Kelly Gallagher

EPISODE 3:10 Based on the work of Don Graves, and inspired by Cornelius Minor’s thinking on the subject, Kelly and Penny discuss orthodoxies that get in the way of teaching writing.

EPISODE 3:9 Today’s topic: When writing “rules” get in the way of authentic writing.

EPISODE 3:8 Veteran ELA teacher Jim Burke, author of more than 30 books, talks about teaching and learning with Kelly and Penny.

EPISODE 3:7 In one of their more candid conversations, Kelly and Penny discuss mistakes they have made as teachers and, most importantly, what they have learned from them.

EPISODE 3:6 Donalyn Miller, Kelly and Penny discuss strategies to help students develop their reading identities.

EPISODE 3:5 The great Tom Romano, a multi-decade influencer in the field of writing instruction, shares some of his key insights on how to engage young writers.

EPISODE 3:4 Kelly and Penny discuss the joy of writing with students and what they do to support their students’ success with daily writing.

EPISODE 3:3 Peter Kahn and Noelle Berry, from the Spoken Word poetry group at River Forest High School in Oak Park, IL, talk about their inspiring collection of poetry, Respect the Mic, as well as exciting and revolutionary ways to think about and teach poetry.

EPISODE 3:2 Carol Jago, former president of NCTE and an early mentor to Kelly, joins in for a discussion about censorship and reading.

EPISODE 3:1 Both Kelly and Penny are avid readers. In this episode, they talk about the books they’ve been reading for pleasure over the last 11 months.

DAY 30: Looking back at their latest series of 30 conversations, Kelly and Penny reflect on some of the big ideas shared and how they might impact the next school year.

DAY 29: Ernesto Cisneros, middle school teacher and author of the award-winning YA novel, Efren Divided, discusses how writing in front of his students helped him revise his own work.

DAY 28: Kelly Turner, a high school math teacher, shares a valuable resource for all content area teachers. She also explains why students should be writing in math classes.

DAY 27: This moment in history offers opportunities for schools to change. Kelly and Penny discuss some of the changes they’d like to see.

DAY 26: Today’s guest, Izzy Tauheed, a 5th grade teacher in the Bronx, discusses how she infuses the study of real-world events across her curriculum.

DAY 25: David Rockower, a teacher in Pennsylvania, teaches a writing course titled, “20,000 Words.” Here he explains how he set up the class and why volume is foundational to creating writing identities in students.

DAY 24: Focusing on the “arts” in language arts, Kelly and Penny discuss the value of graphic novels and explore one way art can be used to motivate young writers.

DAY 23: The pandemic presents an opportunity for schools to transform themselves. Here is how Michael Matsuda, superintendent of a large, urban school district, is seizing the moment.

DAY 22: As the end of the school year nears, Kelly and Penny share their ideas on how to infuse joy into the writing curriculum.

DAY 21: Both avid readers, Kelly and Penny share how the ways in which they engage with books serve as authentic models for helping students to engage with books.

DAY 20: Ernest Morrell, author, professor and former NCTE president, discusses how to revise curriculum so that is doesn’t shut the door on our students’ brilliance.

DAY 19: Kelly and Penny examine the art of lesson planning.

DAY 18: Kelly and Penny delve deeper into the teaching of writing by sharing a couple of engagement strategies and discussing why establishing writing groups is so important.

DAY 17: Gabrielle Cervantes and Victoria Parent, both third-year teachers, discuss the challenges of teaching in a pandemic and how the experience might inform their instruction next year.

DAY 16: Educator and author Jeff Wilhelm talks about the real problem of “information pollution” and the critical work teachers and students must do to avoid being manipulated.

DAY 15: Kelly and Penny share some of their newest thinking on ways to inspire young writers.

DAY 14: M. Colleen Cruz, author of Risk. Fail. Rise., shares some thoughts on the mistakes teachers make and what they can learn from them.

DAY 13: Sarah Zerwin, author of Point-Less, joins Kelly and Penny to talk about how grades actually harm the development of readers and writers and to share some of the ways teachers can provide more meaningful feedback.

DAY 12: Just in time for National Poetry Month, Kelly and Penny discuss how they use tournament brackets to make poetry fun and engaging for students.

DAY 11: Kelly and Penny share how they use poetry to help students develop their writing identities.

DAY 10: Kylene Beers and Bob Probst, authors of Forged by Reading, join Kelly and Penny to talk about teaching kids to be critical readers both inside and outside the classroom.

DAY 9: Author/educator Cris Tovani talks with Kelly and Penny about engaging challenging learners by seeing beyond the “masks” they wear to class.

DAY 8: Sara Ahmed, author of Being The Change, joins Kelly and Penny to talk about the importance of teaching social comprehension.

DAY 7: For years Kelly and Penny have advocated three goals for every reader. Today, they add a fourth.

DAY 6: Kelly and Penny talk about the importance of and strategies for helping students to identify as readers.

DAY 5: By sharing their own writing struggles, Kelly and Penny explore how writing is inherently a creative process and what this means for writing teachers.

DAY 4: Author/Educator Tom Newkirk joins Kelly and Penny to talk about why students should be given the opportunity to write fiction.

DAY 3: Food for thought? How about food for writing. In this clip, Kelly and Penny explore how the topic of food can be a great motivator for student writers.

DAY 2: Kelly and Penny discuss an idea to get kids up and writing.

DAY 1: Kelly and Penny begin their new video chat series by sharing what they’ve been reading, writing and thinking about over the past few months.

DAY 30: 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.

DAY 29: 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.

DAY 28: Kelly and Penny talk about the value of mid-process feedback when coaching young writers.

DAY 27: 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.

DAY 26: 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.

DAY 25: 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.

DAY 24: 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.

DAY 23: 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.

DAY 22: 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.

DAY 21: 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.

DAY 20: 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!

DAY 19: 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.

DAY18: 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.

DAY 17: 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.

DAY 16: 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.

DAY 15: Kelly and Penny focus on Lyrical Mashup Poetry—an engaging way to introduce students to the genre.

DAY 14: Poet Micah Bournes discusses the power of using culturally-relevant poetry to cultivate students’ creative processes.

DAY 13: Kelly and Penny discuss how to give young writers more of the decision-making power over what and how they write.

DAY 12: 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.

DAY 11: 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.

DAY 10: 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.

DAY 9: 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.

DAY 8: Kelly and Penny discuss how responsive teaching is anchored in acknowledging and honoring each student’s voice.

DAY 7: 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.

DAY 6: 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.

DAY 5: 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.

Thoughts on this discussion? Feel free to share them on Flipgrid.

DAY 4: 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.

DAY 3: Inspired by the postings on their Flipgrid page, Kelly and Penny discuss the importance of teachers writing to become better teachers of writing.

DAY 2: Kelly and Penny respond to Flipgrid posts prompted by the Day 1 conversation.

DAY 1: Kelly and Penny kick off the conversation with a chat featuring book talks and notebook writings.