high school · middle school · personal essay · Straight from the Classroom · Voices from the Community

Harnessing the Strength of “I’m Really Into” Essays: Straight from the Classroom

Discover the transformative power of "I'm Really Into" essays in the aftermath of a school fire. This engaging teaching approach fosters student connection, amplifies voices, and sparks authentic exploration, while offering practical tips for implementation. Experience the joy of learning with this insightful guest blog post.

assessment · authentic assessment · data · feedback · formative assessment · giveaway · goals · growth mindset · high school · middle school · monitoring student learning · peer conferring · personalization · reading-writing connections · record keeping · Reflective Practice · Sarah M. Zerwin · self-assessment · standards · student engagement · Student ownership · writing workshop

Point-Less by Sarah M. Zerwin: A Review and Giveaway

Sarah Zerwin is workshop to her core, and she has found ways to ensure that her assessment practices are not sending conflicting messages to kids. Point-Less will challenge readers to reflect and inspire them to advocate for change.

grammar · high school · how-to writing · nonfiction writing · voice

Rethinking the “I-Rule”

Many of us were taught that first person pronouns had no place in academic writing. But is that rule still being followed by professional writers?

guest blogger · high school · student engagement · student work · writing

Engaging High School Students in Writing — A Guest Blog Post by the #BowTieBoys

Ryan Hur, Tam Mandanis, Kellen Pluntke, Rishi Singh, Christian Sporre, and Dawson Unger are six of the Bow Tie Boys who are a group of high school students from Northern Virginia. Today they take on the topic of student engagement in secondary writing classes.