DATE & TIME

CO-CURRICULUM

LESSON PLANS &

WORKSHOP GUIDE
OTTO VOCK

EDITING, CURRICULAR
RESOURCES & ADDITIONAL
LESSON PLANS
MOLLY NESTOR & PHIL KAYE

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
SARAH KAY & PHIL KAYE

MADE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

PROJECT VOICE

BASED ON POEMS FROM

THE BOOK DATE & TIME
BY PHIL KAYE
 Table of Contents  

Overview
2​​ - Introduction & Guiding Principles For Teaching Spoken Word
4 ​- Standards Addressed

Lessons
5​​ - Speaking to Ourselves, Based on “The Author & The Author at 7 Years Old
Choose a Movie to Watch”

7 ​- Poems that are the Sum of Two Stories, Based on “Succulent”

9​​ - Personifying Our Objects, Based on “Numbers Man”
11​​ - Memories and Place, Based on “Camaro”
13 ​- Poems that Borrow Language, Based on “On Starting”
15 ​- Turning People into Places, Based on “My Grandmother’s Ballroom”
16​​ - Repetition as Theme, Based on “Appreciation Meditation”

Pedagogy
18​​ - General Workshop Guide / Sample Structure
20​​ - Tips for Including All Learners in Workshops - Universal Design for
Learning Strategies
22​​ - Influential Texts
23​​ - Contact Us

 
 

1 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Introduction 
 
Thank you for reading ​Date & Time. ​We are so happy that you are interested in bringing
some of the pieces into the classroom. This co-curriculum contains several lesson plans based on
poems throughout the book, as well as a poetry workshop format to help you create your own
lesson plans. This is not a definitive guide - all of these are suggestions, and we encourage you to
shape the curriculum as you would like. We are hoping this curriculum will provide you with the
principles we find successful for engaging students and the practical tools to develop your own
approaches, prompts, and curriculum. Hopefully, these resources will give you a place to start, or
a new perspective to revamp approaches you’ve tried before. Feel free to use all of it, some of it,
or just bits and pieces that catch your eye. It is yours to shape!

Guiding Principles For Teaching Spoken Word

1. Facilitate confidence and vulnerability. ​ If you are going to create a group of students who
are writing poetry and putting their heart and soul into their work, it is important to foster an
atmosphere of respect, trust, and safety. Having everyone at least introduce themselves and be
on a first name basis can go a long way in making people feel more comfortable sharing
themselves. In addition, when accommodating LGBTQ students, we strongly encourage that you
prompt students to share their gender pronouns if they feel comfortable doing so. This provides
support to gender questioning students and gives them the space to assert and affirm their
identity. Spoken word poetry allows students to talk about the things that are more personal than
a textbook. It gives students a space to discuss what they are working through, especially topics
that might be surrounded by a culture of shame or silence. (Divorce, gender, body image, etc.) It
creates a space for community support and camaraderie, which gives them permission to both be
vulnerable and share that vulnerability openly with the people around them.

2. Empower: ​Students who are convinced that they are “bad” at writing may shut off from
workshops altogether. Spoken word poetry is a perfect way to remind students that they have the
power to tell a story and contribute ideas, rather than just recieve them. By highlighting students’
ideas and creativity first before their grammar and spelling, spoken word can help students
discover that they are compelling communicators that can have control over language. Spoken
word can create an opportunity for students to fall in love with language by removing some of
the traditional barriers up front. Once someone is regularly excited about sharing their poetry,
reading and writing start to be framed as additional tools to assist them in communicating instead
of obstacles to creative expression.

2 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 3. Focus on process, not product. ​In order for spoken word poetry to be the most effective,
(and we honestly believe this!) this art form must be something that students can only succeed at,
not something they can fail. This is a space for them to be free. Uncensored when possible.
Focus on how well they collaborate, how big the risks are that they take in their performance,
how well they take feedback, their demonstrated growth, etc.

4. Poetry does not necessarily have to be about love.​​ Or about politics. Or about the meaning
of life. Poetry can be about anything and everything (including love, politics and life - if they so
choose). Writers (especially new writers!) tend to get nervous about writing poetry when they
think they need to be "deep" or "heavy" or "universal". Writing prompts that shoehorn students
into those kinds of topics can sometimes stifle creativity, or alienate students who aren’t ready to
write and share at such high stakes. All they really need to be is true to themselves, and be
reassured that there isn’t one way to write or perform spoken word poetry. It is important to
encourage your students to write poetry about things they care about, that they are genuinely
excited to talk about. If they are drawn to writing about big abstract topics such as politics, love
or life - push them to be as specific as possible. Don’t allow them to escape behind abstract
words and language - anchor their writing in sensory details to make it come alive.

5. Explore other poets' work as much as possible. ​ Seeing other other examples of poetry can
help students expand their definition of what poetry is (and who is allowed to share it). Search on
youtube for examples of different styles of poetry, different types of performance, different poets
from different backgrounds. Also you can engage students in the exploration process by making
time during class for them to share poems they find. The more diverse of a group you bring in,
the more opportunities there are for students to find something they can connect with. Make sure
to make time for poets with backgrounds that have been underrepresented in the established
literary canon. To find a wide range of poets and poems, three good places to start are:
speakeasynyc​, ​Button Poetry​, and ​The Poetry Foundation

3 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Standards Addressed 
All lessons address the following Common Core Anchor Standards​​. These are standards
common to all grades 6-12 under Narrative Writing (​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3​).
Additional standards addressed can be found at the top of specific lessons.

Writing Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.D
Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the
experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or
characters.

Reading Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a
summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

Speaking and Listening Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own
clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

4 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Speaking To Ourselves, Based on “THE AUTHOR & THE AUTHOR AT 7 
YEARS OLD CHOOSE A MOVIE TO WATCH” 
Recommended Age: Middle School or High School

Additional Standards Addressed: ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.6.5.A

Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context. ​See all standards this prompt
addresses on Page 4.

Goals:​​ Participants will be able to interpret and use tone and temporal language to personify a
memory of their younger self in writing. They will be able to engage with their personification
through writing to reflect on the impact of media in their personal development.

Introduction (5-10 min): ​Ice breaker question that ties into the theme of the piece could be, “If
you could bring only one thing from your childhood to comfort you on a desert island, what
would it be?”

Read Out (5-7 min): ​Hand out the text of the poem, ask everyone to have a pencil in hand as we
read through the dialogue together and to mark anything they find interesting or wonder about.
Model what this might look like after a reading begins, “I am underlining this phrase because I
don’t understand why he would ask that. I am circling this word because it’s so impactful.” Ask
for one student volunteer to read part of the dialogue, whichever side they prefer, do not reveal
who is who.

Discussion (15-20 min):

Who is who? And where in the poem can we know for sure?
What movies do you recognize? Have you seen any of them? What are they about?
What might the questions the younger Phil asked reveal about him?
What does the interruption about “gender stuff” indicate about younger Phil?
What is happening during some of the moments of silence (...)?
What is similar about the things young Phil pays attention to, asks more about?
How is the last line different from younger Phil’s other questions?
What does Phil do to personify his younger self? How does he make his younger voice distinct
from his current one?

Pre-Writing (5-7 mins):

Before we start writing our own poems we’re going to do a little brainstorming.

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 List five objects that you lost or left behind. Five things that would be laying on the floor of your
childhood room. Five things your parents wouldn’t want you to see. Five things you spent a lot
of time playing with/watching as a kid that might embarrass you now.

Now, list as many words or phrases as you can think of that your younger self may have used
that you wouldn’t use anymore.

Prompt (15-20 mins): ​Write a poem having a conversation with your childhood self using one
or some of the items from your lists. It can be in the form of a scene, like Phil’s poem, or a letter
to or from your younger self.

As you focus on a few of the items, start to consider these questions:

What was your younger self’s first impression of this item?
What questions would your younger self-ask about them?
How would you explain your relationship to these items in terms your younger self might
understand?
What might you younger self not understand?

   

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 Poems that are the Sum of Two Stories, Based on “Succulent” 
Recommended Age: High School

Additional Standards Addressed: ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.D

Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and
analogy to manage the complexity of the topic. ​See all standards this prompt addresses on Page
4.

Goals​​: Participants will be able to structure a poem around a central analogy and use descriptive
language to make that analogy apparent to their reader.

Introduction (5-10 min): ​Possible question: “If your hands had to be replaced with a hand-sized
version of an animal, what animal would you replace them with?”

Read out (5 min): ​Have the poem read twice, once by a student volunteer and once by the
facilitator. Ask everyone to have a pencil in hand during both readings and to mark any strong
lines or imagery they notice.

Discussion (15 min):

What is this poem about?
What role does the succulent play in the poem? What does is represent? How do you know?
How is the idea of growth explored in the poem? What is the speaker growing?
Who is the voice coming from the other room? What does that show about the speaker?
What imagery stuck out to you in the poem? How does it relate to the poem’s deeper meaning?
When does the narrative of the poem change or “turn”? How does it feel to read that?
Where is the poem literal? Where is it figurative?
What would happen if we separated the two stories? What meanings, messages, and images
would we lose from the poem? Would the voice in the end have the same meaning?
If we were to write a one-line analogy based on this poem, what would it be?

Pre-writing (10 mins):​​ Pass out some index cards. Ask everyone to fold it down it’s length, and
then for everyone to write a mundane, or unassuming task on the top half (ie. mowing the lawn,
cleaning dishes, dropping an ice cream cone or something small you noticed today) Fold the line
back so you can’t see the first image, and pass your index card twice to the left. On the bottom
half of the index card write down a pivotal or dramatic change someone might experience (ie.
moving away, going through a break up, etc) then pass the index card twice to your left again.
Now let's unfold our index card, and turn them into an analogy by adding “is like (a/n)”

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 Does anyone want to share the analogy they have on their index card? Silly or surprising? Now
we’re going to take a second to revise our analogies, change the first or second half with either a
image your wrote or heard earlier in the space that you feel might better resonate with the other
half of the analogy.

Prompt (15 mins): ​Write a poem that explores the analogy on your index card, or feel free to
modify or make a new one that you feel is more powerful or more specific to your experiences or
personal changes.

As you write, consider:

How does the smaller, seemingly less significant moment have parallels with the larger moment?
What advice or guidance, good or bad, might the mundane moment have for your bigger change?
How can you use imagery or descriptive language to make your analogy apparent to your reader?

Alternative Set Up: ​Do the same as above, although rather than using an index card and passing
the cards, simply have students generate their own lists of unassuming tasks and pivotal changes.
Then, have them choose an item from each of their own lists that they think would make an
intriguing pair, and explore their analogy.

8 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Personifying Our Objects, Based on “Numbers Man” 
Recommended Age: High School

Additional Standards Addressed:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.D
Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and
analogy to manage the complexity of the topic. ​See all standards this prompt addresses on Page
4.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.5
Analyze how a drama's or poem's form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its
meaning. ​See all standards this prompt addresses on Page 4.

Goals: ​Participants will be able to write a soliloquy from the perspective of a personified object
that they have a close relationship to.

Introduction (5-10 min): ​A suggestion that ties into the poem’s themes: “If you had to become
an object you use regularly for a day, what object would you be?” (If cell phone seems like too
obvious an answer, see if students can push beyond that!)

Read Out (5-7 min): ​Have the poem read twice, once by a student volunteer and once by the
facilitator ​or Phil's performance​ in addition. Encourage everyone to have a pencil in hand during
both readings and to mark any lines or images they find interesting, surprising, or that they
wonder about.

Discussion (15-20 min):

Does anyone know what a soliloquy is?
Do you think Numbers Man is a soliloquy? Why or why not?
What does it mean for someone to be a “numbers man”?
How would you describe the speaker in this poem? Which aspects of the speaker betray its
identity as a “numbers man?
How would you characterize the relationship between the numbers man and its owner?
How does Phil Kaye develop a sense of intimacy between the owner and the numbers man?
What details or lines tell us that the speaker isn’t human?
What is significant about a “numbers man” learning how to draw?
What’s different about the last stanza? Does it surprise you?

Prompt and Pre-Writing (15-20 mins):

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 List 5 objects you’ve broken but held onto, 5 guilty pleasures or throwback songs, movies etc, 5
professions you wouldn’t want to be in, 5 objects you have the newest version of.

Choose an item from your list that might feel left behind by you and write a soliloquy from its
perspective. Write “I am a ____” and fill in the blank with a profession or a role the object
might call itself. For example, a wristwatch might say “I am a clingy mathematician”

Would anyone like to share their first line before we start?

As you write, consider:

What might that object miss about you?
What is a shared memory you might have found trivial, but that meant a lot or something
different to the object?
What embarrassing dirt does it have on you? What could it divulge about you if it could speak?
How might the object interpret your absence? How might it project that on to humanity in
general?
Reread the last stanza of Numbers Man. How could you add a turn of narrative in your poem to
add depth or interest?

   

10 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Memories and Place, Based on “Camaro”  
Recommended Age: High School

Additional Standards Addressed: ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g.,
alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. ​See all
standards this prompt addresses on Page 4.

Goals:​​ Participants will be able to write a narrative poem using repetition to examine a memory
through the perspective of a past self and present self.

Introductions (5 mins): ​Possible question tied to the themes of the poem: “If you suddenly had
an extra $100 dollars to spend on something unimportant, what would you spend it on?”

Low Risk Writing Exercise (5 mins):​​ To get warmed up we’re gonna do a free write. For the
next five minutes, we’re going to write continuously without stopping. What you write down
does not have to be amazing or even coherent - there are no expectations except that your pen is
moving. If you’re having trouble getting something on the page, one strategy is to write ‘nothing,
nothing, nothing,’ until something pops up, though I also recommend establishing a different
word in place of nothing like ‘orange orange orange.’ Feel free to start the free write on what
you’d spend 100 dollars on.

Follow Up Discussion (5 mins):​​ What challenged or surprised you while writing? Does anyone
want to share a piece of what they wrote?

Read Out (5 mins):​​ Now we’re going to switch gears and read a poem. While listening and
reading along with the poem, pay attention to where there is repetition, and mark lines that strike
you or surprise you. (We recommend one reading by a student or facilitator, and then hearing
Phil Kaye's performance of the poem​)

Discussion (10 mins):

What are some lines that struck you or surprised you? Why?
Where does this poem repeat itself? What meaning does the repetition add to the poem?
How many stories are in the poem? What are they? How are they connected together?
What does the speaker mean when he says he is “trespassing” in stanza fifteen?
How does the tone change from the beginning of the poem to the end?
How is the first time the Speaker says “I remember” different from the last?

11 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Pre-writing (5 mins): ​Today we’re going to write a poem that tries to return back to a
conversation or a memory you felt you didn’t say everything you wish you could, and how that
place or memory has changed in meaning for you over time.

First, list five physical landmarks or specific places that are charged with lots of memories.
Choose one of those places and list five important or difficult conversations you’ve had in that
place over time. List five questions you feel like you don’t have the answers to, related to those
memories or not. List five phrases that have re-occurred in your life, such as family sayings or
personal mantras.

Prompt (10-15 mins): ​Select a conversation that came up for you during your pre-write. Write a
poem about what went unsaid in the memory and perhaps how that memory has changed over
time.
If there are several related conversation that happened over time, free to jump between different
times in the same location, or between different specific conversations with the same person. If
you’d like, use a question or the phrase that has stuck with you as a way to transition in between
these different moments, similar to “Camaro”.

As you write, consider:

What did you actually do or say? How did you feel about it at the time?
How do you feel about what you said now?
What has happened in your life between then and now?
What do you wish you could have said in that moment, knowing every you do now?

12 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Poems that Borrow Language Based on “On Starting” 
All Ages, particularly younger groups

Additional Standards Addressed:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative
language such as metaphors and similes. ​See all standards this prompt addresses on Page 4.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a
text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot. ​See all standards this
prompt addresses on Page 4.

Goals:​​ Participants will be able to use a central metaphor to describe an abstract concept
including concrete sensory details.

Introduction (5 mins): ​Possible introductory question: “What was the last thing you borrowed?”

Pre-Read Out Discussion (5-7 mins)​​: Can anyone tell me what a fish looks like? Write up a list
of characteristics students mention on a board. Now can anyone tell me what an idea looks like?
Can you describe how you find ideas in your own mind? Put any associations or near
characteristics people mention on the board. We're going to read a poem someone wrote
describing what finding an idea looks and feels like using a metaphor.

Read Out (3-5 mins): ​One reading by a student, one reading by the facilitator

Discussion (10-15 mins):

What is a metaphor? What is the metaphor of this poem?
What would it be like to go fishing with your bare hands?
How might coming up with an idea be similar to fishing with just your hands?
Where might the speaker be standing in this poem? What location? How do we know?
What language is used to describe what an idea looks like? (squirming gift, wide-eyed & fat)
What might it mean for an idea be “stunned by its own reflection”?
How does a fish feel out of water? How does the speaker suggest an idea “out of water” feels?

Pre-Writing and Prompt (10-15 mins):​​ Now we’re going to write poems about something
that's hard to describe, like an idea, using language from something we can describe with our
hands or our senses. First let’s list 5 things that are abstract, like ideas, problems, love, jealousy,
friendship etc. Now, let's list a few activities we know we can describe with our senses, like

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 fishing, cleaning a bathroom, riding a bike etc. Now, set up this sentence: “____ is ____”. Fill by
choose one thing from each list- try a few different combinations until you find something that
really jumps out to you. (i.e. friendship is cleaning a bathroom / friendship is bike riding.) Does
anyone want to share their metaphor?

Now, describe what the abstract concept looks and feels like using your concrete activity. Reread
On Starting​ if you need inspiration.

As you write, consider:

How are you using sight, sound, touch, and taste to make your experience come alive for your
reader?
Are you hoping to convey a universal experience or are you expressing something personal to
you?

14 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Turning People into Places, Based on “My Grandmother’s Ballroom” 
Recommended Age: Middle School or High School

Additional Standards Addressed: ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative
language such as metaphors and similes. ​See all standards this prompt addresses on Page 4.

Goals:​​ Participants will be able to write a poem based on a central metaphor comparing a
familiar person with a location.

Introduction (5 mins): ​Possible question: if you suddenly turned into a fruit, what would you be
an why?

Read out (5-7 mins): ​Today we’re going to read a poem someone wrote about their
grandmother, but in way that you wouldn’t typically describe a person. One reading from a
student or facilitator, and then one reading from ​Phil Kaye's performance​.

Discussion (10-15 mins):

What is the speaker describing in this poem?
What is the initial tone of the poem?
How does the tone of the poem change throughout?
Why might Kaye have chosen a ballroom as the metaphor for his grandmother’s mind?
What does the memory of the strawberries show about the speaker’s grandmother at the
beginning of the poem? What does it show about her at the end?
How might this poem be different without the ballroom analogy? How would it have felt to read?
How might it have felt to write this poem?

Prewriting (5 mins): ​List 5 people from any part of your life, 5 important or difficult
experiences you’ve dealt with, 5 general recognizable locations (ie: swimming pool, roller rink,
front porch), 5 natural features (ie: valley, waterfall, etc)

Prompt (10-15 mins): ​Write a poem describing someone in your life as though they are a place,
choose a spot from you list and think about what might be in that space, who would be there, and
what they might be doing. How could you make those actions and things represent memories or
characteristics of your person? If you need a place to start, write down a metaphor like, “My
brother is an empty pool” or “My best friend is a rainforest” and expand the world of your poem
from there.

15 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 Repetition as Theme, Based on “Appreciation Meditation” 
Recommended Age: Middle School or High School

Additional Standards Addressed:​​ ​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g.,
alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. ​See all
standards this prompt addresses on Page 4.

Goals:​​ Participants will be able to write a poem exploring a central theme, using line repetition
and sensory language.

Introduction: ​Possible question: What is the most useless superpower you can imagine? (i.e.
can look at any color in nature and know the exact crayola crayon color match).

Read out: ​Today we’re going to read a poem exploring gratitude. As we read, underline or circle
anything that stands out to you. On second read, notice any reactions you have to the repetition
in the poem. Facilitator reads then invites students to read the line, “Whoa, be thankful” with
them each time it repeats.

Discussion:
How does repetition add to this poem? Do you like it?
Why does the speaker repeat this line?
Where do you notice sensory language in the poem?
How would the poem be different without sensory language?
How does the speaker use sensory language to invoke emotion?
Where does the poem turn? How does repetition indicate a turn in the poem?
Other than thankfulness, what other themes do you notice? (nature, body)

Prewriting: ​Complete the following sentence starters in as many ways as you can:
Whoa, be thankful for
I am nothing without
I would never
Oh, I love the
My anger rises when
We were us until

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 Prompt: ​Write a poem that repeats one of the starters above or one of your own creation in each
stanza. As you write, see if you can develop a theme and narrow your stanzas to that theme,
similar to how Kaye has done in “The Appreciation Meditation” by focusing in on thankfulness
for elements of nature and the body.

As you write, consider:

How can you add sensory language to make your description more focused or emotional for your
reader?
Notice places where you have written a broad idea instead of a description, can you identify
sensory elements or memories tied to that idea?

17 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 General Workshop Guide / Sample structure 
(5-10 min )Introductions/Ice Breaker: ​Going around the room and having everyone say their
name, their preferred gender pronouns, and answer a low stakes icebreaker can go a long way in
setting a comfortable, communal environment, especially if the educator participates as well
(though not necessarily first). An example of a low stakes ice breaker question is, “​if you had to
turn your hands into animals what animals would you replace them with?” ​Questions like these
allow everyone to get silly or creative, without the pressure to make it personal or profound. If
you’re feeling particularly clever, you can utilize the ice breaker question as a form of
pre-writing by relating it to themes in the poem or prompt you’re facilitating. In this way you can
have students begin their writing process without realizing the idea they’re coming up with at the
beginning of the workshop can be useful for what they’ll end up writing. For example, if you
have a workshop about writing odes, your ice breaker could be, “what is an embarrassing thing
from your childhood that you secretly love?”

(5-7 min) Read Out: ​Present the poem for the workshop by handing out the poem, accompanied
with either a video of the poet reading their poem, or a student volunteer to read. Make sure as
the facilitator you read it once again so that the room can hear what the poem sounds likes in
multiple voices. If there is a version of the poem with the author reading it themselves, that is
often helpful to show. Encourage everyone to have a pencil in hand and ready to mark up the
page during these readings. Tell them they can mark the poem however they wish, but some
suggestions are: lines that surprised them, lines they wonder about, and lines that resonate with
them.

(15-20 min) Discussion: ​Making the space for students to share and connect with one another
about what they noticed in the piece can be a powerful practice. It gives them the space to choose
where the conversation begins, and most importantly the moments that struck them. In our
approach to discussion, we find that following our student’s curiosity by mirroring and
reiterating their findings can be an empowering driving force for active discourse. Your
questions that move their curiosity and energy forward should encourage them to interrogate the
inner workings of the poem - going into the how and why these lines are striking. By following
student interest and pushing it further, the discussion can lead organically to students discovering
for themselves the tools the poet uses to convey their message. Have a handful of pre-written
questions that specifically interrogate the tools the poet is using and highlight the learning point
for crafting. However, instead of asking questions in a strict order, ask them as student interest
moves toward a moment from the poem you wish to highlight and examine more closely. Take
into consideration how well you know the participants, their level of experience with poetry, and

18 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 other factors of the group identity while writing your questions to look for the best angle for
engagement.

(5 min or less) Pre-writing and Introducing the Prompt: ​The prompt should ask an engaging,
thoughtful, question that's hard to answer (an “ill-defined problem” in educational psych terms).
It should exercise one or more of the tools/forms/strategies used in the mentor text. Pre-writing
exercises can be a great way to loosen up and quiet the apprehensive writing voice inside our
head while also getting a ton of ideas on the page to choose from. It also helps break up tackling
the problem of the prompt into more manageable steps. Pre-writing is the cardio of writing,
getting us warmed up to use the tools and techniques the prompt will ask us to exercise. One
example of a pre-writing exercise is list making. Come up with a few list categories based on
themes or images used in the poem and ask your students to write 3-5 things for each category.
Go one category at a time, checking the room to see if most people have five items on their list
before moving on. The most important thing to make clear to your students about their lists is
that they’re made to be answered quickly and off the top of their heads, without the pressure of
having to come up with ​the​ idea for the prompt that has to work. It’s after the lists are made that
the writers should survey their massive stock of words, ideas, or phrases, looking for the ones
that jump out to them to fuel a response to the prompt.

(10-20 mins) Writing: ​During the writing time, around the 10 or 15-minute mark, take a look
around the room to gauge how far everyone is generally in their poem. Make sure you never end
the writing segment unannounced, give three or five minutes warnings, ask if people feel they
need a few minutes, etc. Not every person has to have their poems finished in the allotted time,
you should emphasize that the purpose of the workshop is not to create a final product in under
an hour, but to get started on our first drafts together.

(Remaining Time) Share Out: ​An opportunity to share at the end of a workshop can do a lot for
the lesson as a whole. It can build confidence for students, provide them with creative feedback,
showcase a variety of poems, voices, and directions taken from the same prompt, provide
inspiration or solutions for those who may have struggled through the prompt, and offers a low
stakes space for new poets to get experience performing​.​ Make sure you taking time to prioritize
all voices, at all levels of experience, not just those who seem to take to the prompts more
naturally and are most excited to share. Try to encourage those who seem more hesitant to read
just a piece or a few lines from their poems, and emphasize that everyone is only expected to
have a draft, not a final product.
 

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 Tips for Including All Learners in Workshops 
Universal Design for Learning strategies for removing barriers to content for all students

Any educator knows that workshop-style lessons can be incredibly fruitful for creativity and skill
acquisition. They are also full of barriers for students. The strategies below use Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) principles to imagine ways you could open up the lessons in this curriculum
to be more accessible to all students. These may be particularly helpful for students who speak
multiple languages, are managing language or print-based learning difficulties, are emerging
readers, or live on the autism spectrum.

​(5-10 min)Introductions/Ice Breaker:

- Students share their ice breaker with a partner first, then can choose to share their answer
or their partner’s with the group
- Students are welcomed to write and share in their home language for the session, even if
the facilitator will not understand

(5-7 min) Read Out:

- Poem always read aloud and given in print
- Teacher gives listening focus for read-out such as, “as I’m reading, listen for places
where there is repetition”
- If possible, provide the option of translated texts or text read in a home language by a
peer or staff

(15-20 min) Discussion:

- All discussion questions posted and read aloud
- Students may choose to answer discussion questions with the whole group or with an
assigned partner/small group
- Students are given time to write individually or talk about their answers with a partner to
discussion questions before sharing out to the whole group

(5 min or less) Pre-writing and Introducing the Prompt:

- Students may choose to work in a small group with the teacher or with an assigned
partner during pre-write while others work independently
- Teacher may provide pre-writes for students that struggle with idea generation

(10-20 mins) Writing:

- Print and audio copies of mentor poem are available during work time
- Poems with similar target-skill or theme are also available during work time

20 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum

 - Students may co-write a poem with a small group and teacher before trying their own
- Teacher may provide sentence starters or menu of topics related to the prompt

(Remaining Time) Share Out:

- Students may share with whole group, trusted peer, or teacher in the building
- Students may record their poem on their phone and share the video

   

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 Influential Texts 
 
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Ya’ll Too
By Dr. Christopher Emdin

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

By Paulo Freire

Workshopping the Workshop, Professional Development Session

By Geoff Kagan-Trenchard, Jon Sands, & Mahogany L. Browne

The Heart of a Teacher, Identity and Integrity in Teaching

By Parker J. Palmer

Universal Design for Learning

http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.W7v5ohNKjBI

   

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 Contact Us 
 
Otto Vock
web: ​http://ottovock.com/
contact: ​msg.otto.vock@gmail.com
instagram: ​@otton.of.feelings
facebook: ​facebook.com/OttoVocksPoetry/

Phil Kaye
web: ​www.philkaye.com
contact: ​info@philkaye.com
instagram: ​@peekaye
facebook: ​facebook.com/philkaye

Molly Nestor
contact: ​melindanestor@gmail.com
instagram: ​@mknest

Sarah Kay
web: www.​kaysarahsera.com/
contact: ​emailsarahkay@gmail.com
twitter: ​https://twitter.com/kaysarahsera
facebook: ​facebook.com/kaysarahsera/

Jeremy Geddes - Cover Art

web: ​http://www.jeremygeddesart.com/
instagram: ​@jeremyispainting

Web:​ ​www.projectvoice.co/
Contact: ​booking@projectvoice.co
Instagram: ​@projvoice

23 ​Date & Time Co-curriculum