1. Students completed a prewriting activity in the form of a journal entry that focused on a particular image that appealed to them.  At the end of the writing time, students were asked to choose the six most important words in their journal entry other than the word(s) naming the topic involved in the image itself.

2. Students then partnered with a classmate, sharing their images with one another and brainstorming associated words for each other.

3. Armed with a lengthy list of critical words relating to their chosen image, students were given an explanation of the complex sestina form, as well as its history and associations.

4. As a class, we examined Elizabeth Bishop's "A Miracle for Breakfast," making careful note of her six key words: coffee, crumb, balcony, miracle, sun and river.  We noted the way in which she told the story of an experience and the manner in which she manipulated her writing to fit the required sestina form.  The students were also guided to pay attention to the way in which the final three lines of the poem functioned to give a satisfactory conclusion to the anecdote, while still maintaining the required use of key words.

5. In small groups, the students conducted similar evaluations and analyses of sestinas by Auden, Pound and Ashbery. 

6. For homework, students wrote the first stanza of their sestinas, employing six words from their earlier prewriting.