How can I support creative expression?

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Express yourself creatively: Creative Writing (Poetry)

In June 2026 we facilitated a 3-part exploration of how to keep creativity flowing in the literacy classroom. We are going to take a dive into resources, tools and approaches that support creative writing instruction. We

  • Explored lesson plans that encourage creative expression, reading and writing.
  • Provided opportunities for participants to into your their creativity.
  • Expanded participant lists of Open Education Resources. 
  • Experimented with digital tools that can support writing skills and the development of digital competencies. 

We took a look at learning resources that: 

  • Enhance our knowledge of how AI works and how to evaluate its outputs
  • Expand our capacity to detect images and content produced by AI
  • Encourage learners to reflect on the use of AI in their learning journey

These resources include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:

  • Cover a topic comprehensively.
  • Build a series of lessons that flow together. 
  • Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.

You can find links to all the resources we used in the workshops in this document.

Workshop 1:
Creating something from something

We explored how we can create poetry even if we have never read or written a poem
before. We looked at

  • how creating something from something fosters a growth mindset.
  • two resources for learning about what poetry is;
  • two forms of found poetry that are a place to start;

Workshop 2:
Quiet observations and form poems

We explored how we can create poetry from our own experiences and our own lives.
We looked at

  • a poem created from an observation and a question;
  • how that poem inspired action;
  • how images can inspire creativity;
  • how form poetry can help us start creating;
  • and a little on how to find images that we can use.

Workshop 3:
Poetry grows our hearts

We explored how we can learn about poetry by experiencing it in different formats.
We looked at

  • how poetry gets in our hearts;
  • places to read and hear poems;
  • how reading poems, listening to poems, and reading poems out loud help us to understand poetry.

This resource from AlphaPlus was created by Tracey Mollins after a Learn Together workshop series called Resources and tools to support creative writing instruction.

Learn Together

Learn Together workshops cover those topics where, as teachers, we may not be comfortable with our level of content expertise or our ability to stay current with constantly evolving developments. These workshops focus on a learn-together approach where teachers and learners can explore the topic together and expertise may be distributed differently. The teacher remains the expert in how to design the learning experience and curate the most effective resources to support that experience. In Learn Together workshops we explore curriculum resources that include teacher-facing guides, instructions, objectives and/or teaching tips and support instructors to:

  • Cover a topic comprehensively.
  • Build a series of lessons that flow together.
  • Learn content alongside learners rather than feel pressure to be the expert.

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