In this lesson, T&W teaching artist David Surface uses photographic images related to different aspects of gun violence to inspire 5th-grade students to create monologues or “persona poems” expressing a variety of viewpoints and perspectives surrounding the issue of gun violence. Genre(s) taught: Poetry, prose, monologues Grade(s) taught: 5th Download: Anti-Gun Violence Initiative: Speaking for…
Visions: Poetry Out Loud is a poetry anthology from workshops held in the spring of 2016 at VISIONS at Selis Manor, a nonprofit adapted learning environment and meeting place for blind youth, adults, and seniors. Teachers & Writers Collaborative was pleased to partner with VISIONS to present Poetry Out Loud for Seniors, a workshop series in which adults explored classic and…
An Interview with Yaa Gyasi by Aaron Zimmerman By getting in touch with various publishing companies, one that was able to publish Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing, was Knopf. It was published June 7 and is already one of the most talked-about books of the year. The book has an ambitious scope, beginning in West…
By Lissa Piercy The summer before my junior year of high school, I was diagnosed with ADHD. My executive function struggles made certain classroom experiences particularly challenging. While I loved learning and was quick to have an answer for the teacher’s questions, I was constantly being told that I was “too talkative,” had too many…
Author, artist, and T&W writer-in-residence Jason Leahey invites students into an experience of synesthesia in this exercise, where “the smell of lavender sounds like the flutter of butterfly wings.” This lesson offers great multi-modal strategies for engaging a variety of learning styles. Grade(s) Taught: 4th Genre(s) Taught: Poetry Download: Sensory Language Materials Needed: Seven small jars…
High school students are encouraged to incorporate sensory details in their writing in “Detailed Memories: Emotions Triggered by an Object or Event.” Shelley Savren’s lesson plan comes from Poetry Crossing: 50+ Lessons for 50 Years of California Poets in the Schools. Shelley Savren’s poetry books are The Common Fire and The Wild Shine of Oranges….
Sarah Guayante, a student at St. John’s University and a T&W editorial intern, is interviewing teaching artists who take part in the TATIP* program. Philip Berezney, a multi-disciplinary artist working with Grand St. Settlement, 92nd Street Y, and Wingspan Arts attended the Teaching for English Language Learners seminar facilitated by Holly Fairbank of Center…