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 Plan…
EDUCATING THE IMAGINATION By Margaret McMullan I wrote the following article with the permission of my student, Jessica. She writes: “What is difficult about writing about abuse is that the wounds are reopened. The emotions I felt were intense and confusing. But I knew I needed to finish each assignment so that I could move…
LESSON PLAN In this lesson plan from T&W teaching artist Jason Leahey, students review the function of roots as taught in their science lessons and connect them to metaphor, their newly learned literary device. Considering their own needs and the metaphorical “roots” in their lives, students write descriptive paragraphs about the roots that help…
EXPLODED LESSON PLAN For those who have been excluded from educational opportunities, a classroom can seem a forbidding place. Engaging entire families in school-based literacy projects not only supports student learning, but also strengthens the school community. In this lesson, Janet Hurley, co-founder of Asheville Writers in the Schools and Community, describes tweaking the “Where…
LESSON PLAN Vanessa Mártir, author, activist, and Teachers & Writers teaching artist, uses the incredible life story of Catherine Ferguson—a former slave and a famous baker—to teach young writers about the power and importance of details in a great lesson on autobiography. Although initially aimed at 4th graders, this vibrant lesson plan offers empowerment to…