Great Teaching Resources

Here is a list of texts I have used to help guide my creative writing classes. I hope you find some of them to be of assistance in your own classrooms!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing (Second Edition) by Laurie E. Rozakis, Ph.D. - includes tips, techniques, and exercies for writing short stories, non-fiction, scripts, screenplays, essays, fantasy, memoir, poetry, articles, and more.

Discovering Voice (and Voice Lessons) by Nancy Dean - contains high-quality exercises that teach diction, detail, figurative language, imagery, syntax, and tone.

The Creative Writing Guide by Candace Schaefer and Rick Diamond - includes great exercises in each section: "Writing to Warm Up," "Writing for Ideas and Practice," "Writing on Your Own," and "Writing to Revise."

The Writer's Block by Jason Rekulak - contains "786 ideas to jump-start your imagination"

Now Write! Fiction Writing Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis - ideas, prompts, and exercises from over 80 authors and educators

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The following portion of the list is comprised of NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) publications. I *love* all of these texts and have used them extensively with much success.

Risking Intensity: Reading and Writing Poetry with High School Students by Judith Rowe Michaels

Studying Poetry: Activities, Resources, and Texts by Brian Moon

Wordplaygrounds: Reading, Writing, and Performing Poetry in the English Classroom by John S. O'Connor

Teaching Poetry in High School by Albert B. Somers

Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford

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Do you have any favorite classroom resources? Any titles to share? Fill me in!

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