Multilingual Approaches Toward English Prose
2022 Bechtel Prize Winner Shilpi Suneja’s students make language their subject. “The dominance of English is a lie we tell ourselves.”
Lesson Plans
Innovative lessons/ideas for teaching creative writing, as well as samples of student writing resulting from the lesson. See complete submission guidelines here.
Voilà! Raising Spirits and Conjuring Magic in the Poetry Classroom
There is something about that word, voilà, at the start of the poem that generates a little magic.
Birthing Poetry: A Window into “The Poetry Studio” and the new collection, Another World: Poetry and Art by Young People
Poet Ann Gengarelly shares experiences from her work in “The Poetry Studio” where students found inspiration in nature.
Mixing It Up with Dickinson: Two High School Poetry Workshops
Poet Terry Blackhawk introduces students to Dickinson’s lack of orthodoxy, worship of nature, and independence.
Nature’s Wonder: Finding Creativity and Connecting Writing to the Natural World
In a poetry writing activity inspired by nature, students find connection and community.
You Never Forget Your Firsts: Making Memories Vividly Present with Mary Kinzie’s “First Passion”
This lesson plan based on “First Passion” by Mary Kinzie asks students to play with spacing and punctuation to create poetic effects.
It Was the Year of Quiet Cities: Writing Poems about Pandemic Times
Sometimes life is so strange we need fantastic language to describe it. Students explore the surreal in this lesson plan inspired by Joanna Fuhrmann’s poem “The Year of Yellow Butterflies.”
YOU ARE WHO WE LOVE: A Lesson Plan for Collaborative Poems Inspired by Aracelis Girmay
Aracelis Girmay’s poem “You Are Who I Love” becomes inspiration for a collaborative poem lesson plan.
Superheroic Delight Songs: A Poetry-Inspired Mural at Lea Elementary in West Philly
I started this “poetry-mural” initiative back in the spring of 2017 while working as a writer-in-residence at PS 51 in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The school building was already brimming with color and creativity, thanks in large part to the collaborative spirit of the art teacher, Shani Perez, and the principal, Nancy Sing-Bock.
Jayne Cortez and The Joyful Anti-Ode
Jayne Cortez’s poem “These New York City Pigeons” inspires student poems in this lesson plan from Joanna Fuhrman.