Latest Lesson Plans
Writing a Dream Poem
In this article from the T&W archive, educator Bill Zavatsky teaches his students to create free-verse dream poems, using dream…
Origin Story Lesson Plan Using Afro-Latina by Elizabeth Acevedo
National Book Award finalist Candice Iloh shares a lesson using the spoken word poem "Afro-Latina" by Elizabeth Acevedo, to ground…
How is THAT a Poem? Winning Over Skeptical Students with E. E. Cummings
Laura Wheatman Hill shares ideas to intrigue students with E. E. Cummings' poem "l(a...(a leaf falls on loneliness)" and teaches…
What’s in a Name? Finding Hidden Pictures in the Letters of the Alphabet
This is a fun out-of-the-box exercise by Frank Ingrasciotta in which we visualize and describe the letters of the alphabet…
A Korean Poetry Competition Motivates Students to Write
Teacher, Elizabeth Jorgensen helps students engage in the creative writing process by giving them an opportunity to publish or gain recognition for their work. Read how her students express themselves through the sijo and find success in The Sejong Cultural Society’s annual poetry competition.
How is THAT a Poem? Winning Over Skeptical Students with E. E. Cummings
Laura Wheatman Hill shares ideas to intrigue students with E. E. Cummings’ poem “l(a…(a leaf falls on loneliness)” and teaches students how a poems’ subject matter can often inform its structure.
We Share the Earth and Sky: Reading Student Poems in the Pandemic
Read about how teaching artist Peter Markus encourages students to step outside themselves and into the “Poetry Portal” and continues to encourage his student poets to write during a pandemic.
Twenty-four Poets Keep Their Third Eyes Open
This article discusses how teaching artist Matthew Brailas teaches fourth grade students a wide range of literary devices through a fun activity called the “Third Eye Experiment.”
What’s in a Name? Finding Hidden Pictures in the Letters of the Alphabet
This is a fun out-of-the-box exercise by Frank Ingrasciotta in which we visualize and describe the letters of the alphabet as pictures then write poems that riff on these pictures using the letters of our own names. The lesson works especially well for visual spatial learners and reinforces those skills for other young writers.
A Students’ Journey Through Literary Submissions
A teacher describes how she encouraged a gifted student to begin publishing their work in a literary journal.
The Writer as Activist
Writers and Teaching Artists came together to answer questions around the writer and educator’s responsibility towards current political movements in the U.S.
Teachers & Writers #BlackLivesMatter Reading List
Collectively, all over the country and world, we are seeing the effects of what happens when we come together in the name of justice. The death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Nina Pop and so many others has sparked an unprecedented outcry for anti-racist structural change and a complete end to police violence against Black…
Investigation Poetry
In this lesson, read William Blake’s “Tyger” poem, experiment with ekphrasis poetry and dive into writing descriptive poems with questions, about an object of your choice!
Knowledge that Speaks in Difficult Times: An Interview with Sharon Mesmer
Read this interview with Sharon Mesmer by Talia Aharoni about her forthcoming poetry manuscript, teaching international poetry and how AWP led her to Latin American women poets and translation.