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Choose Your Own Adventure…with a Golden Shovel

This week Ms Caplan’s class continued working on their golden shovels. In Ms. Murray’s class we tried something a little different. Students did a quick free write exercise and then picked a line they […]

The Golden Shovel 

This week we explored the Golden Shovel form created by Terrance Hayes. We discussed how even now, there are forms of poetry still being created and invented. Hayes was inspired by one of our […]

The Hands

This week, we read an incredible poem by Gina Valdes, called The Hands. We talked about the concept of symbolism in poetry and what hands symbolize in Valdes’s poem. Our discussion about this poem […]

Love Poems

“What are some different kinds of love”. is the question we started off with this week, before reading Gwylym Cano’s poem “Love”. Sushi, pets, family, friends…we had a lively discussion about all the different […]

“When I feel down, I come back and laugh in joy.” 

This week we read a translated excerpt of Mario Benedetti’s poem No Te Rindas, or Don’t Give up. We’ve reached the time in the school year when students have to a lot of mandatory […]

I’m grateful for my beautiful life…

This week we read a beautiful poem called prayer by Jorge Argueta, where he expressed gratitude for may simple things we take for granted on a daily basis. Students worked on a brainstorm exercise […]

Like you I love music

Week 15: Like You  This week we started off by asking, “Have you ever had a moment of deep appreciation for the world around you? After a few minutes we read Roque Daltons poem […]

Revise, revise, revise…

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”—Elmore Leonard This week, instead of reading a new poem or introducing a new concept we discussed the importance of revision and editing in poetry. It was […]

Snow Ball Poems

This week we had in indoor snowball fight! Well, sort of. We used a fabulous lesson plan by fellow CPC poet-in-residence Musu Bangura where students write down responses to winter-inspired writing prompts on different […]

The Tools of A Writer

This week I introduced students to some of the tools I like to use on a regular basis in my personal writing practice. As a teaching artist, and “professional” writer, I like to let […]

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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