The Teacher Behind ELA Inkwell

Leslie Simmons · ELA Inkwell

I'm an English teacher, a resource creator, and a lifelong reader.

I've spent 25 years in the classroom, teaching English and developing the kinds of lessons and strategies that help students read more closely, write more thoughtfully, and see language as something worth paying attention to.

My work includes high school English and AP Language and Composition, along with resources that reach into middle school and a few upper-level elementary classrooms. I make materials from the perspective of a teacher who has actually used them with students, revised them, and sometimes completely rethought them.

ELA Inkwell grew out of that classroom work. It is a place for the resources I make, the books I recommend, and the ideas I'm still developing. Some of my work focuses on rhetoric, visual rhetoric, close reading, and syntax; other projects grow out of literature, writing, and the kinds of classroom activities that make academic work feel engaging and worthwhile.

I'm also learning a completely different side of the work: building a Teachers Pay Teachers store. That's why TPT, Honestly exists. I'm sharing what I'm learning as I go, without pretending I have it all figured out.

ELA Inkwell is still growing. So am I. I hope you'll join me for the journey, and that somewhere along the way, something here helps you.