Category: Uncategorized
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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…
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Making the Point (or Comma or Dash) : A Fun and Powerful Punctuation Lesson to End the Year
With Good Grammar only two months away (you can pre-order it now for 25% off and free shipping by using the code RAVEN25) and the end of the school year days away, I thought I would share one of my favorite end-of-the-year grammar and language lessons—one that is both really fun and also really useful…
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My Favorite End of the Year Writing Assignment
The end of the school year is not only on the horizon, it—like a sunset in full glory—has become the horizon. And if you are like me, these waning days where all eyes fix upon the horizon can be a challenge. Suddenly, issues with work completion and engagement sprout where there were no issues before;…
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Questions from Readers: Should I Encourage Students to Get AI Feedback?
Generative AI is the tool that launched a million thought-pieces in the education world and beyond. This makes sense, as despite its current limitations and endless cliches and somewhat unsettling voice, it is still a remarkable, society-altering new invention that our students will encounter, use, and have to contend with throughout their lives. In the…
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One of the Most Powerful, Least-Covered Grammar and Language Topics
In 2007 writing-instruction legends Steve Graham and Dolores Perin did a meta-analysis on a massive scale to get to the bottom of what works when it comes to writing instruction. The result, a report called Writing Next, offered eleven recommendations for better writing instruction that is still considered the gold standard by many. Most of…
Matthew M. Johnson 