On the first day of school, I have the privilege of spending approximately 15 minutes with each of my six classes. Rather than simply going over rules and procedures or passing out the syllabus, I use that time to accomplish three main things: I greet students one at a time at the door, checking their … Continue reading 9 questions to ask your students on the first day (or first week) of school →

Every summer I reflect on the successes and challenges of the past year, and decide what’s worth continuing, abandoning, and adding. However, I always seem to run into the same problem: there’s not enough time to do it all! In Nashville, our high schools run on a block schedule, which means that I teach my … Continue reading How I approach the 90-minute English block →

I’ve had a hard time sleeping lately. Part of it, certainly, is the more relaxed nature of my summer schedule. But, mostly it’s because I’m scared. Scared for our country, and especially for our children. Growing up is never easy, but when I imagine what it’s like being a kid today – regardless of race, … Continue reading Reading can help us heal: 25 powerful books for teachers & students →

Growing up, I moved a lot. First, it was from Rhode Island to Massachusetts in the middle of Kindergarten. Then, it was off to Vernon Street in first grade and Austin Street in third before settling in on Jasset Street in fourth. Despite the constant transition, I always felt at home with books. The first … Continue reading My Reading Journey: Reflecting on why I read (and why I teach) →

As I plan a "Teaching on the Block" PD session for new teachers later this month, I decided to offer some advice to educators who may be wondering, "How the heck am I going to keep high school students engaged for 90 minutes?" However, I feel like many of these tips apply to all teachers, even … Continue reading 20 Tips for Teaching on the Block →

Now that final grades have been entered, the classroom library is back in order, and students are officially on break for the next two months, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the 2015-16 school year. Before I display my students’ end-of-year reading results, here are a few thoughts I wanted to share: … Continue reading End-of-Year Reading Report →

As part of my students' final exam, I asked them to complete an end-of-year reading reflection via Google Forms. The reflection consisted of two parts: A reading attitude survey with several Likert-scale statements Six open-response questions While only one class has responded thus far (the rest will complete it next week), I have been blown away by … Continue reading End of Year Reading Reflection →

Back in February, I happened to stumble across Matt de la Peña’s first novel, Ball Don’t Lie, and immediately fell in love with the main character, Sticky, a troubled 17-year-old foster kid who found refuge on the basketball court. While our childhoods weren’t quite the same, I saw a lot of myself in Sticky. As … Continue reading Ranking Matt de la Peña’s six YA novels →

Last Friday, Maplewood high school freshmen gathered to enjoy some breakfast and watch the screening of our Panthers Unplugged mini-documentary. Beforehand, however, I asked them to reflect on their experience and offer advice to teachers and students around the country who may be considering a similar challenge. Their answers confirmed what I had already suspected: … Continue reading Students encourage others to take unplugged challenge →