More About Teachers & Writers Collaborative
About Teachers & Writers
MISSION Teachers & Writers Collaborative (T&W) seeks to educate the imagination by offering innovative creative writing programs for students and…
Workshops & Professional Development
Teachers & Writers Collaborative (T&W) provides school-based and after-school writing programs led by professional writers for K-12 students, professional development…
Resources
Books T&W has published resources about the teaching of creative writing for more nearly 50 years. With more…
NY Poetry Out Loud
What is Poetry Out Loud? Poetry Out Loud (POL), an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and the…
At First, the Ground Shakes
by Emily James Author and St. John’s University professor Gabriel Brownstein selected Emily James’ essay, “At First, the Ground Shakes,” to receive the 2019 Bechtel Prize. Teachers & Writers Collaborative awards the Bechtel Prize to the author of an exemplary essay that explores themes related to creative writing, arts education, and/or the imagination. James’ essay is…
Poems of Arrival: Connecting Middle School Students to the Colonial
by David Andrew Stoler The girl from Queens is quiet and shy—one of the smallest students in her seventh-grade class, she is also hearing impaired and wears special headphones connected directly to a microphone that each of her teachers must wear… that is, when she gets up the nerve to remind them. Now, while her…
Writing Micro-Memoirs at VISIONS
by Victoria Richards Everyone has a story to tell. And when we dig deep enough, our stories will unravel onto paper in a sort of magical fashion. This proved to be an undeniable truth at VISIONS, a nonprofit organization in New York City offering services for the blind and visually impaired. The writing workshops that…
Love: Moonlight Glow to Rainbow Hope
Diamond Girl by Kalani (3rd grade) I am a diamond girl. I love it when I shine. Inside of me, there are crystals. I dream of being a star. I fear being shattered. At night, I glow in the moonlight. Will you glow with me? I Am Summer Love by Richna (3rd grade) I…
In a Flash: Keeping Students Focused and Writing with Flash Fiction
By J.D. Mader For six years, I was lucky enough to teach writing to at-risk, low-income youth in San Francisco. I worked at two Catholic schools, but for a non-profit named ACHIEVE. I was a shadow. I designed my own curriculum. I was able to work with students in small groups, not a typical classroom….
A Home at the Nuyorican: An Interview with Lois Elaine Griffith
by Jehan Roberson Lois Elaine Griffith is here to tell you a story. An educator, poet, performer, and visual artist, Lois merged her multi-genre gift for storytelling into a career as a founding poet of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe who has advanced the Nuyorican’s message for more than 35 years. Now spearheading the Nuyorican Poets…
Connecting Social Media Savvy Teens to a Thousand-Year-Old Poetic Form
by David Andrew Stoler At night, when nobody else was awake, the two teenagers would send secret messages to each other: short bursts of text that they would wrap like little gifts in layer after layer of meaning. Gossip, intrigue, flirtation, the blossoming of young love…if their parents found out what was really going on—if…
Rewriting Memoir
by Alice Pencavel Lesson Objectives: To examine all the choices put in to a single sentence. To activate thoughtful patience and apply it to the process of writing. To allow time to write. To practice discipline and focus. To find new ways to actively incorporate personal reflections into our work. Guiding Questions: Why did Maya…
Recognizing Art as a Bridge to Academic Success
by Beverly Pell Early in my career I caught a glimpse of how exploration of art and creativity can powerfully influence written language. I was a rookie English teacher in a large urban school district with a high Hispanic population in southern California. While the focus of learning in my English class was speaking, listening,…
Literary Crossword, January Edition
Click here to print crossword and clues 1 Technique that makes a reader turn the page 5 Jane Austen protagonist 8 Three-way 9 Humorous verse form 10 First name of the author of “Black Beauty” 11 First name of the famous writer who penned “The Kingdom of God is Within…