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ANGER IS ONLY A SHADOW BY ELIZABETH ACEVEDO

In Anger Is Only a Shadow, Elizabeth Acevedo, author of The Poet X, blends prose and verse to tell a story about wanting to help someone without knowing how.

Lil is tired of having other people decide what she can and cannot do. On probation after time in juvenile detention, she is trying to stay out of trouble when she begins to suspect her older brother needs help. Reaching him could mean breaking the rules and risking her own freedom.

The writing caught my attention right away. I started marking beautiful passages with sticky notes, then quickly realized I’d be covering the entire book. Even the prose feels poetic and carefully crafted. Lil’s voice lets us into the hurt of lost friendships, the frustration of being labelled the troubled kid, and the powerlessness of wearing an ankle monitor. As we get to know her, we also see her tender heart and how much she cares about the people she loves. This passage stayed with me:

“I just do things that replace what I’m feeling with something that hurts less. If I feel too small for a situation, I try to escape into a bigger version of me.” I don’t know if I’m making sense. “Sometimes I get so sad or so f***ig mad, and those feelings make these tight walls around me, and staying trapped inside those walls. . .” I shake my head; my body cringes. “I just can’t stand feeling trapped like that. I want to be free more than I want to be good.”

That last line gave me a lot to think about as Lil’s story unfolded. She wants freedom, but she also wants to be there for her brother, and those wants don’t fit neatly together. I’d recommend this book to high school readers drawn to poetic writing and complicated characters. It offers plenty to talk about around mental health, family relationships, and how we see young people who have been in trouble.

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TRY THIS TOMORROW: VOCABULARY REVIEW WITH MYSTERY WORD GAME

Oct

This vocabulary review game is an activity that came up in conversation with our Academic Support Teachers. This is a perfect option for those who have done the explicit vocabulary routine and are looking for ways to review this learning and keep the vocabulary words circulating in classroom discussion. This helps students review previously taught vocabulary by using questioning, reasoning, and elimination to identify a hidden word.

How to Set Up

The teacher selects a previously taught vocabulary word connected to the current text or unit and keeps it hidden.

Students work as a whole class, in small groups, or in partners to determine the word through structured yes/no questioning.

Game Rules

The teacher chooses a secret vocabulary word.
- The word should come from the current unit’s instructional vocabulary.
Students ask yes/no questions only.
- Questions must be designed to narrow down the meaning, function, or role of the word.

Examples:

- Is the word a noun/verb/adjective?
- Does the word describe a character?
- Is the word connected to the setting?
- Does the word represent a theme or central idea?
- Is the word used to show emotion?
The teacher answers only yes or no.
Hint system:
- After a set number of questions (e.g., 5–7 questions), students may earn one hint.
- Hints should support understanding without revealing the word directly.
- Example hints:
  - Word category (part of speech)
  - The section of the text it relates to
  - A synonym or related idea
  - A reminder of how it was used in instruction
Winning the game
- Students win when they correctly identify the vocabulary word.
- Encourage justification: students should explain why they believe the word fits based on prior answers.

Debrief

After the word is revealed, consider furthering the discussion to provide opportunity to use the word:

With a partner, come up with a sentence connected to the text that uses the mystery word.

Try this tomorrow to reinforce your vocabulary lesson!

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TRY THIS TOMORROW: THE NEW YORK TIMES WRITING CURRICULUM FOR 2026-27

Oct

Last week, we shared the New York Times Learning Network’s new 15-minute lessons. They’re one part of a much larger collection of resources for Grades 6–12 teachers. The Learning Network has also released its 2026–27 writing curriculum.

We’ve highlighted this curriculum before, and this year’s curriculum is worth another look. It brings together writing prompts, mentor texts, guides, student examples, and optional contests.

Here’s what you’ll find in the 2026–27 lineup:

Writing and Creating in the Age of A.I.: A new three-part introductory lesson asking students why people write and what changes when they use A.I. to help them compose.
Everyday Practice: Student Opinion questions and Picture Prompts for short, regular writing.
The Tiny Memoir: A personal narrative of just 100 words.
The “Coming of Age” Project: A visual piece about growing up in 2026, accompanied by a written artist statement.
The STEM Video: A short video built around a question and an interview with an expert.
The Open Letter: An evidence-based argument addressed to someone who can make a change.
The Podcast: An original audio piece on a topic and in a format students choose.
Independent Reading and Writing: Responses to something students choose to read, watch, or listen to in The Times.

The curriculum page links to resources for each piece, including guides and examples of student work. There’s also a “Want More?” section with materials from past projects, such as cultural reviews, how-to writing, photo essays, and poetry. Teachers can spend so much time looking for resources online, so we wanted to highlight this as a great place to start.

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SHOOK BY JULIAN RANDALL

Sep

When I saw Jason Reynolds call this book a gift, I knew I was going to love it.

Shook follows Malik “Shake” Page, an eighth grader whose life revolves around basketball. Like many athletes, he knows exactly who he is: a ball player. Then he gets injured and can’t play. Shake is confronted with anxiety, changing relationships, and questions about who he is without the sport he loves. As much as this is a story about basketball, it is also a story about identity, mental health, and resilience.

One of the strengths of Shook is its portrayal of anxiety in the context of sports. Taking away the sport around which his life revolves brings underlying anxiety to the forefront. Randall captures anxiety through both emotional and physical experiences. This helps show that feelings can be difficult to name, especially for young people experiencing them for the first time. I also appreciated the inclusion of therapy, which is presented as a normal and helpful tool for working through challenges.

This is a novel in verse that uses space purposefully. Spacing, shape, font changes, and other visual elements reinforce emotions and experiences while drawing readers into the story. These features make the book accessible while also serving as a mentor text for how writers can use text structure meaningfully and intentionally.

I would recommend Shook to readers who enjoy novels in verse, sports stories, and realistic fiction. It will resonate with athletes, students navigating anxiety, and fans of authors such as Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds.

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TRY THIS TOMORROW: SCAFFOLD SUMMARIES WITH “YOU DECIDE”

Sep

Summarizing is a comprehension skill that is often misinterpreted as simple. In fact, it requires thinking about what to include, noting the main idea and organizing the details clearly and concisely.

“You Decide,” from Next Steps in Literacy Intervention, is a routine that helps students organize ideas before they write.

The Routine

Give students a set of words pulled from a text:

key vocabulary
character traits
actions
content terms

Students Task:

group the words
name each group
use the groups to build a sentence or short summary

This process makes thinking visible and helps students organize ideas before writing a full summary. It can also support using new vocabulary that was explicitly taught in the pre-reading.

Example from Next Steps:

Words: hesitant, shrieked, shy, scowled, reserved, fumed

Students might group:

Character traits: hesitant, shy, reserved
Communication/actions: shrieked, scowled, fumed

From there, they can write:
The character is shy and reserved, but reacts strongly when others shriek or fume.

Try This Tomorrow

Pull 6–10 words from a text you’re already using
Give students the categories (if they need this scaffold)
Ask them to sort the words and explain their thinking
End with one sentence using at least 2–3 of the words

Once students can do this with support, remove the categories and have them create their own.

Routine from Next Steps in Literacy Instruction: Connecting Assessment to Effective Interventions by Deb Glaser and Susan M. Smartt

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ROOHI AND NATE ARE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE BY SUPRIYA KELKAR AND JARRETT LERNER

Sep

“It was like the magic of a library, the way the stories there made you feel connected to characters you’ve never met…Maybe that magic worked in real life, too, letting you see the layers underneath real-life people you thought were one-dimensional. It was so unexpected. Like how you weren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, something I was guilty of doing.” (103)

This book is a love letter to librarians. It is a letter of hope to middle school students who are figuring out who they are in the mix of their parents, siblings, friends and classmates. In ROOHI AND NATE ARE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE, readers meet over-achiever Roohi, who spends her time in the library to avoid the jealousy of seeing her friends move on without her, and Nate, who spends his time skateboarding and trying to dodge the comparisons to his genius older brother. This unlikely pair find themselves joining a lunch book club and connecting through the pages of a fictional text. And, yes, the book is about Roohi and Nate; but, it’s really about how libraries and books are a place for finding yourself, interpreting the world around you and (can be) a refuge from everyday pressures.

The storytelling uses dual first-person narration. Roohi’s chapters are written by Kelkar, while Nate’s are written and illustrated by Lerner. The book is filled with doodles and sketches that reflect each character’s specific style. Beyond the unlikely friends trope, the plot explores student activism. When the group learns that their librarian’s job is being cut due to budget constraints, they take action, showing how young people can use their voices to advocate for change. I also appreciated that the ending doesn’t tie everything up neatly, which reflects the complexities of real life.

Roohi’s storyline will appeal to avid readers who are always reaching for their next book, while Nate’s perspective is perfect for students who haven’t yet found themselves in reading. This book would also make an excellent read-aloud, opening up conversations about books and libraries, but also about the value of different voices, the experiences students bring with them, and what it means to shape your own story.

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TRY THIS TOMORROW (PART 2): GOING DEEPER WITH THE 5 QUESTIONS

Sep

In an earlier post, I shared Marilyn Pryle’s Five Questions for Any Text as a framework for reading. This follow-up focuses on what comes next.

In the resource, each of the five questions is broken into subcategories that guide student thinking in more focused ways. Each one follows the same structure, so you can use it right away and align the lesson with the text you are using.

Example from Identifying the Audience:

Questions to guide thinking:

Who is the intended audience for this text?
How do you know?
Who might be excluded?
Why do you think this?

Teacher supports:

Guidance for introducing the thinking, including simple ways to scaffold students into this kind of analysis. The example from this section can be found in the Try This Tomorrow invitation below.
Annotated student samples across grade levels that show both student thinking and how a teacher might respond or extend it.
Follow-up questions that deepen discussion and support students in transferring this thinking to new texts and real-world contexts.

Try This Tomorrow:

You can introduce this category using this simple progression suggested by Pryle:

Start with books: Ask students to identify the audience for baby books, young adult novels, and adult books. How do they know? Students will quickly notice shared characteristics.
Move to ads and memes: Look at advertisements, short videos, articles, or memes. Ask which ones seem intended for teens versus younger audiences.
Look for the “Markers”: Encourage students to point to specific evidence. Ask questions like “how do you know” and “what makes you say that?” Conversation with others can stretch this thinking.

The rest of the resource provides similar supports for the other four questions, along with student samples and classroom videos that show the work in action.

All credit for this framework and instructional approach belongs to Marilyn Pryle and her book, 5 Questions for Any Text: Critical Reading in the Age of Disinformation.

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CANCELLED BY FARRAH PENN

Jun

From the moment I read the sleeve synopsis of Cancelled, I knew it would resonate with older teens. It reflects situations that show up in high schools all the time: how quickly things can spiral online and how unfair the fallout can feel.

Brynn is a high‑achieving private school senior with big college dreams and a side hustle helping classmates figure out texting and emotional relationships. After a Halloween party, a video of a cheating scandal goes viral. Because Brynn wore the same costume as the girl in the clip, she becomes the scapegoat almost overnight, even though she isn’t actually the person in the footage.

The viral video and its fallout feel very current. Brynn is judged quickly, while the boy involved faces little consequence. That contrast drives the story and raises questions about gender, reputation, and whose mistakes get remembered.

Cancelled also shows how isolating this kind of situation can be. Brynn starts off feeling completely alone, but she eventually finds others who are also tired of being labeled or dismissed. Together, they push back against school traditions and online cruelty. Brynn doesn’t always make the right choices, and part of the story is her learning to slow down and think about whether her actions match her goals.

Content notes: The novel includes themes of cyberbullying, addiction, teen sexual activity and teen pregnancy. While mature, the focus remains firmly on resilience, accountability, and finding your voice. This is a great recommendation for secondary students who want to see their digital reality reflected honestly on the page.

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TRY THIS TOMORROW: TEEN REFLECTIONS AS MENTOR TEXTS

May

New York Times Learning Network posted What Teenagers Are Saying About How They Grew and Changed This School Year which, as the title suggests, shares short student reflections on how students changed over the school year. Students write about growth, challenges, friendships, and shifting mindsets.

Use these as mentor texts before asking students to write their own reflections.

Read Mentor Texts

Select 4–6 short excerpts from the article with a range of themes (academic growth, friendships, challenges, confidence).

As students read, ask:

What stands out?
What changed for the writer?
What feels specific or honest?

Mini-Lesson:

Model one excerpt with annotation to highlight:

summary + reflection (what happened + what it meant/what changed)
Transition phrases that signal change
Details as evidence of change

Show students how many writers use transition language to signal the change, such as:

“I used to…, but now…”
“At first…, however…”
“I not only…, but also…”
“Even though…, I realized…”
“Before…, now…”

Ask students to notice, across a few more mentor texts:

Where does the writer show change?
What words signal that shift?
What details show evidence of change?

Discuss to Generate Ideas

In pairs or groups:

Which reflection feels most relatable?
What patterns show up across responses?
What experiences could you write about?

Students list possible writing topics.

Write Own Reflection

Prompt:

How have you changed this school year?

What did you learn about yourself?
What shifted in your thinking or behavior?
What do you understand differently now?

Students write more effectively when they first read models of real student reflection, talk about them, and identify possible ideas before drafting. Try this tomorrow or add it to your repertoire of ideas from last week’s post on 10 Ideas for Reflecting at the End of a School Year.

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HEART CHECK BY EMILY CHARLOTTE

May

Sports romance books are taking over the shelves. In Heart Check, readers meet Luke Dawson and Harper Braedon who, despite working in the same small diner, seem determined to misunderstand each other. Luke, a star hockey player under immense pressure to earn a scholarship, is convinced Harper hates hockey and everything it represents. Harper believes hockey players are selfish, soaking up school funding while other clubs and causes are ignored. When Luke’s hockey coach is fired for embezzlement and the school rumor mill falsely blames Harper, her jewelry-making business takes the hit. Both teens are forced to confront their assumptions in a rivals-to-romance storyline.

One detail from the author biography that stood out is that Emily Charlotte is an English teacher who actually asked her students to help research what feels authentic when writing about teenagers. That real-life teen feedback shows in the dual‑POV narration, which lets readers experience the story through both Luke’s and Harper’s perspectives. Both characters slowly realize their assumptions about each other were wrong. Beneath the slow-burn romance, this book also offers perspective on challenging stereotypes and checking our own assumptions.

While the book touches on teenage drinking, some cursing, and a more intense romantic scene, these elements are handled in a way that will feel appropriate for many older YA readers. Teacher judgment will vary by classroom, but for students who enjoy sports romance, Heart Check is a perfect recommendation.

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