Would it surprise to know that 54% of Americans read a book last year? Click the picture for more information on how much Americans read (or didn't read) last year. 

In this insightful article, Adrian Neibauer explores the tension between restrictive writing templates and the need to foster creativity, curiosity, and metacognition in student writing. Although Neibauer teaches 5th grade, his powerful perspectives would be beneficial for teachers of writing on any level. 

From “unabridged” to “slanguage,” Madeline Kripke’s library is a logophile’s heaven (or hell).

"The Book" by Miller Williams

Pop quiz! Is Sildenafil a name of a Tolkien character or an antidepressant drug? What about Enronon? Click here to take the quiz and find out for yourself!

It's no surprise that many teaches find AI technology somewhat scary and threatening; however, some educators are choosing to embrace these new advancements. For example, Brett Vogelsinger spiced up his AP Literature class by challenging students to enhance AI-generated essays on epic traditions using ChatGPT. The exercise prompted students to inject their voice, sparking excitement and discussion about the role of AI in writing education. 

This unique video series features well-known authors "sharing their quest to find the right words."

Was Frankenstein's monster a feminist vegetarian? What does Frankenstein have to do with The Far Side comic strip by Gary Larson? Click the link to the left to explore these unique perspectives on the classic tale... and many more!

Get ready for the Punctuation Power Rankings – the juiciest drama in the grammar world! Curly Brackets, feeling a bit too fancy, and Quotation Marks, with a codependency issue, battle it out for the top spots. Will the Period's no-nonsense approach end the suspense, or will the Question Mark's mysterious rise keep you guessing? Tune in for the punctuation soap opera of the century – because sometimes, commas need love too!

This story is incredibly sweet and endearing. There's good food for thought here about a great many things: from the human thirst for adventure to the appeal of the forbidden. 

This YouTube channel is in its infancy, but its creator is the same as that of the incredible "Great Art Explained" YouTube channel, which is absolutely incredbile. You're going to want to get in on the ground floor on this one. 

This article offers some great reminders about a few simple (but important) elements of close reading. Don't forget the basics: What happens? How does it happen? Why is it important?

Irish teacher Julian Girdham highlights the importance of studying poetry, emphasizing that language is the foundation of human communication and relationships. He argues that poetry teaches the skill of using language precisely and attentively, making it a vital tool for navigating a world filled with information overload and electronic media. Additionally, Girdham contends that poetry explores significant aspects of life, such as love, grief, and identity, making it a subject that speaks to people like no other.

This article is somewhat of a lengthy read, but if you're interested in a condensed history of the fantasy genre and the man who led the movement, give the picture to the left a click. 

Contemporary authors like Sally Rooney, Ian Williams, and Lauren Groff are ditching quotation marks for dialogue in their novels, a literary trend that's gaining momentum. This unconventional choice not only blurs the lines between thoughts and spoken words but also invites readers to dive into the intricate subjectivity of characters, offering a fresh perspective on storytelling and narrative style in modern fiction.

It's great when you can find a simple, free resource for use in the classroom. This chart to help students analyze a book cover is just that! Next time you launch a new book in class, give this straightforward but meaningful activity a whirl.

In this interesting piece, the Matthew Walther criticizes the concept of Banned Books Week, arguing that the books highlighted during this event are not truly banned but simply challenged or criticized. Ok... so what? Well, Walther contends that equating challenges to censorship undermines the value of critical engagement with literature, ultimately posing a threat to the appreciation of literature as a whole. It's a unique take on a week that most English teachers tout and celebrate. Check it out and see what you think...

It’s hard to imagine a less contentious or more innocent word than “and.” But how to interpret that simple conjunction has prompted a complicated legal fight that lands in the Supreme Court on Oct. 2, the first day of its new term. What the justices decide could affect thousands of prison sentences each year.

This article by Maria Popova does an excellent job of framing and explaining some of Octavia Butler's most insightful advice on writing. Take a look at these great quotes from Butler and share a few of them with your students. It's bound to expand their writing horizons. 

The "no plot, just vibes" genre of novels, celebrated on BookTok, offers readers an unconventional literary experience with a focus on character exploration and introspective narratives, challenging traditional storytelling structures. Authors like Marlowe Granados and Coco Mellors emphasize character development over rigid plotlines, creating an immersive atmosphere that resonates with readers seeking unique storytelling experiences, and this genre provides a creative space where anything is possible, beyond the confines of traditional plot-driven narratives.

If you're looking for a powerful contemporary piece of writing to analyze with your students, why not examine this compelling monologue from the recent Barbie movie? Better yet, pair it with an examine of the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy and ask students to make connections between the two pieces or between the pieces and their personal lives. 

It's true that the picture to the left is simply a link to an online discussion board, but the question is really interesting: "Which fictional character suffered the 'best' death?" Hamlet? Beth from Little Women? Piggy from Lord of the Flies? An even better question (and one to discuss with your students) might be... What makes a character's death 'good'?

In this award-winning essay, 17-year-old Ruby LaRocca "urges her generation to read old books, memorize poetry, and invite senior citizens to parties."

From "September Tomatoes" by Karina Borowicz to "Blackberry Eating" by Galway Kinnell.

Most people who are not well-acquainted with comics don't necessarily know where to start when it comes to exploring this unique medium. However, checking out works that won the Eisner award is a good place to start. The Eisner Award is a prestigious annual recognition in the comic book industry, named after comic book pioneer Will Eisner. It honors outstanding achievements in various aspects of comic book creation, including writing, art, and graphic novels, and is considered one of the highest honors in the field.

Check out this collection of essays that are ready to print! Categories include personal essays, argument essays, comparison essays, definition essays, list essays, and reviews. 

This article explores the emergence of the Antarctic accent and its implications for understanding the power of accents in shaping identity and perceptions. It discusses how the unique environment of Antarctic science bases, where people from diverse nationalities interact, has led to the development of this accent, characterized by vowel sound changes. The article highlights the relevance of understanding rare accents for casting voice actors and suggests that accents carry deep associations that can impact audience reception, even hinting at a potential future where geographic origins might have a transformed influence on perception. Super cool!

This short article offers some interesting food for thought. What do you think?

From Kelly Gallagher: "A major underlying goal of any school year is to move young readers and writers from victimhood mindsets towards agency. To gauge this progress, I surveyed students' attitudes at the beginning and end of the year. Here's the writing survey."

This is just a great Instagram account with lots of cool poetry. Check it out!

The Birds of Shakespeare strives to be an accessible, one-stop guide for viewers who wish to explore the intersection between Shakespeare and ornithology. This growing collection of paintings will catalog every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's plays and poems— at least 65 species. Each month, one bird is released as a painting with an accompanying essay that analyzes how the species features in Shakespeare’s world.

Laura Sackton shares her tried-and-true method of using graphic novels as a remedy for breaking out of a reading slump. She highlights the brevity, varied genres, and unique engagement of visual storytelling as effective tools to swiftly overcome reading lulls and help us rediscover the joy of reading.

This article presents the idea that while novels which focus on climate change are relatively scarce, other forms of storytelling may be better able to embrace the subject. For example, "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," presents a climate change story in a new way, allowing players to explore and alter a virtual world, highlighting the potential of video games to address important subjects like environmental shifts and global warming.

In this article, authors Jon Klassen and Ruth Krauss navigate the delicate balance between adult nostalgia and young reader engagement in children's literature. Get ready to reevaluate your perspective on children's books in this eye-opening exploration of whether or not children's books are becoming too safe... and not weird/dark enough...

Matthew Johnson is an ELA teacher with a real knack for creating awesome blog posts. Click on his picture to the left to see content that ranges from how he introduced his students to ChatGPT to how to breathe more life and meaning into comma usage.

"A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy

This cool article by Lincoln Michel is subtitled, "Some writing advice from the stories that eschew all writing advice." In this piece, Michel argues that fairy tales embrace flat characters, abstract descriptions, dreamlike logic, normalized magic, and non-specific settings, offering a distinct narrative mode that diverges from traditional literary advice, enabling diverse storytelling possibilities.

Here's some cool inspiration for you: Sylvia Plath, known for her brilliance in both writing and visual art, expressed her creative prowess through diaries filled with sketches, elaborate scrapbooks, abstract paintings, and political collages. Her artistic endeavors, from illustrations to collage, intertwined with her literary work and reflected her multifaceted creativity.

A true hybrid, the micro-memoir strives to combine the extreme abbreviation of poetry, the narrative tension of fiction, and the truth-telling of creative nonfiction. The form might be considered a subset of the larger category of “flash nonfiction,” but it’s hard to draw strict lines here, because the recent proliferation of boundary-busting work is accompanied by a proliferation of terms – Anne Carson’s “short talks,” J. Robert Lennon’s “anecdotes,” Sarah Manguso’s “aphorisms,” James Richardson’s “ten-second essays:” all of these could at times be called “micro-memoirs.”

Have you been looking for a short, accessible, and unique piece of writing for students to imitate? Check out this moving meditation by Robert Erle Barham.

Ta-Nahesi Coates (American author and journalist) offers an inspiring explanation of how his interest in Dungeons & Dragons and hip hop music paved the way for his passion for literature and taught him that "words can take you somewhere else and how words are beautiful." It's definitely worth 3 minutes of your time. 

This site provides some great jumping off points for what are sure to be some unique and powerful stories. How about this prompt:

What might a desperate and powerless character do to get ahead in life in a world where near-death experiences confer magical power?

Sure, you've probably read "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" but have you heard of "Why Don't You Dance?" By Raymond Carver (1981) or "A Village After Dark" by Kazuo Ishiguro (2001)? Try on one of these short stories today, and you just might discover a new favorite!

This is certainly not the only website with details on how to write a Precis paragraph; however, it does have a strong example of one. If you are looking for a "loose formula" to give students to guide them towards more powerful academic, analytical writing, the Precis is a great place to start! 

The Major Works Data Sheet is a straightforward way for students to compile and present essential information about a text. It's kind of like a modern book report template. However, it may also have an interesting application in the AP Lit. classroom: Have each student complete a MWDS about a book of their choice; then make copies and have students exchange them as they study and prepare for the AP Exam at the end of the year. 

This brief essay by sportswriter Bill Simmons provides a plethora of unique elements for students to analyze (syntax, most notably), but perhaps its greatest power is that it is a fast-paced football essay with lots of excitement that the sports enthusiast in your class is sure to gobble up!

Can you believe that in May of 2023, Fred Sanders, a professor at Torrey Honors College, delivered a commencement address composed entirely of questions? Is there any application for this work in your classroom? What do you think of it?

Many English teachers and students are familiar with the work of Sandra Cisneros, but did you know that her website features letters written to her readers that span over a decade? These short snippets reveal insight into Cisneros' personal life and offer an opportunity to get to know a well-loved author a little better.

These come from avant-garde poet Bernadette Mayer, who is associated with the New York School of Poets. The list is a little tough to read, but there are some interesting gems to be found, such as... "Write a work while gazing into the mirror and without using the pronoun I."

Orwell is, of course, known for his stark portrayal of authoritarianism, but did you know that he once composed a moving essay about the common toad (with a little social commentary thrown in as well)? This piece could be a good companion piece to just about any piece of dystopian literature. 

This is one that you just have to watch. Vonnegut's reductive approach to storytelling structure is both entertaining and inspiring, encouraging us to have fun with the process and not to overthink things. And of course, his commentary on these shapes being fed into a computer are interesting as well. Be careful! There is some inappropriate language in the video. 

Honestly, graphic interpretations of classic literature often don't hold up against the original since most works are more powerful in their original form. However, since Shakespearian plays were originally intended to be seen, Shakespearian comics are a great way to help students engage with the story on a deeper level. Classical Comics is a unique resource because they offers 3 different reading levels/styles to choose from: original text, plain text, and quick text.

Our students are likely not familiar enough with Flannery O'Connor to get the chuckle out of this that our teachers will get; however, the imitation of Goodnight Moon is too good not to share. Also, it could serve as good inspiration for a student assignment. How would your favorite author have written Goodnight Moon?

If you've been in a slump in your quest to teach writing effectively or feel that your time-trusted techniques are growing stale, visit the Moving Writers website for an injection of contagious energy and great ideas. Just scroll down on the main page for recent articles, ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and musings. 

Susan Straight writes, "In 2020, as the physical ways of gathering began to shut down like moonflowers closing in the morning, I began to work on a map—a new Library of America, as I shared books with my community and they responded with books. For five years I’ve been reading classic novels of American life, and stories deeply embedded in the many regional places of the United States, with the intent of placing them—literally—on a map. This is my love letter to the United States..."

The facilitators of The Oedipus Project believe the answer to this question is "Yes." Check out this intriguing concept: "The Oedipus Project presents acclaimed actors reading scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, constructive, global conversations about the climate crisis, ecological disaster, environmental justice, and healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world."

This is SO COOL! Discover the transformative power of "poetry pauses" as a new approach to teaching writing, guiding students to craft engaging introductions and explore their creativity through similes and metaphors.