Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 5
Foreword: Discovering the Neglected Genre 7
Preface: An Unconventional, Uncommon Writing Workshop 9
Introduction: Finding Your Writing Groove 13
Creating a Student-Run Publishing Enterprise 14
Helping Students Find Their Voices 17
How to Use The Write Thing 17
Part 1 Writing
Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: Why Start with Poetry? 23
The Essential Joy of Poetry 26
The Transformative Power of Poetry 28
Vision and Validation 32
Chapter 2 Launching the Writing Workshop 35
Begin with a Thrill 35
Pull a Poem Out of Your Pocket 38
The Students Are the Curriculum 41
The Importance of Free Writing 46
The Magic Between the Lines 47
Chapter 3 Preparing to Write 49
Emotions, Meaning, and More 49
The Rules (and How to Bend Them) 62
Chapter 4 Writing the Draft 65
Form and Structure 65
Stealing Words and Choosing a Topic 80
Lights! Camera! Action! 81
Chapter 5 Revising Is Re Envisioning 83
One Size Does Not Fit All 83
Purposeful Revision 85
Literary Excellence 91
Part 2 Publishing
Chapter 6 Making Student Run Publishing a Priority 95
Why Publish in the Classroom? 95
Exploring Publishing Alternatives 98
Creating a Classroom Publishing Center 104
Chapter 7 Step by Step Book Publishing 107
Step 1 Select the Poems 107
Step 2 Produce the Final Manuscript 108
Step 3 Choose a Title 108
Step 4 Publish the Book 110
Step 5 Explore Printing Options 114
Celebrating Your Published Authors 116
Giving Students Voice 116
Part 3 Presenting
Chapter 8 Presenting Student Work 121
The Joy of Presenting! 121
Bring Writing to Life: Methods for Presenting Poetry 126
Harness Your inner Greatness 131
Appendixes
Appendix A Teacher Resources 136
Appendix B Poetry Form Mini Lessons 144
Appendix C Book Publishing Resources 172
Appendix D References 194