"Make Cycles" of the DigDiscourse Summer Collaborative
The DigDiscourse Summer Collaborative is designed and facilitated by teachers from the Denver Area Writing Project and the Philadelphia Writing Project, who are members of the Digital Discourse Research Project, a research initiative funded by the James S. McDonnell Foundation in partnership…
The Ways Poetry can Improve Your Prose
In honor of National Poetry Month and Poem In Your Pocket Day, here are Grant Faulkner’s 10 reasons prose writers should read — and hopefully write — poetry.
Wash Your Hands: Navigating Grief and Uncertainty in the Time of the Pandemic
Linda Christensen shares a method for reading and dissecting a poem as a group, then using that as a jumping off place for their own writing. Originally published during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Christensen also highlights the importance of centering the learner in the lesson,…
Poetry and Science: Two Great Things that Go Great Together
Like peanut butter and chocolate, science and poetry are two great things that go great together, an idea that has been celebrated since 2017 by The Universe in Verse.
Writing In with Write Out
Ideas for taking the inspiration of place-based writing in the great outdoors, to the imaginative expanse of the great indoors. Originally published during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.
Getting It Right: The Messy Art of Craft
An invitation to revise a poem and share the process. Originally posted during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.
Remixing the Places We Love
An example of how to remix a poem with a focus on place-based poetry. Originally posted during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.
Reflecting on Remix
Remixing can enhance or amplify the original art, and extra value can be gained by pairing your remix with a written reflection.
The Art of Making as Remix
Remix is the process of using pieces of something to make or inspire something else. See how this can apply to poetry.
Blackout Poetry: Defying the Blank Page
Learn about blackout poetry: what it is, how to find good examples, and how to get your class started making with and writing within this fascinating art form.
Frames of Mind (#1 in My Series of Book Spine Poetry)
Teacher-leader Cindy O’Donnell-Allen shares how easy (and therapeutic) creating book spine poetry can be.
With an Ear to the Ground: Create a Found Poem
Learn about Found Poetry, a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them by making changes in spacing and lines, or by adding or deleting text.
Make with Me: Poem Pocket
Every April, Poem in Your Pocket Day appears as a culminating celebration for National Poetry Month. Here are just a few ideas for how to make your own pocket to put that precious poem in to carry and share with others.
Listening for the Poetry in Each Other
Elyse Eidman-Aadahl shares an invitation to participate in National Poetry Month along with a few ideas to get started with. Although originally posted during the COVID pandemic, the information and invitation are still relevant.
Why I Write: Poet Jane Hirshfield Writes About Life’s Profound Mystery
Prize-winning international poet, translator, and essayist Jane Hirshfield's poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence: desire and loss, impermanence and beauty, and the many dimensions of our connection with others. She tells NWP why she writes.
COVID Poetry: How a New Genre is Helping Readers to Comprehend the Pandemic
Marcello Giovanelli, a Reader in Literary Linguistics at Aston University, has looked at the power of poetry to help a wide range of people in the UK, few of them poets, make sense of the pandemic. He wonders, is there a space for COVID poetry to play an important role in education as the…
Wikipedia at 22
Writing and editing Wikipedia entries is an excellent task for older writers who are pursuing specialized knowledge. In this piece, the authors describe a rationale and process for their college-aged writers to participate in Women's History Month by adding to and editing entries on women.…
Teaching Writing to Support Social & Emotional Learning
The Covid-19 Pandemic impacted everyday life and transformed the way we work, teach, and learn, and the way we interact with family, friends, and strangers. It's not surprising that it impacted how we teach writing too. In this blog, the authors examine what teachers learned about teaching…
Intersections: A Short History of an Innovative Collaboration
In 2011, Dr. Mark St. John of Inverness Research brought together Dr. Judy Buchanan from the National Writing Project and Bud Rock and Margaret Glass from the Association of Science-Technology Centers to brainstorm ways in which these two large, far-reaching networks might work together.
A Different Kind of Field Trip
In San Diego, teachers and museum educators joined forces to create a new model for museum field trips—one that pleased students, teachers, and museum curators alike.
Writing As Threat (On Elizabeth Acevedo and Writing)
In this blog post, José Vilson reflects on the journey teachers like himself must take to truly see themselves as writers.
Foster a "culture of creativity" with these 826 Digital Resources
This holiday season, explore curated lessons from 826 Digital that spark creativity in young writers and their teachers.
Write Out Into the Winter Holidays
Even though the sun stays a bit lower and leaves us more quickly during the winter months, that doesn’t mean that we can’t spend time outdoors and do some writing. Here are a few cool activities that we saw during Write Out 2022 that you might want to try with your family and friends over…
What if You Crave Books but Your Library is Closed?
We and our students might be craving books while we're home but without the resources to drop lots of cash at Amazon or iBooks or Barnes & Noble. What we want is that magical institution which is a library, of course. But what if your library is closed? If you have internet access and a…