Care Center July/AugustPOETRY IN CORE CLASSES

Week 1Poetry as social commentary or critique

Introduce myselfLiza, a writer, teaching poetry and running Nautilus II, the literary magazine
at the Care Center.
Icebreaker: Two truths and a lie.
Mention to students that I want to start thinking, class by class, about some of the things
that poetry can doand because of what's been happening this past week, it felt
appropriate to bring in work that engages with questions of justice and bias. The great
thing about creative work is that you can do this in all sorts of forms...
Readings: Camille Rankine, Survival Guide for Animals Born in Captivity; Claudia Rankine,
Stop-and-Frisk
Writing Prompt: (after Camille): Give instructions about how to weather somethingit could be
sexism, it could be an argument, it could be a bad day. What survival guide do you want give
the world? Feel free to use sarcasm, a la Rankine.
Share and respond to work. Read Claudia Rankine if time.
Extra activity: Write in Rankine's second-person anecdotes.
Collect workafter class, create folders and respond briefly to student work.

Week 2Question poetry

Icebreaker: Your name, best way to stay cool in the summer heat!
Readings: Pablo Neruda, from The Book of Questions; David Lehman, 20 Questions.
Curiosity! Whats important about it? Whats interesting and/or hard about asking
questions? What makes it good to have in a poem?
Writing Prompt: Write your own poem (10+) questions. It could be on a theme, a la Neruda, or it
could be random, a la Lehman
Share and respond to work.
Extra activity: Write 7+ Questions for
Collect workafter class, respond briefly to student work.

Week 3Revision of question poetry/writing!

SUPPLIES: editing worksheets, colored pencils, copies of the other question poems!
Icebreaker: Your name, the last song stuck in your head.
Readings: Pablo Neruda, from The Book of Questions; David Lehman, 20 Questions.
For those folks who were here last week, we will be revising your question poemsthey
were great, and Id love to put them on the bulletin board downstairs. If you were not here
last week, you can use the computers to write a draft of your own question poemI will
provide examples and you can consult with me to do some editing.
Writing Prompt: Pass out feedback and editing sheet. Have students check things off as they
examine them. If students have typed their poems, decorate them! If theyve decorated their own,
have them decorate the published authors!
Share and respond to work.
Collect workafter class, place on board!

Week 4erasure!
Icebreaker: Your name, your goal for the week
Readings: Mary Ruefle erasure, Lauras poem!
Where do we find the language of the poems we might write? Erasure is cool because it
gives us a chance to find that language in other peoples language and make it our own!
Language is everywherewe can think about this in regular writing, too!

Week 5Metaphors and Similes

Icebreaker: Your name, I feel like a _______ today because __________
Readings: Kevin Young, Song of Smoke, Alicia Ostriker, Years
Why would we write about love using metaphors and similes? Why use comparisons?
Writing Prompt: Fill in at least one of the sheets. If you finish, try making your own metaphor
poem!
Share and respond to work.
Collect workafter class, place on board!

Week 6Poetry Comics

Materials needed: gluesticks, scissors, paper, magazines, markers/pencils
Icebreaker: Your name, how youre doing today
Readings: Bianca Stone, Its Like
Poetry comics! Show the students the comic, then show them the poem plain on the page.
What are the images doing?
Moreover, comics are defined by whats called sequential imaging. We see the comic as
moving forward, telling a story, driving us to the end, but the poetry comic form can
demand you to stop and inspect the intricacies of the image, while also taking in the
meaning of the words. In other words, youre being both propelled forward and stalled
simultaneously as writers and readers of literature, we have to be capable of
embracing uncertainty; there has to be mystery, things that are missing. In a poetry
comic, there are so many things missing. You have the white space on the page, the
gutters, as well as the subsequent connections our minds will make while seeing the
image and reading the textso much happens in those small spaces that demands time
slow down.
Writing Prompt: Make a poetry comic! Writing options: 1) Create a poem based on fill-in-theblanks 2) Write your own and then find images for it 3) Start with images and then write!
Images: 1) Use magazine images 2) Draw your own!
Share and respond to work.
Collect workafter class, place on board!

Writing Prompt: Pass out feedback and editing sheet. Have students check things off as they
examine them. If students have typed their poems, decorate them! If theyve decorated their own,
have them decorate the published authors!
Share and respond to work.
Collect workafter class, place on board!