All posts in Timothy David Rey

Hero’s Welcome: Hero Poems of All Kinds

What makes a hero (both real or imagined), and how can we learn from them (even the villains) and the inner- hero inside of us? We explored those concepts and more in the poem, […]

‘vummer sacation.’: A Lesson in Lousy Language

Students played word games that centered around sound and creative syntax, before delving into Kevin Young’s poem of altered cliché’s, Errata. ‘Errata’ means an error in a written text. ‘Syntax is identity,’ says poet […]

Hats Off!

After reading James Tate’s viciously, sly poem, The List of Famous Hats, students crafted their own poems about clothing and historical figures! Lesson Note: Tate’s poems have been described as tragedic, comic, absurdist, ironic, […]

Shakespeare!

In this lesson, we focused on the Shakespearean Sonnet and iambic pentameter. In his Sonnet 127, William Shakespeare muses on beauty and its perception as a ‘currency’ in the modern world: ‘In the old […]

Hero Worship: Poems on Heroes of All Kinds

What makes a hero (both real or imagined), and how can we learn from them (even the villains) and the inner- hero inside of us? We explored those concepts and more in What I […]

Say What?: Found Language/Captured Talk Poems

Students were instructed to walk to the classroom bookshelf, grab a book, then trade with another student, or to walk around the room and listen to conversations, look at signage, read some Shakespeare and […]

‘Do you ever just want to go/to a valley full of flowers?’: Meditaiton Poems

Students participated in a 10- minute creative writing meditation and breathing exercise. After the meditation, they were asked to write whatever came to mind. Classwork was conducted in silence. Daydreaming and even boredom were […]

Brush Up Your Shakespeare!

In this lesson, we focused on the Shakespearean Sonnet and iambic pentameter. In his Sonnet #127, William Shakespeare muses on beauty and its perception as a ‘currency’ in the modern world: ‘In the old […]

‘I feel the heat of the spotlight on me.’ Sports & Fame Culture Poems

Students talked about fame, culture, and sport and even watched an Oprah interview where cyclist Lance Armstrong offered up a confession. This led us to a reading of a poem from Erratic Fire, Erratic […]

The Comeback ‘Kid’

This lesson centered around Eve L. Ewing’s consoling poem, to the notebook kid. Students talked about their present lives, future, goals and dreams, before writing their own poem on those very topics. Lesson Note: […]

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I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET