How can I support creative expression?

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. 
• Co-learn rather than feel pressure to be the expert.

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

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;

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.

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 workshop series called Resources and tools to support creative writing instruction.