(inspired by Anis Mojgani’s “Direct Orders”) Wake up like there’s no tomorrow Wake up like you’ve had a bad dream Wake up like there’s a tiger racing after you Wake up like the sky is falling Wake up like your house is on fire Wake up like you’re being chased down the street Wake up [...]
WITS welcomes new and returning writers to the 2011-2012 school year with two exciting afternoons of training on Friday, August 26th, and Saturday, August 27th. Renee Watson, author, actress, and teaching artist for Community Word Project, will kick off orientation with a workshop on Talking Back to the World: Empowering Students to Define Themselves through [...]
If you’re a teacher trying to figure out her first-day-of-school writing prompt, visit the Northern Nevada Writing Project (NNWP) for some wonderful, interactive writing lessons that will get you off to a brilliant beginning. The NNWP WritingFix page is set up for teachers and features many helpful ideas, routines, and practices for the writing classroom. [...]
By Marcia
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Also posted in education, Lesson plan, publishing, teaching, writers in the schools
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Tagged Classroom, Education, Educators, K through 12, Lesson plan, student, teacher, Teaching Resources
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Inspired by Cy Twombly’s painting, Triumph of Galatea I went away, into a dark tunnel and could not get out. I was calling for help, trying to find someone who would guide me to find my way out. I was trying to go over to the bright side and find someone who would lead me [...]
Writing biographies is fun! Many children love researching the lives of people that they admire and then producing mini-books about them. I’ve also found that children respond with delight when they use the 3rd person to describe themselves or write the biography of imaginary characters! Here is an example of a boy whose autobiography was [...]
You have to systematically create confusion; it sets creativity free. -Salvador Dali A study published in Psychological Science by Dr. Proulx of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Prof. Heine of the University of British Columbia suggests that exposure to something illogical can prime the brain for finding new patterns. The study has been used [...]
In past posts, WITS introduced Jemma Leech, a student from our Summer Creative Writing Workshops. We’ve been following Jemma’s journey through writing over the last five years and are constantly amazed by her ability to see the extraordinary in everyday things. Her award-winning essays and poems garnered national attention when ABC World News named her [...]
Zadie Smith, a British novelist whose first novel White Teeth was an instant bestseller when published in 2000, shared with Guardian some of her rules for writers, and I was struck with her first one: When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else. As [...]
WITS invites you to The Watchful Eye Reading, at 7PM tonight at the Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross. Writers in the Schools (WITS) has developed a unique program (initiated with the support of The Menil Collection in 1989) in which students visiting the museum write poetry and prose inspired by the work on view. WITS [...]
By jrwatson5
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Also posted in art, books, education, event, Houston, poetry, Reading, story, student, writer, writers in the schools, writing
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Tagged Civil Rights Movement, freedom now project, history, martin luther king jr.
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There’s a point when all WITS teacher learn to believe in magic. It usually happens when you’re not expecting it—you’re shuffling lessons around TAKS testing, tending to paper cuts and fire drills, repeating “Five more minutes, just five more minutes of quiet writing time, and then we’ll share…”—then you happen upon a moment of stillness [...]
Let the night’s darkness turn into the light of the sunrise. Let it shine through the windows of houses, buildings, and barns. Let the farmers start milking, let the clouds float in. Let sunrise come. Let the children flood into school. Let the babies make messes with their breakfast. Let sunrise come. To the lazy [...]
I climb up the mountain all the time. I see all the clouds, and I peek at the rain. Where it snows every day, untamed and unpredicted. I want to jump down this mountain with glee, visit a place I could always be, and maybe glide down a hillside, to where wild things play and [...]
I dream of the beat of a basketball The excitement behind a dunk The pause after the last shot The adrenaline rush after a three-pointer I dream of being on fire when it’s cold And winning the finals And being an all star I dream of basketball by Jacob, 4th grade [...]
As I walked towards the front entrance of E.O. Smith Education Center to observe WITS Writer Deborah Wiggins, I sensed love in the air. On this Valentine’s Day, Wiggins’ writers were preparing to work when I slipped through the classroom door. An international performance poet with a commanding stature, Wiggins is a take charge teacher [...]
By jrwatson5
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Also posted in art, creativity, education, event, imagination, Lesson plan, national poetry month, poetry, spoken word, story, student, teaching, writer, writers in the schools, writing, writing prompts
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Tagged Annise Parker, deborah wiggins, public poetry, valentine's day prompt
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Soon schools, libraries, and community centers around the country will display the official 2011 National Poetry Month poster unveiled by the Academy of American Poets last January. You can download a full-size pdf of the poster by clicking here or request a free copy to be sent to you while supplies last. Writers in the [...]
By jrwatson5
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Also posted in art, creativity, education, event, Lesson plan, poem a day, poetry, teaching, writers in the schools, writing
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Tagged Academy of American Poets, Arts, national poetry month
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