Author: Matt
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How I Plan to Cut Down on Student AI Misuse This Year
During our first departmental meeting of the year, a teacher offhandedly bemoaned the new paywall for Draftback, a tool for investigating the revision histories of students suspected of using AI. Another teacher responded by bringing up a new tool she is using instead for tracking revision history, and it was like a record scratched to…
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AI Post #1: One Way I Plan to Use AI to Improve My Writing Instruction This Year
I remember sitting down to read a student paper last year and instantly feeling the beginnings of that whispered question that many teachers have come to know so well: Hmm, I wonder if this was written by AI? Sadly, this was not a novel experience for me, but what made this experience different was that…
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Year 10 of the Re-Write Newsletter Begins and Exciting News!
A few weeks back I was scrolling through photos, and I stumbled upon a photo I’d long forgotten. It was from a class trip late in 2019, and in it my entire advisory class is piled together on a small merry-go-round—an action that, while normal at the time, would have been inconceivable by the socially-distanced…
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Thoughts on Ending the Year Strong
Three weeks ago I discussed how conclusions are often an afterthought in writing instruction. The unwritten rule I’ve observed—and often followed—is that the conclusion is a sort of cherry on top of an essay sundae. Like with the cherry, instruction concerning conclusions is a nice touch if you happen to have the time and space,…
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Do We Really Need to Teach Grammar Terms?
I will be on Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy this week to talk about my book Good Grammar, and when we recorded our discussion, Gonzalez asked me an important question that I didn’t have time to answer fully in the moment, so I want to speak to it here: When we teach about grammar and…
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How Expanding the Frame Can Improve Essay (and Most) Instruction
I was glad that so many liked my last post about one way I’m striving to say the quieter parts out loud when it comes to essays, so I thought I would share another lesson from that unit this week. Also, on that note, I want to share that I’m finally doing something that people…
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A Springtime Lesson to Awake Dormant Essay Writing
Happy Spring, wonderful readers! In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston says that “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” I’ve found this to be very true, although there are also occasionally years like the one I’ve had that offer little time for pondering either questions or answers. This is…
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Three Changes I’m Making This School Year
I’ve said this before, but the beginning of the school year is a rather rare time. For those first shining weeks, we (and our students) are open to real change thanks to the fresh start effect, where a new context allows us to envision, and sometimes implement, new versions of ourselves. This fresh start effect…
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Looking to Upgrade Your Grammar and Language Lessons This Year? Meet Good Grammar!
It is still hard for me to believe, but after nearly four years of writing and editing, Good Grammar: Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students is officially out! I’ve talked about it here before, so I won’t spend too much time explaining it. But in short, here is what it is…
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About That Google Commercial (And What It Has Me Thinking About Concerning AI in My Classroom This Year)
A Quick Note from Matt: Good Grammar: Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students is officially out! More will be coming on it next week, but right now you can get 25% off and free shipping if you order from Corwin and use the coded RAVEN25 If you have been watching the…
Matthew M. Johnson 