In this first episode for the 2021-22 school year, we reflect on how we have changed in our approach to planning units and lessons, from being teachers who were held to strict pacing guides or rigid units, to teachers who use a more student-centered, dynamic approach. Why do some approaches lend themselves to the "factory model" and how can planning be more responsive and center the student?

In this episode, Katie and I discuss how annotations serve as entry points for students as they engage with texts in English, and as key data points for us in navigating which scaffolds or strategies best support a student. In this way, we can start with student interest, then move from there! If you work with newcomers or "beginner" ELL/ENL/emergent bilingual students, this is a concrete tool you can use to support both their language learning, comprehension of texts and learner agency.

In this podcast, you will hear from two former students of mine who just graduated in June. I ask them to reflect on learning English as a second language as teenagers who arrived in the US in ninth grade. In particular, we focus on how they came to identify themselves as writers, or as comfortable and independent writing in English.  A transcript will be up on our blog at www.macandmarie.org

(I apologize for the sound quality)