Latest Lesson Plans
The Lune Link
Use family photographs or magazine images to create 3-line Lune poems.
What a Wonderful World
An activity that encourages young writers to explore the five senses, inspired by the Louis Armstrong song.
Delight Songs
Delicious Details take center stage in this writing exercise inspired by N. Scott Momaday's "Delight Song of Tsoai-talee."
Writing Our Way Through: Tips
Tips for parents & guardians leading writing exercises with children at home. Part of the "Writing Our Way Through" series.
Writing Our Way Through
With so many parents and guardians at home with their kids, we want to offer clear, fun, and engaging “lessons” for writing at home with young people.
Thinking Outside the Box: Promoting Family Literacy in Prison
FROM THE ARCHIVES: This article originally appeared in Teachers & Writers Magazine, May/June 2006, Volume 37, Issue 5. by Jane Lecroy We have all become familiar with the phrase “thinking outside the box,” used to express creative problem solving, but the expression “thinking outside the classroom” may deserve a place in our lexicon as well. Unique…
Conquering the Page: An Interview With PEN America Director Caits Meissner
By Carissa Chesanek Photo Credit: Willa Koerner Caits Meissner is the Prison and Justice Writing Program Director at PEN America, educator, poet and artist. She has worked with over 50 organizations and taught within prisons, classrooms, and the online community. During the book tour for her poetry collection Let it Die Hungry, Caits held workshops and…
The Taste of Happiness
Teaching Students to Describe Emotions in Poetry FROM THE ARCHIVES: This article was originally published in Teachers & Writers Magazine, Winter 2009-2010. By Harriet Riley AS A FIRST-YEAR Writers in the Schools writer/teacher in Houston last fall, I have to admit I felt like I was entering an obstacle course blindfolded. Even though we had…
Hidden Beauty: Using a Poem by Jayne Cortez
FROM THE ARCHIVES: This article originally appeared in Teachers & Writers Magazine Volume 29, Issue 3. By Mark Statman Jayne Cortez wrote a wonderful poem that is challenging and useful for inspiring student writing: Under the Edge of February Under the edge of February in hawk of a throathidden by ravines of sweet oilby temples…
Using Douglass Narrative to Inspire Student Writing
I have found that one of the most successful pieces of literature for motivating students to read and write is the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. It opens up so many issues of adolescence, such as self-esteem, identity, rebellion against unjust authority and laws, individual dignity, and control over one’s life and working conditions.
Questions Without Answers
By Christian McEwen One summer, I taught a poetry workshop at the Edinburgh Book Festival, working with a mixed group of seven-to-thirteen-year-olds. The classes were held in an open tent with two long trestle tables and a scatter of folding chairs, and our theme was “Questions Without Answers.” I told the children about my brother…
2020 Bechtel Prize
For an Innovative Creative Writing Classroom Project The submission deadline for the 2020 Bechtel Prize has been extended to January 31, 2020! Teachers & Writers Collaborative is now accepting submissions for the 2020 Bechtel Prize in support of literary arts education. In keeping with the tradition of the award but with an updated focus, this…
The Decline of Daring
by Marvin Hoffman Marvin Hoffman was an early Director of Teachers & Writers Collaborative, from 1969-71. The photos included here were originally published in Teachers & Writers Magazine volume 4, issues 1 & 2, 1971. Wisdom is an automatic by-product of age. At least that’s what most people believe, but my experience suggests otherwise….
Embrace Recitation
By Karen Decker In a cabinet in my classroom, I keep a stash of small books of Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry. At least once a year, a student comes in and says, “Can I recite ‘The Raven’ next time I go to the podium?” My answer is, of course, yes, and I hand him or…