Welcome to Day #4 of February’s writing challenge! Here is my next tip for grinding on! Be generous to others. As you read and respond to the poems here, remember that we are vulnerable as we share our hearts and minds. No one in this …
February, Day 3/5: Apology Poem
Congratulations! You’ve arrived at Day #3 of this month’s writing challenge! Here is my next hint for sustaining your momentum: Be kind to yourself. Look at your poem as if it had been written by your son, or your mother, or someone you love. …
February, Day 2/5: What I want is…
Congratulations! You’ve arrived at Day #2 of this month’s writing challenge! Let me share a hint for maintaining stamina through the whole week: I never read others’ poems before I write my own. People share beautiful words here, and I run the risk of sinking …
February, Day 1/5: Twenty Questions Poems
Good morning! I am a teacher/writer/poet from Iowa who has been participating in the ELA writing challenge since June. Over the past eight months I’ve written 40 poems with this supportive community! If you are new here, prepare for all the feels as you read others’ …
Middle-ish Novels: A list to nurture inclusive, affirming, #ownvoices reading lives
JASON REYNOLDS: Imagine if we were just to make space for young people to express their stories as they stand today – at 11 years old and 12 years old and 15 years old. What we do intrinsically and implicitly, it validates their humanity at …
Day 5, Call of Words: January Writing Challenge
A very special thank you to Stacey Joy for supporting our writing lives this month. Please follow Stacey Joy on Twitter for more resources and inspiration all year long @Joyteamstars. We will see you back here on February 15-19 with Allison Berryhill. Please share the …
Day 4, Memories in Dramatic Monologue: January Writing Challenge
Inspiration Today let’s write Dramatic Monologue Poems. Sometimes people ask us to say something to our younger selves, your first-year teacher self, or your before-you-got-married self. Today’s inspiration comes from seeing a picture of me in 5th grade and remembering all the stress from being …
Day 3, Women Wonders: January Writing Challenge
Inspiration Today let’s write Women Wonders poems. Although it isn’t yet Women’s History Month, I celebrate “wonder women” every day. My inspiration comes from the realities of the figurative and literal loads women carry. Process Think about the women in your life — the ones …
Day 2, Hot Lines: January Writing Challenge
Inspiration Today we are writing Hot Lines poetry. Nicholson Baker shared his advice to writers: “Copy out things that you really love. Put the quotation marks around it, put the date that you’re doing the copying out, and then copy it out. You’ll find that …