A Resource Center for Teachers

This week’s featured classroom attends Essex Street Academy in NYC, a school that prides itself on its project-based focus on learning and personalized approach to education. The ninth and tenth graders taking a creative writing course with teachers Jenny Platow and Caitlin Thomas were asked to write Six-Word Memoirs after thoroughly analyzing the book, I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, found in the school library.

The students were encouraged to notice not just the words used in the memoirs but also the positioning of the words on the page and the book’s overall design. The class then went on to explore the Six-Word Memoir project as a greater movement by checking …

“For the shy poets, taking a risk in six words to share a secret, a memory, or a fear is easier than delving into a longer poem.”

Spring always seems to reinvigorate creativity and inspire new ideas. The days are getting longer, the sun is shining brighter and the Six-Word Memoirs are less “Wishing for other reasons to shiver” and more “Mudluscious and puddle-wonderful Spring. -e.e. cummings.”

Which brings us to this month’s featured classroom! Meet Meghan Adler, learning specialist, seasoned writer and poetry …

Vermont Academy: 6 Word Memoir Project from Vermont Academy on Vimeo.

Although usually we feature individual classrooms and their Six-Word Memoir feats of creativity, we’re flipping the script this month to share an amazing video project created by students, staff and teachers alike. Meet our newest “Classroom of the Month”, Vermont Academy, a small boarding school in Saxtons River, VT, nestled against a picturesque, quintessentially New England backdrop of rolling (currently snow-covered) hills. VA prides itself on delving outside strictly traditional learning/teaching styles opting instead for a more active, hands-on educational experience. “From dawn to dusk, our students are busy and engaged in a variety of academic and athletic activities that challenge their brains and force them to engage with one …