by Matthew Sharpe Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, I wanted to do something with my two Columbia University creative writing classes that addressed the disaster we had all just experienced. Each of the lessons I planned for my first class went awry. I began by asking my students to free write for five…
By Matthew Burgess “The best way to help children write freely is by encouragement, by examples, and by various other inspiring means.” — Kenneth Koch, Wishes, Lies, and Dreams “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” — Pablo Picasso If you walk into a room full…
By Javan Howard Grades: 6–8 Genre: Poetry Themes: Race, Identity, and Stereotype Download: Who Am I? Exploring Stereotypes and Identity through Poetry LESSON PLAN Warm-Up (5 minutes): Define the Quote: Distribute Audre Lorde quote on index cards. Have students turn to those nearest them to discuss the quote: If I didn’t define myself for…
A creative writing lesson plan where students are asked to write poems in the voice of Lady Liberty.
Introductions I feel immensely lucky to have spent this year working with the students at PS 122. These writers are diverse in the best of ways: their humor, personalities, backgrounds, and interests, and the ways in which they analyze and respond to texts, range magnificently. These students, however, are united by a desire to learn,…
I AM GOOD VIBES is an anthology of personal narrative essays and one collaborative poem by the seventh-grade students of Washington Heights Academy. The title comes from a warm-up activity wherein all students participated in completing the prompts, “I am…,” “I was…,” “I’m afraid…,” and “I hope…” thus illustrating their hopes and fears and examining…
Poetry can be whatever we want it or need it to be. We transform things through poetry and poetry transforms us. House Made Out of Roses is a line from the poem, “Flower Girl” by Abby Wyatt in class 403. the cover illustration is by Evan Cuevas in class 408. Poetry is the most imaginative…
In this program at Central Park East II, we experimented with different ways of approaching poetry through music, harnessing the sense of play, improvisation, and exchange that is a hallmark of jazz and rap. Students wrote with music, about music, and through music. They were exposed to a diverse range of musicians and poets that…
Welcome to When I Was Alive, an anthology of student writing from the North Bronx School of Empowerment. This anthology is the result of a special ten-week program, the Anti-Gun Violence Initiative: Art A Catalyst for Change, sponsored by New York City Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo. For this special program, Teachers & Writers Collaborative…
by Bushra Rehman “Peer closer: a soul and a soul. He folds over her like a rosebud in sleep.” — Ishle Yi Park How to bring a love of sonnets to my high school students? Easy. I was a student, once upon a time in the old hip-hop life of Queens, and I am armed…