SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Category: Writers in the Schools

5 Questions: Nichole Coates, WITS Program Associate

Meet Nichole Coates, SAL’s brand new WITS Program Associate! Passionate about supporting the talents, aspirations and abilities of youth from all backgrounds, she has spent the last several years teaching literacy, leadership and social emotional learning to youth in communities from Wisconsin to White Center. We asked Nichole five questions about her new role with WITS, how […]

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WITS Voices: Repeat After Me

By Imani Sims, WITS Writer-in-Residence It is Day Six in a ten-day intensive with middle school students who have the best examples of poetic devices: “What is a Metaphor?” A shy hand goes up and I call on them. “A comparison between two things not using like or as.” “Good! Can anyone give me an […]

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WITS Voices: If Found, Please Return to—

By Katy E. Ellis, WITS Writer-in-Residence My first year as a WITS instructor, I handwrote each day’s plan in a small red notebook that I toted to the kindergarten classes at Broadview-Thomson K-8. This year, I referred back to those lessons and added new lessons to the notebook, which I carried like a security blanket to […]

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Teacher Feature: Daemond Arrindell

“Ever since Daemond started coming to my third period class, I have found a healthy way to express my emotions and thoughts. I look forward to being taught by him every Friday and learning why writing poetry really matters.” These words come from a ninth-grade WITS student at Franklin High; they’re only a minute sampling of […]

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WITS Voices: Movements

By Vicky Edmonds, WITS Writer-in-Residence Hearing the poetry of children has been one of the most meaningful experiences in my life. I am awestruck at getting to hear that kind of sincerity nearly every day. It’s why I remain a teaching artist after 26 years, even though it’s the most challenging work I’ve ever done. […]

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“Burning,” by WITS Student Gray Liteky

Burning When you tease me, I feel like I’m burning, and you lock the oven with words like, “I hate you.” As I burn, I try to put out the flames with tears, but you just laugh. Sometimes I put the flames out on others. I think the flames will go out, but they just […]

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WITS Voices: Your First Assignment is to Judge Me

By Anastacia Tolbert, WITS Writer-in-Residence *I’m wearing faded blue jeans spotted with white paint, a long, un-tucked NASA t-shirt, a burgundy hooded sweater, a pageboy hat, stripped socks and black flats.  The teacher has already told them a “professional writer” from WITS is coming. They haven’t Googled me but have formed ideas on what a […]

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WITS Voices: First Impressions

By Michael Overa, WITS Writer-in-Residence The first day of a new class, I’ve begun a rather nerve-wracking experiment (as if simply standing in front of thirty seventh or eighth grade students I’ve never met before wasn’t enough.) The experiment goes something like this: shortly after my partner teacher’s introduction – and before explaining any more […]

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WITS Voices: The Invisible Kid

By Peter Mountford, WITS Writer-in-Residence When I was in middle school I had this magical power, which was very useful. The way it worked was that if I wanted a teacher to not call on me I could camouflage myself, or become invisible. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but I […]

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