Not available to order
Publication date:
12 July 2016Length of book:
210 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781475827941
A college student writes: “These words I write/ open their mouths wide/ screaming the most intimate secrets.”
An inmate in a maximum-security men’s prison writes: “Within my writing, I am able to break down my prison walls and escape, leave the gangster façade behind.”
The Forms of Things Unknown: Teaching Poetry Writing to Teens and Adults draws from Shelley Savren’s forty years of teaching poetry writing to a diverse array of students, from teens with mental health issues to seniors to adults with developmental disabilities, and in a wide variety of settings, which include middle schools, high schools, colleges, juvenile halls, women’s centers, and a men’s prison.
Each chapter includes an original poem from Savren, heartfelt stories, and lesson plans that introduce poetic concepts through model poems by professionals, open-ended writing assignments, methods for sharing and critiquing, and student poems. Designed for use in a classroom or community setting, this book features forty-one lesson plans and nineteen more poetry-writing workshop ideas and provides guidance and inspiration for teaching poetry writing to teens and adults.
An inmate in a maximum-security men’s prison writes: “Within my writing, I am able to break down my prison walls and escape, leave the gangster façade behind.”
The Forms of Things Unknown: Teaching Poetry Writing to Teens and Adults draws from Shelley Savren’s forty years of teaching poetry writing to a diverse array of students, from teens with mental health issues to seniors to adults with developmental disabilities, and in a wide variety of settings, which include middle schools, high schools, colleges, juvenile halls, women’s centers, and a men’s prison.
Each chapter includes an original poem from Savren, heartfelt stories, and lesson plans that introduce poetic concepts through model poems by professionals, open-ended writing assignments, methods for sharing and critiquing, and student poems. Designed for use in a classroom or community setting, this book features forty-one lesson plans and nineteen more poetry-writing workshop ideas and provides guidance and inspiration for teaching poetry writing to teens and adults.
The Forms of Things Unknown is chock-full of ideas, inspiration, and down-to-earth advice for teaching poetry in a wide variety of settings. Shelley Savren offers such accessible, practical guidance that even if you’re not a poet and have never taught poetry, you could dive right in with confidence. And if you are an experienced teacher, this will add a multitude of strategies and suggestions to your toolbox.