Honor a Leader Consider a 20-21st Century local, state or national leader of Hispanic American descent and write an acrostic poem showcasing the attributes and/or contributions of this leader to your school, community, state or our nation. In the introduction to poem, include a sentence …
A Salute to Hispanic Stories Today, I invite you to craft a narrative poem retelling a story written by or about a favorite Hispanic American author. Generally, this would mean a five stanza poem that includes an exposition, rising action, climax, denouement, and resolution. But, …
Originally published September 17, 2017. “Find a good place to stop in your books,” I say to end our choice-reading time. I finish up a student-reading conference and look around to see students finishing a page, writing a response on a sticky note, stretching their …
Today’s blog post comes from Vicki Collet. Vicki is an associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas whose past experiences include ELA classroom teaching, intervention, instructional coaching, and district leadership. Vicki’s new book, Collaborative Lesson Study, describes her experiences in Lesson …
So all your students are reading independently during class time. They may have the required textbook open to page 728 to read a Ray Bradbury short story. They may all have their own choice-reading books because you just returned from the library (if your school …
Our next 5-day challenge begins on September 16th. Please invite friends and colleagues to join us by sharing this form. Thank you for sharing this writing space with us this month! Inspiration A Three Elements poem has just that- three elements that must appear in …
Inspiration A traditional ode is written to honor a person, event, or thing (think “Ode on a Grecian Urn). Odes usually have 3-5 stanzas of about 10 lines each and may or may not rhyme. These are suggestions, but as always, don’t feel tied to …
Inspiration Childhood is a magical time for many of us, but certainly not all of us. Write a poem in which you paint a picture of your childhood for the reader. Process What was your childhood like? How would you describe your hometown to someone …
Inspiration A blackjack poem is simply a 3 lined poem comprised of 7 syllables in each line for a total of 21 syllables. Unlike a haiku which is normally about nature, blackjack can be about anything. Process When I think of the word blackjack, I …
Inspiration All of us make lists, right? Grocery lists, to-do lists, playlists, top-ten lists, lists of goals, and so on. Some lists are more insightful than others. Kwame Alexander’s poem, “Ten Reasons Why Fathers Cry at Night” offers us a peek into his mind as …