Three Words Away a Poem Awaits
Teacher Joanna Fox writes about her experience using typewriters to excite her poetry students and to engage them in generative writing and the power of language.
Art of Teaching Writing
Articles, essays, editorials, and meditations on T&W’s mission, “educating the imagination.”
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JIBSERIA: A Garden Mythology
A school garden becomes the inspiration for a writing project that combines myth-making and art. Winner of the 2020 Bechtel Prize for an innovative classroom project.
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…
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…
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…
WE ARE POEMS: MEMOIRS IN POETRY
Amina HenryWriter-in-Residence, Spring 2019 Introduction Yay! It’s been a pleasure to once again work with the Gifted and Talented 3rd and 4th grade classes at PS188Q. This year we focused primarily on personal memoir, or exploring the ways in which we can express ourselves – our memories, our feelings, our dreams, our hopes and fears…
Our Stories, Our Working Lives
Marsha Gildin and Robin Bady Writers-in-Residence, Spring 2019 Introduction Teaching artists Marsha Gildin and Robin Bady led a workshop at the Selfhelp Innovative Senior Center in Flushing, New York. The workshop focused on the theme “our working lives.” Participants learned storytelling techniques as they shared their stories with each other and at a culminating celebration….
Ricordiamo – We Remember
Using Creative Writing to Inspire Choreography By Matthew Burgess The following was originally published in the Teachers & Writers Magazine, Summer 2010 issue. This piece is dedicated to the memory of David Martinez. David had been hired to teach Martha Graham technique at summer dance festivals in Italy, so the obvious question was, Can I…
Gone Awry
By Katherine Watkins For Back to School Night, my principal requested an extra police officer on campus and asked all administrators to take 15-minute shifts in my classroom to ensure I was never left alone with the parents. The tension was incredible. Threats of violence and death pervaded my thoughts instead of my anticipated “Welcome…