Writing Collaborative Poems
Winter, with its longer nights and colder days, calls for the warmth of community and caring, as we navigate the season together.
Embrace the spirit of connection by engaging in a collaborative poetry project. Here are step-by-step instructions.
Collaborative poems can weave a cloth of love that connects students with their stories and nurtures a tightly-knit classroom community.
Winter Collaboration Poem
Encourage students to join in crafting a collaborative winter poem that reflects the spirit of the season.
1. Reflect
Invite students to take a moment to reflect on what the winter season means to them—whether it's the holidays, snowy landscapes, festive traditions, or anything else that resonates.
2. Brainstorm
Ask students to jot down at least three lines related to the winter season in poetry notebooks or on individual paper. These could be personal experiences, favorite traditions, or things they love about the season.
3. Choose A Favorite Line
Invite students to choose one of their favorite winter lines and write it on an sticky sentence strip.
4. Collaborate in Groups
Ask students to form small groups of 3-4 students, and take turns sharing their chosen lines. Then, invite them to create a collaborative winter poem using the lines from their group by sticking the sentence strips on the classroom wall, and reading through the group's poem together. Discuss and edit as needed by rearranging lines, adding a title, including an ending, elaborating on details and making their group poem flow.
5. Present the Poem
Invite each group to read their collaborative winter poem to the class.
6. Reflect
Ask students to reflect on the collaborative process. Share the inspiration behind their lines and any unique elements their group incorporated. What did they enjoy about working together? How did different perspectives contribute to the poem?
Teaching Poetry Workshop
Interested in learning more about teaching poetry? Join me for my virtual workshop this April.
Dates: Wednesday, 1/29, Thursdays, 2/13 & 3/13
Time: 7:00 - 7:45 PM (EST)
Format: Live Virtual workshops on Zoom. You’ll receive an access code after registration. All workshops will be recorded.
Instructors: Georgia Heard and Ralph Fletcher
Looking for a creative boost in a short, focused format? Join Write Bites, a series of three online writing workshops designed to get you writing! Each 45-minute session, led by Georgia Heard and Ralph Fletcher, features an original prompt to inspire your writing across various forms. It’s the perfect way to keep your writing muscles active. Writers can share their writing on a Google doc.
With Write Bites you'll have a dedicated time to write in a supportive environment, with the option to share your work out loud and on a shared Google doc. Whether you're a teacher seeking fresh ideas for your students or a writer seeking inspiration and wanting to generate new ideas, Write Bites offers a warm, welcoming space to explore your voice and connect with others.
Come for the prompts, stay for the community! These bite-sized workshops will leave you feeling motivated and inspired. They’ll help you begin, or continue working on, your next writing project.
Join us for all three sessions and reignite your love of writing!
You do not need to have taken Writes Bites 1.0 to register.
Looking for Inspiration?
Don’t miss my Winter Poetry Book Recommendations.
