1 post published by Rebekah O'Dell during September 2025| moving writers
Allison and I started Moving Writers, the blog, nearly 12 years ago on the Monday we returned to school after attending NCTE. We named it as we walked through the courtyard to our classrooms. ̶…| moving writers
I humbly suggest an alternative analogy for generative AI, more fitting for the classroom: the microwave. And to help me elaborate on this analogy, I want you to meet my mom.| moving writers
What can we say to students when they turn in writing that was clearly manufactured by AI?| moving writers
Mentor Text: Rod Serling’s closing narration from the Twilight Zone episode ‘The Monsters are Due on Maple Street’ Techniques: Conclusion Background – In my Grade 11 course, we focus on a theme of…| moving writers
Mentor Text: from The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig Techniques: Introduction Background – I’ve really gotten back into horror the last couple of years. I’ve reclaimed my status a Constant…| moving writers
Mentor Text: Prologue from Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin Techniques: Background – I cracked myself up recently. Because I obsessively open my Libby app to see what books are new at my libraries, I’m perpetually placing holds on titles that grab my interest in the slightest. And I don’t always read the […]| moving writers
Each Spring as I begin to move into my final units of the school year, most of the summative assessments that I’ve designed for students have been written assessments. Some years I’ve added in Socratic Seminars or other discussion formats. Other years we’ve had presentations. But, often I’m looking for some other assessments that break from these molds […]| moving writers
Mentor Text: ‘Here’ from Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds Techniques: Setting Background – It’s April, so you know you’re only getting poetry inspired MTW posts. I’m writing this between …| moving writers
Mentor Text: ‘Younger Sister, Going Swimming’ by Margaret Atwood Techniques: Imagery Using Parentheses in Poetry Background – I’m writing this on the Monday of our Spring Break, which w…| moving writers
March 25, 2025 The college entrance essay: Should we teach it or shouldn’t we? This year, the guidance department of our high school, New Directions Secondary School in the Bronx, NY, asked me if I could teach a unit on the college entrance essay in our Juniors English class. In my career, the college entrance […]| moving writers
Mentor Text: excerpt from Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel Techniques: Imagery Building character Background – I’m noticing a trend. Pretty much every preface to Mentor Text Wednesday has me talki…| moving writers
If you’ve paid much attention to BookTok or even the shelves at your local bookstore, you’ve probably realized that romance is having a moment. And that moment extends far beyond the days of grocer…| moving writers
I heard Dance Monkey for the first time after watching the NYT analysis. My response was limited to “catchy and cool”. All my mentor texts are new to my ELLs and they read them for the …| moving writers
I know that I am “preaching to the choir” as we say in the South, but the start of school gets earlier and earlier every year. So let’s get moving quickly into something you can start working on DA…| moving writers
A guaranteed speed breaker when I enter a new school year, and meet a new batch of students with renewed enthusiasm is old errors. Do it enough over the years, and you might begin to realize that p…| moving writers