Grades 5–12
60+ Minutes
Narrative, PoetrySparksStudents will learn more about making meaning and connecting to texts.
Students will produce a reflection that shares why the poem carries personal meaning for them.
Before You Begin
This Spark is presented in part by the Academy of American Poets to engage students everywhere in Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets.
Before you begin, students should have already chosen a poet and poem they would like to respond to. Students can choose a video from this year’s lineup of award-winning poets on Academy of American Poets’ website, or you can choose to project and watch all of the videos as a class.
We recommend setting aside at least one class period, or about one hour, for students to browse, enjoy, and connect to the poets featured this year before you begin.
STEP 1
To begin, ask the whole class what it means to feel “connected” to something that you’ve read, watched, or listened to and write their ideas on the board. After students have shared their thoughts, ask them to think of the last story they felt connected to. This can be a poem, a movie, a book, a social media reel, etc. — anything where a narrator is sharing a story. After they think of their example, ask them to free-write for 1 minute about why that piece resonates with them. After that 1 minute is finished, ask students to share the example they thought of and why they feel connected to it — broad answers are welcome, but naming specific elements are most helpful. Write their answers on the board.
Note to Educators: Students may or may not say that the meaning of their example resonated with them. If they don’t bring it up, ask them whether or not meaning should be on their list. Let them know that this is the element they will dig into more today.
STEP 2
Next, ask students to make small groups of 2-4 (this conversation can also be kept in the full-group, if that would be more useful for your class). Let them know that you’ll be asking for a few groups to volunteer their answers when time is up. Give the groups 2-3 minutes to chat about meaning together:
After the time is up, ask for the volunteers to share their answers. Students do not need to say these exact words, but here are some general definitions of the first two questions:
The third question is a bit more complicated. Some students may feel that the poet creates the meaning, whereas other students may feel that the reader creates the meaning. If students haven’t already been introduced to this idea, propose to students that poems exist in a gray space: The poet writes with their own lived experiences, just as the reader reads with their own; both sets of experiences matter. At its best, a poem casts a line from poet to reader, angling for an emotional response that hopefully comes, once the poem has left the poet’s hands.
STEP 3
Next, students will need physical copies of the poem they chose. Ask them to read their poem and underline any pieces of the poem that they connect with. Then, on page 1 of the Exploring Connections—Handouts, they will choose 3-5 of those connections to explore more deeply. In row 3 of the handout, students will write about why their connection matters. In this row, ask students to share family stories, personal memories, values, etc.
Note to Educators: If students are struggling to find many examples to underline, it’s OK for them to switch poems. Suggest that they briefly skim a different poem, noticing the connections they make, before choosing another poem and digging into it more deeply.
STEP 4
Finally, in their writing journals, ask students to write a reflection about their connection to the poem. They can elaborate on any of the stories, memories, or values they brainstormed on page 1.
STEP 5
Ask for volunteers to share any part of their reflection that they feel comfortable sharing with the whole group.
by 826 National
Engage young writers of any age at home with this collection of 826 Digital writing prompts and activities.
by 826 National
Students discuss the 2021 inaugural poem by Amanda Gorman and write their own poems in response to "The Hill We Climb."
by 826 National
Students will write a poem about nature using sensory details to capture the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of the subject.
by Leah Tribbett, 826 Digital Educator Leader
In this lesson, students tackle the art of writing authentic dialogue that reveals information about the characters, plot, and conflict.
by Liz Levine, 826NYC
Challenge students to rewrite a classic nursery rhyme with a twist.
by The New York Public Library
At a time of rising book bans, The New York Public Library invites all teens to reflect on the essential freedom to read.
by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
In this Spark, students will write a poem that engages the reader in answering the question: Can you guess this food?
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students reflect on what it feels like to stand up to bullying and write about a time when they used their voice to make a difference.
by Dave Eggers, 826 Valencia & 826 National
Through a series of short drawing activities, students will explore the ways observable details can have a major impact on their writing.
by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
This poetry prompt from Rachel Eliza Griffiths asks students to consider the ordinary in their lives—then write a poem that celebrates those ordinary objects and figures.
by, Laura Lisabeth, Ph.D., 826NYC
Students will interview each other in order to create an interesting written portrait. This is a great exercise in journalistic writing and the ability to work together with classmates.
by Aracelis Girmay in collaboration with Aarti Monteiro & Nico Garbaccio, 826NYC
What lives inside a word? Find out how to trace connections between two dissimilar words with this playful Spark from award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay.
by Debra Mitchell, 826CHI
Students pose questions to the magic 8 ball in this activity centered on character motivation.
by Louise McClune, 826 Valencia
In this activity, students work as budding archeologists and creatively reimagine ways for archaeologists and historians to use artifacts to tell stories.
by Mariama Lockington, novelist and poet
Students revisit powerful memories to generate personal stories filled with heart.
by Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia
To jumpstart their own poems, students take inspiration from the poetry of the others.
by author and activist P. Carl
Author and activist P. Carl asks students to write dialogue that captures two distinct and opposing voices, crafting a scene of action and discord.
by Klariza Alvaran, 826CHI
This spark activity is designed to get your students on their feet while reinforcing the need for strong dialogue in narratives.
by Paris Hyun, 826LA
Students will use creative thinking to innovate an imaginary elixir that targets a problem they see in the world.
by author Lisa Ko
This writing prompt from author Lisa Ko invites students to explore the impact of social movements by envisioning and writing from an ideal future.
by Naomi Soloman, 826NYC
In this Spark, students put on their detective hats and sleuth out places to add more details into their writing.
by Cristeta Boarini, 826 MSP
Author bios offer students another opportunity to express themselves through writing and to feel like a real author. This Spark walks students through the process of writing one.
by Jason Reynolds, The New York Times Best-Selling Author & National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
Students will write a personal narrative where they describe themselves as a place. Not a specific place, but all the things a "place" consists of.
by Rebecca Stead
Using a place with personal meaning, students will learn a strategy for getting over the hurdle of beginning the writing process.
by 826 National, in partnership with Academy of American Poets
In this Spark, students will learn more about voice: what it is exactly, and how to name the elements of it.
by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
In this Spark, students will pretend to be their favorite food and write about what that food would do on an average day.
by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
Usually, an ode is written in celebration, but this Spark asks students to write an anti-ode—a poem about something they can’t stand!
by Nathalie Lagerfield, 826CHI
Students will imagine (and write about) their own fantastical worlds, using the cover illustrations of magazines as inspiration.
by Ola Faleti, 826CHI
Students draw inspiration from powerful change-makers to write celebratory, haiku poetry.
by Lindsay Stinson, 826LA
Students will learn to be empathetic towards those who are different by brainstorming scary characteristics of specific monsters and then developing more positive aspects to their nature.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students are inspired to write about a time that they felt accepted and appreciated for who they are.
by Jessica Thompson, 826 Dallas Project, and the Dallas Free Press
In this Spark, students will learn more about conducting interviews and practice by interviewing a classmate.
by Asia Calcagno, 826CHI
Writing can be a powerful tool when working through feelings of grief, sadness, or anger. This Spark creates an intentional opportunity for youth to write and speak about what is on their minds.
by 826 National
The Character-O-Matic is a writing tool that helps students to create new characters. In this lesson, students will use it to create a character profile that reflects their own identies.
by Sarah Kokernot, 826CHI
Students use illustrations as entry points to write stories about friendship from a new perspective.
by the Programs Team at 826 Boston
How is a scene different from a summary? In this Spark, students will explore the answer to that question and put both techniques into practice.
by Maria Villareal, 826CHI
This activity prompts students to write words unspoken, in letters undelivered.
by 826 National
With a little folding and loads of creativity, students make their own zines that feature abstract recipes.
by 826 National
By combining two classic games, students will learn how storytelling and art can build community or help them break through writer’s block.
by Bryan Wilson, Educator Leader, Bureau of Fearless Ideas
In this lesson students will work together to revise a scene from a first draft by adding descriptive details.
by 826 National
In this Spark, students will write an acrostic poem that can be used as a tool to introduce themselves to their classmates.
by 826 National
A BINGO board full of fun, engaging writing prompts to keep skills sharp over the summer break!
by Cristeta Boarini, 826 MSP
This activity prompts students to use words related to community and identity to reframe ancestral stories of resistance, growth, and survival.
by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
We are all parts of a whole, just like a pizza! In this Spark, students will think about all the things that make them who they are and then write a poem in the shape of a pizza.
by Jessica Thompson, 826 Dallas Project, and the Dallas Free Press
This Spark uses a popular improv game to show students the value of their ideas and the importance of keeping an open mind while writing.
by Maria Villarreal, 826CHI
In this activity, students illustrate a favorite word and explore what makes words meaningful through illustration, research, and discussion.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
After writing about their personal and social identities, students discover that sometimes what makes us unique is what brings us together.
Inspired by Kendra Lappin, 826 Valencia
In this Spark, students will play a game of bingo to improve their narrative writing.
by 826 National
This Spark provides students with the opportunity to get to know their classmates by sharing personal stories about a specific topic.
by Aarti Monteiro, 826NYC
This activity explores the way emotions change how we perceive settings. Students work in groups to create descriptions of apartments based on an emotion they draw from a hat.
by Asia Calcagno, 826CHI
Writing can be a powerful tool when working through feelings of grief, sadness, or anger. This Spark creates an intentional opportunity for youth to write and speak about what is on their minds.
by 826 National
This activity reinforces the role of dialogue in a story, with students creating realistic conversation in A-Z fashion.
by the Team at 826CHI
In this activity, students create original monsters in archetypal protagonist and antagonistic roles by focusing on internal and external characteristics.
by 826 New Orleans
Students will imagine what they would do if they were someone or something else.
by Neil Gordon, 826LA
Students teach a "pirate" how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and learn how to give effective instructions in the process.
by author Tiphanie Yanique
In this Spark, students will explore two taboo emotions, desire and fear, by mapping where these feelings dwell in their bodies and using tactile language to describe their impact.
by Shavonde Chase, 826 Digital Educator Leader
In this writing prompt, students are asked to reflect on the choices they make when deciding whether or not to help someone.
by Kiley McLaughlin & Dana Belott, 826 Valencia
Students experiment with alternative ways of writing poetry by reordering and rearranging pre-existing text.
by the Team at 826CHI
Students learn to incorporate setting as a key element of a story, starting with inspiration from collages.
by Isaac Fitzgerald
In this Spark, students will mine their home and their habits for story and personal essay ideas.
by Naomi Solomon, 826NYC
Nouns, adjectives, adverbs—and in this case—verbs are the building blocks of super sentences. In this Spark, students share action words that bring them joy and incorporate those verbs into a story.
by Jessica Goodman
This Spark uses students’ favorite things to support their persuasive writing practice.
by 826 National
Students will identify their favorite sensory memories and transfer them to a visual heart map.
by Katie Manning and Brandon Brown, 826LA
Students enter a Writing Laboratory, no lab coats required, and use methods of observation to embark on their writing process.
by Andrea Nelson, 826DC
In this Spark, students will develop a setting that captures the environment of an alternate world.
by Princess McDowell, the 826 Dallas Project
Whether students write to process, to remember, to imagine, or to heal, this collection of prompts asks students to recognize how their world has changed in response to COVID-19.
by Lindsay Thompson, 826 Digital Educator Leader
Encourage students to confront abstract, messy topics in their writing with philosophical journal prompts.
by 826 National
Students consider perspectives of activists speaking up against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd and use imagery to capture protest scenes in writing.
by Aarti Monteiro, 826NYC
Students identify the power of imagery in poetry, then practice putting this power to use in a poem about their neighborhood.
by Dave Eggers, 826 Valencia & 826 National
Students will collectively create a running list of golden details—details and descriptions that are singular, completely original, and make one's subject unforgettable.
by 826 National
These 10 prompts ask students to browse the 826 Digital Student Writing Gallery for writing inspiration.
by the Programs Team at 826 Boston
Writers have the power to make choices about the words and structures they use in their writing. In this Spark, students will learn how to wield that power with purpose.
by Maria Villareal, 826CHI
In this activity, students begin with the most essential details from various memories, helping them hone in on specifics without getting caught up in writer's block.
Inspired by Angela Iton and Precediha Dangerfield, 826 Valencia
In this Spark, students will play a game of bingo to improve their poems!
by Ashlyn Anstee, 826LA
Students will be asked to take an existing 4-panel comic and create their own dialogue. This is a fun quick activity or warm-up exercise that will challenge students to write efficiently.
by Kelly Jensen, writer and editor
Make space for creativity in nonfiction! Students will play with traditional nonfiction formats with these two writing prompts from Kelly Jensen, writer and editor.
by Karen Russell, novelist and short story writer
A hauntingly good pair of prompts! Students will reconsider the purpose of ghosts by either describing a haunted setting or writing from the perspective of a misunderstood ghost.
by Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia
What are students made of? This activity prompts students to reimagine recipes and write about their life experiences.
by Laura Lisabeth, Ph.D., 826NYC
In this activity, students explore Instagram as a form of public rhetoric and practice using hashtags as a way to engage with larger communities.
by Catherine Calabro and Rachel Feder, 826michigan
A fun, free-writing task which challenges students to take cheesy pop lyrics and make them into their own original poems.
by Amanda Gorman, Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of the U.S. and 2021 Inaugural Poet
Students recall “last times” in their lives and revisit the depth of their experience through writing.
by Mariama J. Lockington and Peter Calhoun Hall, 826NYC
In this session, students will write haikus that includes two perspectives, one of a hero and one of an engineer, to design a secret lair for a superhero.
by 826 National
In this Spark, students will use backward thinking to create a four-panel comic strip story using the backward problem-solving skills of software developers.
by the Team at 826CHI, with inspiration from Ryan Harty, 826michigan
In this activity, students practice analyzing a character’s internal motivations and fears and develop their own original characters.
by Rebeca Darugar, 826NYC
Students create an identity chart and write about parts of their identity most salient to them.
by author Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket
Students will anthropomorphize an inanimate object to produce interview questions and answers.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students write similes to express what their emotions feel like and build plans to treat others with kindness and empathy.
by Maria Villareal, 826CHI
An effective writing prompt about a significant threshold.
by 826 National
Candy hearts are a Valentine’s Day staple, with their funny—even punny—sayings about love. In this Spark, students will lean into the world of youth slang to write some “sweet” sayings of their own.
by Leslie Margolis
Leslie Margolis invites students to consider their own personhood and what determines or defines it with two short prompts.
by Pedro Estrada, 826LA
In this activity, students will examine narrative structure, explore the purpose and practice of myths, and put the two together to create their own original piece.
by Mindy Misener, 826michigan
This activity encourages young writers to identify the rules in their own poems and to then experience the joy of either smashing the rules outright or finding a graceful way to reimagine them.
by Naomi Solomon, 826NYC
Nouns, adjectives, verbs—and in this case—adverbs are the building blocks of super sentences. In this Spark, students will practice identifying and using adverbs in their writing.
by Ada Limón
This poetry prompt from Ada Limón invites students to consider a personal connection to an animal.
by Spike Jonze, award-winning screenwriter and producer
A pair of prompts that invites students to consider how time, location, and dialogue can be used to construct a scene and build meaning.
by Kathy Seipp, 826 Digital Educator
Invite students to write freely with this lesson that includes directions for students to set up a writer's journal and favorite journal prompts.
by Lauren Rudewicz and David Hutcheson, 826michigan
Students will define the word “ode” for themselves and identify the people and moments in their lives they’d like to celebrate in a poem.
by Anna Griffin, 826 National
Students plot significant memories on a timeline in this reflective writing activity.
by Christopher Ankney, Tom Bianchi, & Amy Wilson, 826michigan
In this fun, interactive game, students will build an understanding of the concept of synonyms. A strong grasp on how to use synonyms will improve students’ overall writing skills.
by Jane Roschen, 826LA
In this activity, students will explore superhero traits or superpowers that they know or admire. What kind of jobs do they do? How do their powers help them achieve this?
by Daniel José Older, author of Flood City
This Spark introduces students to the fantastical world of Flood City and prompts them to write a journal entry from the perspective of a Flood City resident.
by David Ehrenhaft
Daniel Ehrenhaft asks students to consider perspective in a piece of their writing with this reflective spark.
by Louise McCune, 826 Valencia
Students play a spin-off version of Balderdash in this activity, working as budding archeologists who must use the power of observation to solve a few artifact mysteries.
by G.D. Falksen
Students draw inspiration from a real or fictional location and use this sense of place to develop an in-setting document.
by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI
Students consider the influence that labels hold and write poetry to become empowered to describe themselves however they want.
by Meredith Goldberg-Morse, 826LA
In this activity, students write about a cause they are passionate about and imagine how they can create change in the world.
by Maria Villarreal, 826CHI
In this activity, students draw upon inspiration from existing text and the world around them to launch stories of their own.
by Julius Panoriñgan, 826LA
Students will use their knowledge of popular music to learn basic computer programming concepts.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
In this twist on a classic game, students will practice intentional inclusivity with their classmates, as well as brainstorm other ways to continue building community throughout the school year.
by Phil Stamper, author
With this pair of prompts, students look to the past and future for writing inspiration.
bookmark
download
Share