from Heinemann “Youth Scribes: Teaching a Love of Writing” Check it out! www.heinemann.com/products/e16...

Just arrived

Having lunch with (and cooked by!) former student today and dinner with five others Friday night. All in their 40s. The connections go long and deep. Grateful.

@Mattrkay posts are their own genre.

Here’s A Revised & Updated Version Of What A Typical Day & Week Of My ELL Newcomers Class Looks Like larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2024/12/11/h...

There was a joyful courage to Nikki Giovanni when I saw her speak and read her poems. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/b...

Fascinating discussion between two book critics about best book to explain our country in this era: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/o...

"What's the big deal about having a random man named Bruce determining what books your kids read?" youtu.be/Bwlhhb5jgqs?...