Discusses four poems by William Carlos Williams used to teach creative writing to college students. Uses "Portrait of a Woman in Red" and "The Last Words of My English Grandmother" because they contain speakers who are clearly not the poet, which gives undergraduate students opportunities to discuss details Williams uses to…

Based on the idea that poetry, like any art, is best mastered through practice, this handbook for poets combines poetry-writing exercises with personal essays by each contributing poet. Some of the poets represented in the handbook are: Maxine Kumin, Rita Dove, Roger Mitchell, Carol Muske, Sydney Lea, and J. D. McClatchy. The exercises in the…

The general design of this book is that of a step-by-step self-instructional program leading toward the writing of poetry. It consists of 156 exercises which lead the student from writing about a picture and poems to kinds of poetry and techniques for writing poetry (alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, metaphor, simile, rhyme, meter…

Presents a three-part exercise that deals with poetic excess: heightened exaggeration of deliberately conflicting ideas. States that part 1 deals with hyperbole, part 2 with paradox, and part 3 with combining hyperbole and paradox in a single poem. Gives examples of students' poems using the technique. (PA)

Provides a step-by-step approach to teaching students the elements of poetry, such as similes, acrostics, metaphors, and odes. Copies of handouts are included. (HTH)

Written for those who want to write poems but are not sure how to start, this book presents 20 short exercises plus short pieces ("written talk") about poetry. The exercises in the book are designed to be completed in about 10 weeks. The types of poems in the 20 exercises include "found" and "headline" poems (which…

Aims for students to explore spontaneous ways of finding material for their poems by suppressing control over their subject matter and letting their unconscious minds do the work. Uses a poem of William Carlos Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow," both with K-2 students and adults in a poetry workshop. Illustrates class procedures and activities…

Encouraging exploration and practice, this book offers hundreds of exercises and numerous tips covering every step involved in creating poetry. Each chapter is a self-contained unit offering an overview of material in the chapter, a definition of terms, and poetry examples from well-known authors designed to supplement the numerous exercises.…

The poetry unit presented in this paper is designed to teach high school students how to write poetry through personal observation, journal writing, and small group discussion. Using the unit, students progress through the stages of writing according to the following steps: observing a familiar person and noting words and phrases about that…

Designed with junior high school students in mind, the activities in this booklet are offered as ways to stimulate interest in writing using as little as ten minutes of class time. The activities are arranged in six sections: (1) developing observation skills and paying attention to details; (2) word play, descriptive words, and word collections…

THIS BOOK IS INTENDED FOR USE WITH STUDENTS WHO CAN PROFIT FROM INSTRUCTION IN VIGOROUS AND COLORFUL WRITING. EMPHASIS IS PLACED UPON SHOWING THE STUDENT THAT HIS OWN EXPERIENCE IS RICHER THAN HE MAY SUPPOSE AND UPON HELPING HIM TO DRAW FROM IT. THE FIRST SECTION OF THE BOOK CONSIDERS THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SUBJECT, THEME, OBSERVATION, SENSORY…

This book presents a program for increasing the student's command of language through the experience of writing poetry. Designed to encourage students to systematically and accurately transform their experiences into brief expression, the program is divided into two sections--introductory and advanced. Each of the sections is composed of units on…

ADDRESSED TO THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FACED WITH A POETRY-WRITING ASSIGNMENT, THIS BOOK PRESENTS THE ARGUMENT THAT "POETRY IS FOR YOU." INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS TREAT (1) THE EXPRESSION OF SENSORY IMPRESSIONS, (2) RHYTHM, (3) THE PICTORIAL NATURE OF POETRY, (4) HUMOROUS POETRY, (5) REVISION, AND (6) VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF POETRY. A "KINDLE KIT"…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…

This issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. Under the "Ideas from the Classroom" section, the August 2003 issue (v21 n1) contains the following materials: Reading Poetry with Wright's "Black Boy" (David Fuder); Finding Poetry Lost in Translation (James Penha); "Lord…