Creating and Curating a Poetry Portfolio

Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel

In this engaging creative writing lesson, the host Justin introduces students to the concept of becoming a "Penfluencer" by curating a professional poetry portfolio. The video breaks down the complex process of assembling a literary collection into three manageable steps: selection, revision, and reflection. Students learn that a portfolio is not just a random pile of work, but a thoughtful collection that demonstrates both their personal style and their range of skills as poets. The content dives deep into specific strategies for selecting poems, distinguishing between a "diverse" portfolio (variety of styles/topics) and a "coherent" one (unified by theme or mood). It then guides students through the revision process, moving beyond simple proofreading to deep stylistic changes involving connotation and sound devices like alliteration and meter. Finally, the video introduces the concept of an "Author's Statement," teaching students how to articulate their artistic choices and inspiration. This video is an excellent resource for middle and high school English Language Arts classrooms focusing on the writing process. It moves students beyond merely generating content to the higher-order thinking skills of curation and critique. By framing the task within a modern "app" context, it makes the potentially dry topics of revision and metacognitive reflection relevant and accessible. Teachers can use this video to structure a multi-day final project for a poetry unit.