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 […]
Mentor Text: The Selling of Two Timberlakes by Hanif Abdurraqib (via Pacific Standard) Techniques: Contrast and Comparison Criticism and Analysis Organization Making Connections Using Narrative to Make a Point Background – Full disclosure. It’s taking a lot of self-control to stop me from turning Mentor Text Wednesdays into a Hanif Abdurraqib fan column. I discovered […]
Mentor Text Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie Writing Techniques: Reflective Writing A Deliberate Shift Making Connections Background: A funny thing about teaching is how we revisit things. Sometimes, it’s because we teach the same texts or units of studies, the same courses. We revisit things because we need to refresh or remix them. This […]
Mentor Text: Dead Game by Andrew Vachss Writing Techniques: Using Story to Explore an Issue Foreshadowing Personification Focusing a Narrative Background: I pulled this story out in my class this week, not as a mentor text, but as a tool to help us discuss our writing variables. There is a question on my Grade 12s’ […]
Mentor Texts: The Poetry of Poets Respond, via Rattle Magazine Writing Techniques: Responding to current events Finding Inspiration Poetic Form Background: This post has been at the back of my mind for a while now. It’s not the first time I’ve written here about how our classrooms are places that we have to deal with the […]
moving writers 