Mentor Text: Poetry from Memoir Mixtapes Techniques: Writing Memoir Making Personal Connections Analyzing Music Responding to Music Background – As I shared in my last Mentor Text Wednesday post, I found a great journal that encompasses two of my favorite things, memoir and music. I shared a couple of prose pieces in that post, and said […]
Mentor Texts: Jon Recommends: “Head Rolls Off” by Frightened Rabbit By Jon Johnson Sean Recommends: “Ocean Drive” by Lighthouse Family By Sean Cunningham Techniques: Using music as inspiration for memoir writing Mood Connecting elements in writing Symbolism Brevity Background – This is the first of two Mentor Text Wednesdays that finally allow me to fulfill a vision I’ve […]
Today’s guest post is from Amy Heusterberg-Richards, an eleventh-year ELA teacher at Bay Port High School in the Howard-Suamico School District, located north of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Just named Wisconsin’s 2018 NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence, she currently teaches Writing, Literary Analysis, and IB English Literature HL Year Two. She previously wrote a post […]
Mentor Text: Monday, November 4, 2013 from The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater Techniques: Introduction Infusing Narrative Into Informational Writing Background: Our washer died a couple of months ago. This is relevant because it means that since we haven’t taken the time to buy a replacement, I’ve been spending time at the laundromat each weekend. And […]
Mentor Text: forge by Leslie Anne Mcilroy Techniques: Constructing meaning Poetic form Background: This week, I’d like to share another gem of a poem that came through my Twitter feed. One that lets me bring two things that I love into my class. With a 5 year old and a 7 year old, I get […]
Mentor Text: What Were Giraffes? by Amaan Hyder Techniques: Descriptive writing Social commentary Tone Poetic form Background: As I said last week, my Twitter feed has become a pretty important source of poetry for me. I follow poets, teachers and poetry journals, and they all dump lots of great poems onto my screen. (Sometimes it […]
Today’s guest post is from Donnie Welch, a poet and teacher out of New York who runs writing workshops specifically for students with developmental disabilities! You can connect with him on Twitter @donniewelchpoet or through his website, http://www.DonnieWelchPoetry.com. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Mentor Text: Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell by Charles Simic Writing Techniques: Ekphrastic Poetry […]
Mentor Text: A Love Letter to Saga by Laura Sackton (via BookRiot) Strategies: Lit appreciation Media Appreciation Review Criticism Background: Teaching English the way so many of us do winds up highlighting so many great dichotomies that exist in that practice. Write with passion, yet realize that you must do this within constraints sometimes. Read poetry […]
Mentor Text: Swim Your Own Race by Mbali Vilakazi Techniques: Form Purposeful Use of Figurative Language Exploring Clichéd Sports Metaphor Using Contrast Background: I love the Winter Olympics. I’m setting my alarm to get up in the morning before school to watch sports that I normally dismiss. The excitement is so infectious. Especially fun this […]
Mentor Text: A MAD Fold-In Poem by Daniel Scott Tysdal Techniques: Poetic Form Writing Rough Drafts Analysis Visual Presentation Background – If you read this column regularly, you know that I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately. I’ve actually made it a professional goal to explore poetry in my classroom with more intent the last […]
