Souvenirs Open Write is here for you every month. We are teachers writing poetry in community--mending our souls and bringing the joy of writing in community back to our classrooms. Today is our last day for the June Open Write, but we'll see you again next month beginning on July18. Our Host…

The Traveling Companion This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We gather every month and daily in April — no sign-ups, no fees, no commitments. Come and go as you please. All that we ask is that if you write,…

The Perfect Getaway This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. We'll be here today, tomorrow and Monday. This month Leilya Pitre has a series on "Summer Escapes & Small Adventures." Next…

Free Summer Writing Renewal PD for Literacy Educators and Writers JUST WORDS: A Gentle Workshop for Writing for Young Readers Recharge Your Writing Life Through Children's Literature, Creativity, and Community Online • Free • Open to Educators, Writers, and Anyone Curious About Writing for Young…

Found Poem This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. In May Jessica Wiley and Erica Johnson invited us to celebrate the place they call home (and our own places) with this series: Homage to…

Talk About Trees This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, our friends Jessica Wiley and Erica Johnson invite us to celebrate the place they call home (and…

Place-Based Poetry This is the Open Write, a place for educators to nurture their writing lives and to advocate for writing poetry in community. We are here every month. Today, tomorrow, and Monday, our friends Jessica Wiley and Erica Johnson will invite us to celebrate the place they call home…

EBook: Mosaic of Minds Mosaic of Minds shares the writing of Oklahoma State University’s Secondary English education preservice teachers and writing workshop students who enrolled through the Randall and Carol White Reading and Math Center. These pieces emerged during an online semester-long…

VerseLove Closing Invitation Congratulations! Look what we've made together. This month’s writing has been held in generous company. We are deeply grateful to the hosts who offered their time, creativity, and care—opening space for us to think, write, and listen together. These are humble people…

Making the Invisible Visible Welcome.VerseLove is Ethical ELA’s celebration of National Poetry Month each April. Please share a favorite moment of your time together this month here. Our Hosts Barbara Edler is a talented and gifted instructor for Keokuk High School, located in southeast Iowa. She…

Instructions For Poems Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem…

Dirt Road Mystic Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also…

Slam Poetry Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a…

Lose, Loss, Lost This post is part of VerseLove, our annual 30-day experience to read and write poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. Welcome. Learn more here. Our Host: Scott McCloskey Hi, folks, I’m Scott, and I’m at a loss for what new information to tell you about myself. So, I’ll…

First Words Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a…

What’s That Sound? Onomatopoeia Poem This is VerseLove. We write poems together every day during April. Glad you are here. Our Host Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana.  Margaret has been an elementary school teacher for 38 years, most recently retired and teaching…

Reading Haiku Welcome. We are on Day 21 of 30 days of VerseLove. Let's circle back to haiku for brevity, but with a new perspective from today's host. Our Host In May of 2025, Sharon Roy retired from 31 years of teaching middle school in Austin, TX where she lives with her husband. Now she enjoys…

Deeds and Dandelions Welcome. The poem writing inspiration is part of VerseLove, our celebration of National Poetry Month. Our Host Corinne lives in Detroit, Michigan, teaching in Detroit Public Schools Community District. She is an Education Specialist Student at Wayne State University. Corinne…

Press Play: Connections This poetry idea is part of VerseLove, our celebration of poetry for National Poetry Month. Learn more here. Our Host: Stefani Boutelier Stefani is an Associate Professor of Education at Aquinas College in Michigan. She teaches courses for pre-service and in-service…

Golden Hinge Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a…

The Queen of Our Kitchens Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem…

Beginning Again Our Host: Stacey Joy Stacey Joy is a National Board Certified Teacher, Google Certified Educator, and 2013 L.A. County Teacher of the Year. Stacey has taught elementary school for 40 years in Los Angeles Unified School District, and she is imagining life in retirement at the end of…

A Playful Cascade Congratulations. We’re halfway. A gentle note for today based on some feedback: remember that we’re in this for the long haul, and there are a range of ways to show up. Some of us write every day, some once a week, some only on Tuesdays—whatever rhythm is sustainable and joyful…

Taxing Matters Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a…

Moments of Clarity/Haibun Our Host: Ann E. Burg Ann lives in upstate New York with her husband and her scarededy-cat dog. She was a teacher for ten years and is now a mostly-middle-grade author. Drawn to stories of the disenfranchised and voiceless, she usually finds inspiration in little known or…

The Poetry of Everyday Quick note for a more intentional, easeful experience: You can subscribe on the site (right sidebar) to receive prompts by email; follow a rhythm that works for you—morning or evening, writing or responding (across time zones)—use Ctrl+F to find your comments and the bell to…

The “Loves” Emulation—A Thematic List Poem that Digs and Sings Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image…

Love Letter to a Place You Love Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem…

HOME/HOGAR Welcome to Verselove—a space for educators to nurture their writing lives and celebrate poetry in the community. Each day in April, we come together to explore the power of poetry for both heart and mind. Write with care, for yourself and your readers. When responding, reflect back the…

In Poetry We Say Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also…

Aliterative First Line/Last Line Image Welcome.VerseLove is Ethical ELA’s celebration of National Poetry Month each April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. New to VerseLove? Learn more: Our Host Luke Bensing is a husband, father, musician, writer, and teacher. He lives in…

Forgiveness Welcome to Verselove—a space for educators to nurture their writing lives and celebrate poetry in the community. Each day in April, we come together to explore the power of poetry for both heart and mind. Write with care, for yourself and your readers. When responding, reflect back the…

Antonymic Revelations (AKA Un-Found Lines) VerseLove is Ethical ELA’s celebration of National Poetry Month each April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. New to VerseLove? Learn more: Our Host: Jennifer Guyor Jowett What a merry sole lender I am,a giver, a granter of words and…

Instructions for Traveling with Living Poets Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a…

Ekphrasis Poetry Welcome.VerseLove is Ethical ELA’s celebration of National Poetry Month each April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. New to VerseLove? Learn more: Our Host: Melissa Heaton Melissa lives in Springville, Utah--a town nestled in the foothills of the Wasatch Range of…

Look Around—Here Is a Poem! Welcome.VerseLove is Ethical ELA’s celebration of National Poetry Month each April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. New to VerseLove? Learn more: Our Host: Leilya Pitre Leilya lives in Ponchatoula, LA, a small town celebrated for its strawberries and…

VerseLove Opening Invitation Landscapes of Our Lives Every April, VerseLove becomes a landscape—thirty days of poems written across classrooms, kitchen tables, notebooks, and glowing screens around the world. I am Sarah Donovan, founding collaborator of Ethical ELA and Verselove, and we've been…

Before We Begin: The People Holding VerseLove As we prepare to step into the 30-day journey of VerseLove 2026, it feels important to pause here, before the first prompt is posted, before the first lines are written, and consider the people who are holding this space. Because VerseLove does not…

Teaching the Weight of Words Writing as Ethical Witness During Genocide Remembrance Month Each April, Genocide Remembrance Month invites us to pause and remember histories of violence that too often fade into abstraction or silence. Several major genocides have key anniversaries in April—the…

A Woman in the News March 2026 is Women’s History Month. When women choose to get involved in the process of community building, they typically join forces with men and collaborate in various ways. They organize events, educate people, start community projects, or just change the room's atmosphere…

A Woman in Your Family March 2026 is Women’s History Month. When women choose to get involved in the process of community building, they typically join forces with men and collaborate in various ways. They organize events, educate people, start community projects, or just change the room's…

It’s VerseLove! Dear Ethical ELA community, April is just around the corner, which means it’s time to begin preparing for one of our favorite traditions: #VerseLove, our month-long celebration of poetry and community writing. Each April, we gather as writers, readers, and witnesses to poems. Some…

Rethinking the March Madness Poetry Bracket A Humanizing Approach Using Living, Open-Access Poems Each March, many classrooms fill with brackets. Inspired by the energy of the basketball tournament, teachers invite students to read poems head-to-head and vote for their favorites. The structure is…

Towards More Humane—and Productive—Rubrics by Kate Sjostrom Just over ten years ago, right around the time Ethical ELA was founded, I began teaching writing methods courses to pre-service English teachers. While I strived to model an ethical approach to the teaching of writing, there was one area…

Poem Interrupted! Our Host: Dave Wooley Dave lives in State College, Pennsylvania, and he’s not exactly sure how he got there! But, since he’s there, he’s working with pre-service teachers at Penn State University as they prepare to be high school and middle school teachers. He does some rapping,…

The Boundary is Still Blurry Looking Back at 2021 by Abby Kindelsperger While much continues to evolve in our world and our schools, when I look back on my Ethical ELA post from 2021, I am struck by the consistency of my teaching philosophy. I still learn from my students, student teachers, and…

Listen to the mp3 of our collaborative pile poem of good "educational" things from the #NCTE24 Boston session: e-Poetry for tomorrow on 11.23.24. Co-hosted with @sarahjdonovan.bsky.social #EthicalELA #NCTE #EduSky #EdTech #Kapwing #Poetry drive.google.com/file/d/19Z7x...