by Tricia Ebarvia This article was originally published at movingwriters.org. The school year is winding down—and I find myself thinking more and more of warm poolside days—yet everywhere I turn, rich mentor texts seem to come my way. I’ll find something and think, “Oh, that would have been perfect to use with ____” or “That would have…
By Kelly Quayle Richie is five foot nothing and not even a hundred pounds, just months out of elementary school. He wears a SpongeBob backpack high on his shoulders and Gap Kids khakis picked out by his mother. He’s never seen an R-rated movie, never been reprimanded in school, and rarely comes to class without…
By Merna Ann Hecht Poets and writers who work as teaching artists understand that establishing a space where mutual regard and a sense of belonging can flourish is of utmost importance. The creative spark and humanizing impulse we find within literature and language is our medium for generating such an atmosphere, where all feel honored…
By M.K. Rainey The young woman in the corner of the classroom opens her journal and begins to read aloud. “Today, the world seemed to fall silent,” she says. The room itself is hushed, the students hanging on the next words she will speak. The door blocks out the rattle of other girls elsewhere in…
By Marissa E. King and Karen Sheriff LeVan I am what I am. I am the sun after a storm, fireworks at night, and finding a shooting star. But when you see me in English, I am the bottom of the lake, in the closet, and under the bed. Like a prism, I am multi-sided….
Christian McEwen’s essay, “Alastair Reid: Traveling Light,” was selected as the recipient of the 2016 Bechtel Prize. Teachers & Writers Collaborative awards the Bechtel Prize to the author of an exemplary essay that explores themes related to creative writing, arts education, and/or the imagination. This year’s Bechtel winner is a lovely portrait of poet and…
by Phyllis Meshulam My heartbreak over the unnecessary death of Trayvon Martin was far from healed when news of the fatal shooting of a local California teen, Andy Lopez, created fresh rupture. Then, within months, a slew of similar tragedies were reported from around the country: the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray,…
LESSON PLAN This lesson plan by T&W teaching artist David Surface breaks down descriptive writing for second-graders. By collaboratively organizing sensory details and combining them into structured sentences, students see how they can write detailed, evocative prose piece by piece. Grade(s) Taught: 2nd Genre(s) Taught: Nonfiction, memoir Download: Memories and Descriptive Details Common Core…
TEACHING ARTIST VOICE By Vanessa Mártir Most private colleges and universities require a personal narrative essay as part of the application process. I tell my students that the essay is the gate. Their statistics get them to the gate—GPA, SAT and/or ACT scores, extracurricular activities, etc.—but what gets that gate to open (and grant them…
LESSON PLAN In this lesson, T&W teaching artist Olivia Birdsall invites students to select a topic for a Cause-Effect/Before-After essay, and instructs them to describe the changes they observed in themselves via specific, vivid description (SHOWING) instead of general summary (TELLING). Grade(s) Taught: 11th–12th Genre(s) Taught: Personal narrative essay Download: Personal Narrative Essay Lesson…