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Word Scramble Poem
Today’s prompt is inspired by Angelo Geter, AKA EyeAmBic, the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Rock Hill, SC. Before we dive in to the lesson, I want to share a couple of my favorite poems of his. In his collection More God Than Dead, he chronicles his journey into widowhood after tragically losing his wife, and deals with themes of grief,…
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NEW! March Madness Poetry Bracket 2024
I love using students’ interests in one thing (March Madness) to get them excited about another thing (poetry). Lessons like this visual reading lesson inspired by the the Super Bowl LVI half-time show is one of my most visited #TeachLivingPoets posts. My March Madness poetry bracket last year was a huge success, but I wanted to make an updated one…
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Shoe Design as Poetry Analysis
When I get an out-of-the box idea for a poetry analysis lesson, chances are it’s inspired by my son, like this basketball-NASCAR mash-up with a Hanif Abdurraqib poem. The other day, my son asked for a pair of “nice shoes” for his birthday, and we got to talking about what he would want them to look like. Two things came…
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Poetry in the Makerspace
This post is written by Jenny Bruesewitz, a high school turned middle school English teacher in Bay Village, Ohio. Jenny presented about ELA and the Makerspace at NCTE 2023 and OCTELA 2024 (Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts). The #teachlivingpoets tone bottle activity changed my classroom. The creation process resulted in great discussion and a visible representation of…
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Beat the Winter Blahs with Holiday Lipogram Poetry
Created by Betsy Potash of Spark Creativity This guest post is written by Betsy Potash of Spark Creativity. Looking for a fun holiday pop-up poetry workshop you can try this December? How about challenging students with the hilarious, fun intricacies of a lipogram?! Melissa (you know, the founder of this site!) first shared this idea with me last year and…
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Run a Writing Marathon
The need for human connection has never been so achingly present for me as it has the past few months of sheltering in place. All teachers are missing their students, their moments with coworkers, and the daily work of the classroom. It makes me remember how important forging relationships and actively engaging with those young adults who cross our doors…
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Considering Elegy with Clint Smith and Danez Smith poems
Today’s post is by guest author Charles Ellenbogen, who is in his 27th year of teaching. He teaches high school in Cleveland, Ohio, and has recently published a teaching memoir, This Isn’t the Movies: 25 Years in the Classroom. This lesson is designed with distance teaching and online learning in mind. Simply share the link with your students, have them…
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Considering borders, marginalization, and structure with poems by Philip Metres
Today’s post is by guest author Charles Ellenbogen, who is in his 27th year of teaching. He teaches Language & Literature at Campus International High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and has recently published a teaching memoir, This Isn’t the Movies: 25 Years in the Classroom. As of this writing, he is safe at home with Kirsten, his wife, Zoe and…
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Food Poem Unit
Everything you need is in this Hyperdoc. What you will find is a task sheet in small daily chunks that includes: Your students can work at their own pace to complete their final product. If we ever go back to school, we’ll have a potluck party with all the foods we are inspired by! NOTE: I can not allow edit…
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“A Myth of Devotion” by Louise Glück
This is the fourth installment in a series at #TeachLivingPoets. The Poet Laureate Project features a different U.S. Poet Laureate each month during the 2019-2020 school year. Guest author Ann Cox highlights one or two of their poems, suggests activities to use these pieces in the classroom, and touches upon their contributions to the promotion of poetry in America. Ann…
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Annotating a Poem with Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “I am Offering this Poem”
This lesson was posted originally in the AP Literature and Composition Facebook group by Amber Buckley, who gave her permission to share it here. Materials needed: Place the index cards in piles, along with the large paper for students to come pick up. Index cards should not be in order. Ask for a volunteer to choose a card and read…
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Tri-Color Poetry Annotations
Today’s post is written by guest author Donna Vorreyer, a 35-year veteran middle school teacher and living poet, currently teaching her last year before retirement in grade 6. She has been a presenter for NCTE, IRA, and worked for many years as a workshop leader for the Illinois Writing Project. She has published two poetry collections with Sundress Publications, A House of Many…
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Exploring “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove
Getting to the Heart of the Matter with Rita Dove Today’s post is brought to you by guest author Ann Cox. Ann Cox has over twenty years of experience teaching high school English, including AP Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, and Speech. She also spent several years as a teacher consultant for the Illinois State Writing Project. You can reach…
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Considering diction in poetry using concentric circles
The idea for this lesson came from Virginian teacher Jen Flisinger. She tweeted pictures of her class doing this activity and shared her directions. You can learn more about Jen on her blog. I love a poetry activity that: A) works with any poem B) encourages a variety of interpretations C) gets students thinking analytically about specific words D) asks…
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Teaching Citizen Illegal: One teacher’s approach
Today’s post is brought to you by guest author Melissa Tucker, Rock Hill, South Carolina’s 2018 District Teacher of the Year. Melissa is an AP Lit, AP Lang, and World Lit teacher at Rock Hill High School. Grateful and tired mom of two handsome sons, her extended Bearcat family is always invited to her classroom. She continually seeks opportunities to…
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Exploring Ted Kooser’s “Abandoned Farmhouse”
Today’s post is brought to you by guest author Ann Cox. Ann Cox has over twenty years of experience teaching high school English, including AP Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, and Speech. She also spent several years as a teacher consultant for the Illinois State Writing Project. When she’s not working, Ann enjoys crafting, reading, and spending time with her family….
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Student poetry blogs – writing for an authentic audience
Today’s #TeachLivingPoets post comes from Adrian Nester, educator extraordinaire with 17 years’ experience in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. She is passionate about equity in rural education and the power of Twitter. She currently teaches AP Literature, English 11, and Journalism. She is also a T-ball coach, Interact sponsor, and Sunday school teacher in her spare time. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her…
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Tone Bottles: explore tone in poetry with this engaging hands-on activity for all grade levels!
Today’s post is by guest author Valerie A. Person. In her 25th year at Currituck County High School, Valerie teaches honors and academic English II as well as AP Literature and Composition. She agrees passionately with Virginia Woolf’s “teaching without zest is a crime,” striving to find engaging and meaningful ways for her students to learn. One of the tenets…
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Introduction to Spoken Word and Slam Poetry
Today’s post is a collaboration brought to you by guest author, Joe Paris, and me, Melissa Smith. You can follow us on Twitter @ParisBMS and @MelAlterSmith. Joe has curated this amazing list of spoken word and slam poems to get your class started! He also wrote a post about organizing a slam at your school here. 1) What is Spoken Word?…
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Instilling a love for poetry with middle school slams
Today’s post is brought to you by guest author, Joe Paris. You can follow Joe on Twitter @ParisBMS. Joe Paris has been teaching 8th grade Language Arts in northeast Ohio for 19 years. He and his colleagues began the spoken word project six years ago and it’s their favorite thing they do with students every year. Slam into Summer and into…
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#TeachLivingPoets virtual library
Looking to bring in more contemporary poetry into your classroom but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you have a couple favorite poems and poets, but you’re looking to add some new artists? Thanks to my friend and rock star educator Scott Bayer, a resource now exists that you can use both as an […]
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Student Podcasts Using The Slowdown as a Mentor Text
I love The Slowdown Podcast with US Poet Laureate Tracy K Smith. Listening to it has become part of my morning routine. If you’ve never listened before, it’s a five-minute long podcast in which Smith introduces a poem with an anecdote, personal story, historical or current event, or some explanation that eventually leads in to what the poem she is…
