Writer for Young Adults
A few weeks ago I learned that one of my high school English teachers had passed away at age 55. Initially I was shocked; classmates and I exchanged texts and Facebook messages, trying to make sense of this sudden, unexpected loss. Then, just as quickly, the world moved on. I kept meaning to write something… Continue reading In Memoriam
I always looked forward to the start of school with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. There was the joy of new pens and notebooks, the nerves of meeting new people, and the feeling of starting over, like I had a whole 9 months of chances to learn and work hard. The school year always… Continue reading No More Books and Studies
On Wednesday, International Women's Day, my 6th grade history class watched Mulan to celebrate the end of our unit on ancient China. They made silly comments about the villain's appearance, laughed at Mushu, and danced along to "I'll Make a Man out of You" (which is now stuck in my head for the third day in a… Continue reading I’ll Make a Man out of You
My husband Josh and I are both middle school teachers, and this means that we spend a lot of time talking about teaching. (Sometimes this drives my sister crazy.) We teach different subjects (him: English; me: history) at different schools with wildly different populations, so most of the time this leads to productive, interesting conversations that… Continue reading What Workshop Taught Me about Writing
It's hard to come back after a long hiatus. February started busy and things just kept on getting busier, and here we are in the middle of March. Maybe I should have guessed that planning a wedding, revising a book, and teaching middle school all at the same time would be pretty hectic. (Thinking about it… Continue reading Teaching history
Obelix with dinnerI have this habit of getting totally immersed in whatever topic I'm teaching in history. The Declaration of Independence? Let's watch 1776! Ancient Greece? Let's check out The Odyssey from the library! The Gupta empire? Let's eat Indian food for a week!For the past couple of weeks, the cogs of my "immersion" brain have been… Continue reading The Ancient Table: Roast boar
Abby Murphy 