Digital Discussions

Kelly and Penny kick off the conversation with a chat featuring book talks and notebook writings.

Kelly and Penny respond to Flipgrid posts prompted by the Day 1 conversation.

Inspired by the postings on their Flipgrid page, Kelly and Penny discuss the importance of teachers writing to become better teachers of writing.

Kelly and Penny are joined by Donna Santman, author of SHADES OF MEANING and middle school teacher/coach in NYC, who shares how she uses writing notebooks to increase the volume of writing in her classes.

Denver Librarian and former English teacher Julia Torres joins Kelly and Penny to discuss the value of examining the institutional bias—as well as the personal bias—inherent in today’s curriculum. Julia is the co-founder of DisruptTexts.org.

Kelly and Penny talk about how to maintain student reading volume during such a disruptive time and share how working in their notebooks has helped to keep them sane and centered.

Should we be worried about traumatizing students by having them read and write about COVID-19? Child trauma therapist and noted YA author Chris Crutcher offers his expert insights. Weigh in with your thoughts via Flipgrid.

Kelly and Penny discuss how responsive teaching is anchored in acknowledging and honoring each student’s voice.

New York City teacher Dulce Flecha talks with Kelly and Penny about creating a trauma-informed classroom, especially as it relates to teaching homeless and foster-care children.

Poetry plays a powerful role in both Kelly and Penny’s classrooms. Today, they share some of their favorite strategies for teaching poetry and take a closer look at the craft of poets Marcus Jackson and Andrea Davis Pinkney.

How much is too much? Kelly and Penny discuss the pitfalls of “helicopter teaching,” and why and how students flourish when given more choice and control when learning to write.

Special guest John Warner, teacher and author of Why They Can’t Write, talks with Kelly and Penny about creating optimal conditions that help students flourish as writers.

Kelly and Penny discuss how to give young writers more of the decision-making power over what and how they write.

Poet Micah Bournes discusses the power of using culturally-relevant poetry to cultivate students’ creative processes.

Kelly and Penny focus on Lyrical Mashup Poetry—an engaging way to introduce students to the genre.

Assistant Middle School Principal Chad Everett joins Kelly and Penny to share an administrator’s thoughts on long-distance learning and the imperative to create equitable learning experiences—especially in these challenging times.

In honor of National Poetry Month, Kelly and Penny introduce The Poetry Smackdown, a high-interest way to get kids to engage with and analyze poetry.

The Poetry Smackdown continues! Today, Kelly and Penny show how they quick write and revise with their students each day to model the decision-making that goes into crafting poetry (or any piece of writing). Once you’ve watched, visit Flipgrid to share your choice for today’s smackdown winner, along with your reason for choosing it.

High School Principal Mark Federman shares the vision and leadership skills that helped him build a school culture where reading is valued, pervasive and sustainable. His school, East Side Community High School in NYC, serves 700 students in grades 6-10 and won a Library of Congress award in 2018.

Ellen Stackable—English teacher, founder of Poetic Justice, and CNN Local Hero finalist—shares her insights on the restorative power of poetry when working with incarcerated women. So inspiring!

Today’s topic is Conferring. Join Kelly and Penny as they discuss the importance of providing students with the kind of feedback that improves their writing.

East Side Community High School Principal Mark Federman joins Kelly and Penny again—this time to share an administrator’s point of view on how to maintain strong literacy ties with students during distance schooling.

Matthew Kay, author of Not Light, But Fire, addresses navigating classroom conversations about race in a way that encourages much more authentic and meaningful dialogue and understanding.

Today, Kelly and Penny model reading conferences to demonstrate their effectiveness for not only teaching reading, but also for getting to better know each student as a reader.

Author and poet Georgia Heard believes every student is a poet. She shares with Kelly and Penny tips for helping students to connect with poetry and, ultimately, to discover their inner poet.

Distance learning presents a whole new set of challenges and an even greater need for responsive teaching. Kelly and Penny discuss how Kelly is modifying his plans in an effort to keep his senior students engaged at a time when it’s very easy for them to disconnect.

Kelly and Penny discuss the transformative power of collaborative writing—professionally and among students—with literacy experts and long-time co-authors Kylene Beers and Bob Probst.

Kelly and Penny talk about the value of mid-process feedback when coaching young writers.

Kelly and Penny catch up with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) leadership team: Alfredo Celedon Lujan, Valerie Kinloch, Franki Sibberson and Leah Zuidema.

With their book deadline looming, Kelly and Penny wrap up with a final conversation (for awhile) about what has and will continue to sustain them as we all adapt to a new way of teaching and learning.