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 Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing, was published by Knopf on June 7 and is already one of the most talked-about books of the year. The book has an ambitious scope, beginning in West Africa in the late 1700s and following the bloodlines of two half-sisters until present…
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…