(Re)Creating Poets: How to Teach Poetry in the Classroom The wonderful poet Naomi Shihab Nye first introduced me to William Stafford's idea that no one becomes a poet. She says that we are all born poets, and it's just that some of us choose to keep up the habit. At times, all of us inevitably get stuck viewing ourselves in static and limiting ways. A poetry unit and Poetry Month are opportunities for encouraging students to write in new, creative and different ways. When studying poetry, the first thing I ask students to do is define poetry. As we discuss and debate what should be considered poetry, my goal is to challenge students to think broadly about poetry and creativity. As the unit continues, here are four strategies and a number of resources that I've found helpful. 1. I intentionally use poems about poetry early in the unit. 2. The experience of a poem is much different when hearing it read rather than reading it silently. 3. During the unit students read and then write poems in these forms, among others: 4.
Poems for Every Occasion In time for Poem In Your Pocket Day, the Academy announced the launch of a mobile poetry archive which brings the entire collection of more than 2,500 poems, as well as poet biographies and historical essays, into the palm of your hand. Formatted for effortless access on most mobile devices, the poems can be browsed by occasion, theme, author, title, or form, and searched easily by keyword. Read a poem, anytime, anywhere—whether to fill a spare moment, woo a darling, toast a friend, find solace, or recall a few favorite lines—verse is now at your fingertips. For more information, visit www.poets.org/mobile.
Poems for Your Pocket Each year on national Poem in Your Pocket Day, the town of Charlottesville, Virginia, unites in a day-long celebration of poetry. The project is spearheaded by Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, whose staff recruit members of the community—students, senior citizens, local business owners, neighbors, and friends—to distribute poem scrolls throughout Charlottesville. Over 7,000 scrolls are distributed to a local hospital, a children’s museum, libraries, senior centers, nursing homes, and numerous small businesses in the downtown area. They also put together a street team that hands out poems along the Charlottesville pedestrian mall. According to library branch manager Wendy Saz, “The very best part of the project is seeing the way people immediately respond to poetry. Poetry is best when shared, and Poem in Your Pocket Day is the perfect time to surprise someone with the gift of poetry. How did you celebrate?
Barbaric Yawp in the 21st Century: Using Tech to Engage Budding Poets What if Dead Poets Society were set in modern times? Would Mr. Keating (Robin Williams' character) tweet Walt Whitman? I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. #significantquote #carpediem Would the students have created a Facebook group rather than sneak off to a cave? In the movie, students shouted quotes to music blasted from a record player while on the soccer field. We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We teach poetry because "it is language distilled to its most effective level. However, given our students' inclination to use technology, consider the potential if we leveraged that desire to help them better identify with poetry. Uncovering Poetry in Primary Sources Much like I inadvertently destroyed a number of great literary works with bad book projects, I will also confess to assigning a handful of brutally dry poetry assignments. Lauren also incorporated the audio recording features of Explain Everything into the process.
-the sound of splinters- National Poetry Month | Reading Rockets#poets?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=RRSocialMedia April is National Poetry Month, 30 days of celebrating the joy, expressiveness, and pure delight of poetry. Learn more about the National Poetry Month, get to know some of our most well-loved children's poets in our video interview series, browse the many online resources listed here, and visit your local library or bookstore to discover wonderful new books and anthologies. Poets on poetry Listen in as acclaimed children's writers like Marilyn Singer, Ashley Bryan, Jack Prelutsky, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes, and Janet Wong talk about reading poetry aloud and writing poetry. National Poetry Month resources National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. Bloggers in the kidlitosphere Kidlit bloggers are sharing poetry and poets in exciting new ways during National Poetry Month. 30 Poets/30 DaysThe GottaBook hosts the annual 30 Poets/30 Days project.
Six Word Story Every Day Using poems to develop productive skills This is a great motivator. Poems are often rich in cultural references, and they present a wide range of learning opportunities. For me, the aim is to teach English through poetry, not to teach the poetry itself, so you don't need to be a literature expert. Most of the tried and tested activities used regularly by language teachers can be adapted easily to bring poetry into the classroom. Communicative speaking activities Working on pronunciation Writing activities Some pros and cons Conclusion Communicative speaking activities Before doing any productive work, I like to give my students plenty of pre-reading activities so that they are adequately prepared. As a way in to a poem, I might play some background music to create the atmosphere, show some pictures to introduce the topic, and then get students to think about their personal knowledge or experience which relates to this topic. Working on pronunciation It can be fun to get students to rehearse and perform a poem.
The art of the metaphor - Jane Hirshfield To explore metaphors more fully on your own, there are three directions you can go. The first is simply to start noticing whenever you meet one. Jane Hirshfield slipped metaphors into many of the things she said in this lesson. You might listen to it again and make a list of some of the metaphors she used along the way, without pointing out that they were metaphors. Then go to any random web blog or newspaper or magazine article and just start reading until you’ve found a half dozen metaphors. Sometimes there will be many right away, other times there could be none at all. A second direction to explore metaphors further is to practice inventing metaphors yourself. A third way to learn more about metaphor is to read about it directly. A few specific resources: Almost every modern textbook or handbook about poetry has a chapter on metaphor. BBC Radio ran a terrific 45 minute program on metaphor (with a good “recommended books” list on the program’s web page).
poets.org | Academy of American Poets Using poems, quotations and proverbs The activities below are ways for students to enjoy the music of English. Poems Choose short simple poems that are close to students' lives. These poems are not for heavy analysis. They are for saying aloud. Give pairs a poem to read together. Learning things by heart is very much a part of school systems and it gives students a sense of achievement to know a poem in English. Recommended poems and poets to try are:; Michael Rosen, Roger McGough or John Hegley . Quotations from Literature Another popular form of learning by heart and reading aloud are the famous sayings from our own literature or the work of philosophers, historians and politicians. They can spark interest in a theme, a person or a writer They are a good basis for discussion They carry universal messages across cultural boundaries They can be learned and recited for their music and beauty They are a common feature of language studies Proverbs They have the same advantages of quotations from literature. For example:
Learning Resources | Shel Silverstein “My beard grows to my toes, I never wear no clothes, I wraps my hair Around my bare, And down the road I goes.” – “My Beard” Where the Sidewalk Ends “Needles and pins, Needles and pins, Sew me a sail To catch me the wind.” – from “Needles and Pins” Falling Up “Millie McDeevit screamed a scream So loud it made her eyebrows steam.” – from “Screamin’ Millie” Falling Up “I will not play at tug o’ war. I’d rather play at hug o’ war” – from “Hug O’ War” Where the Sidewalk Ends “If you are a dreamer, come in.” – from “Invitation” Where the Sidewalk Ends “Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be.” – from “Listen to the Mustn’ts" Where the Sidewalk Ends “Balancing my ABCs Takes from noon to half past three. I don’t have time to grab a T Or even stop to take a P.” – “Alphabalance” Falling Up “Last night I had a crazy dream That I was teachin’ school.