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Aug 27

An easy strategy to kick start student collaboration

Want to get your students talking? Hand them a clipboard and get them on their feet. Early in the semester, I like to pose a simple question: What do you need to know about someone to know you’ll work well together? After a few minutes of brainstorming, I give each student a clipboard with a blank chart, and we head to the hallway.

Students line up facing each other, and with a 90-second timer running, they talk. The clipboard gives them something to look at, and the questions give them something to focus on. While these elements make the conversations feel low-stakes, they often lead to high-reward connections.

Conversations don’t always stick to the prompt—but honestly, those off-track moments are often the best ones. When the timer goes off, one row of students shifts down to new partners, and the process starts again. Before students leave for the day, I ask them to jot down the names of classmates they think they could work well with.

This quick activity gives me useful input for seating arrangements and helps students see that effective collaboration doesn’t always depend on sitting next to a friend.

Kelly Virgin is a WCWP teacher leader who teaches high school English for the Kennett Consolidated School District.

Aug 20

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A Review of With You or Without You by Eric Smith

By Janice Ewing

            If you’re looking for a high interest, locally based young adult novel to share with your middle or high school students, I’d like to recommend Eric Smith’s With You or Without You. Set in present day Philadelphia, this is the story of two teenagers, Jordan and Cindy, who work on rival food trucks with their families across a busy city street. Publicly, the teens are feuding as well. The twist, which is quickly shared with the reader, is that Jordan and Cindy are in fact boyfriend and girlfriend. They keep their relationship hidden from public view because the rivalry has taken on the life of its own and brings attention and business to both trucks.

            As if this wasn’t complicated enough, the producers of a reality TV show get wind of their situation and offer them the opportunity to film a pilot based on their rivalry. Reality TV is a passion of Cindy’s and she is thrilled at the opportunity. Jordan, not so much, but in spite of misgivings the two families agree to move forward with the project. At the same time, the pressure is building as both families prepare to compete in Truck Off, an end-of-summer food truck competition with large cash prizes that have the potential to impact the future of all involved.

            The stresses of this pivotal summer after high school graduation uncover old resentments and trauma within and between the families. Perhaps most importantly, Cindy and Jordan have to come to terms with the fact that they have different goals for themselves as individuals, in spite of their commitment to their relationship. Presenting the story in alternating first person points of view, Eric Smith sensitively and colorfully portrays the range of complicated emotions in navigating struggles around allegiance to others versus fulfilling one’s own dreams and facing the future with autonomy This is a highly engaging story with a wealth of themes to explore. Of note, the book has been selected as one of two titles for the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places program.

Smith, Eric (2023). With You or Without You. inkyard Press.

Janice Ewing is a 2004 fellow of the West Chester Writing Project (the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project at that time) and a current member of the advisory board. Her interests include teacher inquiry, collaboration, and mentoring. She and Dr. Mary Buckelew, are the coauthors of Action Research for English Language Arts Teachers: Invitation to Inquiry (Routledge, 2019).

Aug 6

Lesson Demo: Writing in the Classroom with AI

During the 2023 Summer Institute, Teacher Leader, Lauren Ferguson explored how to address Generative AI in the writing classroom. We are excited to share the slides she created. This resource guides teachers through:

  • Understanding what Generative AI is and why it matters for students today
  • Reflecting on how we feel about AI’s role in education
  • Trying out three writing activities that integrate AI in meaningful ways
  • Brainstorming possible uses — and concerns — for using AI tools in student writing

If you’re curious about practical ways to start the conversation about AI with your students, or if you’re looking for ideas to help them write more critically and creatively in an AI-influenced world, these slides are a great starting point.

Feel free to adapt them for your own classroom or professional learning community!

Writing in the classroom with AIDownload