Write to the Core : Inspiring Young Writers through Mindfulness and Poetry

This curriculum gives time-pressured teachers a solution for meeting students’ critical social-emotional needs, which, in turn, gives them the confidence and clarity of mind to write well.

Write to the Core is intended for those writing instructors who believe that students’ emotional lives are valid and welcome at school. The curriculum seamlessly integrates reading and writing tasks with mindfulness practices, so teachers with limited time can help students meet academic standards and build creative thinking skills, while at the same time fortifying their inner reserves and sense of community. Teaching self-awareness, emotional self-regulation, self-compassion and empathy not only prepares students to build more optimal relationships with themselves and their peers, but also with the craft of writing. Each lesson is centered around a poem and includes a short, guided awareness practice, text-dependent questions, and basic and intermediate level poem-writing worksheets that replicate the structure of the original work. A brief section on current research in neuroscience and positive psychology, as well as extension activities are also included.