Finding the Poet Inside Ourselves and Our Students...
What poetry means to me;
When I have a piece of poetry in front of me I find myself re reading the lines over and over looking for the hidden meanings and abstract messages within the words. I can tell it’s beautiful and thoughtfully written but the frustration of trying to understand the beauty leads to me avoiding this genre of writing. I have felt this hesitation towards poetry since elementary school. I found the length refreshing, not having to write out paragraphs in 3rd grade writing class was an aspect that I looked forward to. But poetry was presented in a very uniform way in schools, which made it seem like a chore rather than a way to expressive ourselves. We had units of haiku or limerick poems. A lot of counting and spacing went into creating the poems with strict guidelines we were required to write in younger grades.
By being exposed to many different types of poetry later in life I realized that not all poems have a certain number of words in a line or a strict rhythm. Poems could take any shape or form you wanted. As I got older I appreciated the art of this genre but still found myself struggling with reading it and understanding it.
I could close my eyes and listen to the voices of majestic poets reading their poetry all day long. Certain poems from Maya Angelou send chills through my body. But the words written in front of me are intimidating. This is mainly due to the fact that it is up to me to find the meaning that is not always explicitly written.
Writing poetry is a little more accessible for me then reading poetry is. I find writing therapeutic in some ways and after reading a lot of poetry, whether on my own or through an assignment, it feels natural to write a poem myself. The beauty of poetry is there is truly no right or wrong way. A poem could be a few words or a few pages but the quantity does not matter, it's the quality of the words that hold the value.
Poems that send chills..
Teaching Poetry
Learning Through Listening
Due to my hesitations and feelings of intimidation with poetry growing up, I know to anticipate that attitude from some of my future students. To combat this I want to be very intentional with how I present poetry to my students. Choosing mentor texts is very important with these units, there is going to be a sweet spot for poems that will connect with students and ease them into the idea of poetry. Like I mentioned earlier I enjoy listening to poems. This multimodal form allows for me to focus on the meanings I interpret from the poem. To introduce texts to my students I might let them listen first. Listen to the rhythm, the emotion, and the natural flow that comes with a really good poem.
Lesson Example
Start by playing Invitation by Shel Silverstein. Allow students to close their eyes if they want, let them take in the words and the way it is being read aloud. Play it several times. More without the words and a few times with the poem displayed on the board or individually in front of the student. Have an open discussion about what they heard and noticed.
Next allow the student to bring their own voice to it. Have the students pair up and recite the poem to each other. Allow them to develop their own rhythm and emotion. Give time for students to doodle, annotate, and bring the poem to life on a page if they feel called to. This could be an invitation in their writers notebook.
A follow up portion of this lesson could be for students to add a second stanza to the poem. Invite students to continue the theme of the poem with whatever direction they want to take it.
Starting Small...
Another aspect of teaching poetry that I will use is starting small. A poem can be about anything. We see that in Valerie Worth’s book of poems, all the small poems and fourteen more. She has poems about an old rag or a fence sitting in a field. She takes a simple object and finds the words to give it life and meaning. After reading many of her mentor texts with the class I might take my class outside, if it’s nice weather. With the words of poetry still fresh in their minds I will give them a few minutes to walk around and look at their surroundings. While outside I will ask them to locate one thing that stands out to them. This could be a swing on the playground. There might be a tree that catches their eye or someone they are exploring with. Once they find their inspiration we will gather to write up short poems about that one singular thing they found outside. This could be done while still outside or back in the classroom. This should be done independently but I encourage students to share or get ideas from their peers if they feel comfortable.
Creating Classroom Poetry Environment
As mentioned in the video above, there are ways that we can ease students into writing poetry, something they often fear or dread. Ways we could do this is by being intentional. Intentional with the mentor texts, intentional with the way I present the texts, and intentional with my invitations for students to write.
Other Aspects of a good environment:
1. Appropriate mentor texts (See below for examples)
2. Make writing and poetry a priority in the curriculum
3. Celebrate poets. The teacher as a poet, the students as poets, and living and past poets that have inspired us
4. Create a safe place to take risks with writing. Instill a respectful mindset in the students.
5. Be open to all types of poetry no matter how "unconventional" it may seem
