Poetry & the Student Writer

TORDA'S FALL 2024 TEACHING SITE

Poetry & the Student Writer

11/13/2022

Teaching poetry to young readers and writers can be challenging and also exciting. Your prompt this week asks you to think about how you would engage students with poetry.

This Week’s Prompt: This week you are working with a 12th grade English class that meets the outcomes for the International Baccalaureate Programme. Th IB is sort of like an internationally recognized version of AP. You can read about it here. Some quick facts about Brockton High (from Wikipedia, so, you know, grain of salt) and in general:

The high school is 60.9% African American, 20.8% White, 2.5% Asian, 12.3% Hispanic, and 3.5% other. In 2016 it was made so everyone could get free lunch. Out of its 4,250 students, 2,161 are male and 2,089 are female.

In 2008, Brockton students had a higher level of improvement on the English MCAS than 90% of the Massachusetts high schools. By 2010 it was one of the highest performing schools on the MCAS.[7]
Keep in mind that 12th grade Lit is often a British Literature Survey. The IB syllabus is a little more adventurous. This might help or hurt.
Try to be specific in both HOW you would teach this text and also HOW YOU MIGHT USE IT to teach poetry in general. For the purposes of thinking about that second part, Here is a link to the IB curriculum at Brockton High. This takes you to the IB page for Brockton High. Click on the English HL link for the actual syllabus.

I’m really enjoying the back and forth in these discussion boards. Here’s to another good week.

39 Comments

Megan Moore

11/14/2022 05:01:13 am

I think the selection of poems we read this week offers a great variety of ideas for students at this level to discuss. Students would have a chance to read all of the poems, and I would begin the lesson by breaking students into groups and giving them one of the poems to analyze in detail (similar to what we did with our reading groups this week). After analyzing, each group would present their ideas to the class and lead their own mini lesson.
Next, I would have each student choose one of the poems and copy down the first line of it word for word. The students would then write a poem of their own using the first line they have chosen. In my experience, this exercise can make writing poetry more fun than simply sitting down and writing an entirely original poem, especially for those who struggle with poetry. It also allows students to create a dialogue with the original poem and even respond to it if they choose. Students could then share with the class and discuss why they chose to write their poem in the way that they did.
Because we began with contemporary poems, this lesson outline could then be used with older British poems, as are commonly taught at this level. When reading the epic poem "Beowulf," for example, students could write a poem in the Anglo Saxon poetic tradition (which is a really interesting and fun poetic structure!). As someone who didn't enjoy studying poetry in high school, these techniques made me enjoy poetry at the college level. I'd hope that high school students would be able to have fun with poetry if approached in this way.

Sydney Blair

11/14/2022 09:22:53 am

Hi Megan!
I really liked your idea of breaking up students into groups. I feel that when students are working with smaller groups of people they are more inclined to participate as there are less eyes and ears on them. I think your idea of having students create a mini lesson on their assigned poem is also a great idea. Allowing students to have the ability to share what they gained and gathered throughout their reading and discussion of the poem could be something really beneficial to the class as a whole. Every student will interpret the poem a little differently so I think you open up many doors for discussion as students are able to both work with their small group, as well as share their thoughts about the other mini lessons as well. I can really see this being a hit in a classroom!

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 10:10:43 am

Hi Megan,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with all of us! The great thing about these poems is that they contain universal topics that maybe people can relate to. I like your idea of having them split into groups and analyze each poem and then present their ideas because it gives them autonomy to demonstrate their knowledge and express their thoughts. You could also have them answer prompts at different stations related to these poems, so they can reflect on them but at a personal level. In addition, I like how you tied these poems into “Beowulf” because you went from easy contemporary ones to a more difficult one. I did something similar with one because I also thought that mixing them this way can help students practice. You could also find a common ground between “Beowulf” and these other poems and help students expand their knowledge.

Allie Gallahue

11/14/2022 05:07:17 pm

Hi Megan! I have never heard of the activity you mentioned regarding taking the first line of a poem and writing the rest of it on your own. This seems like a really fun and exciting way to get students into poetry. I know that in high school I was always nervous when it came to studying poetry, but this kind of assignment would have helped me get into the idea that poetry is really interesting; I definitely want to use this type of activity as a future high school teacher! I also really like how you said that you would split students into groups to analyze poetry together. This is something that a lot of my former teachers did and it made understanding the poems a lot easier, because we were all working together to figure out the deeper meaning of each story being told.

Sydney Blair

11/14/2022 09:18:49 am

Poetry can either be a hit or miss for some students. For me personally I never loved poetry. I felt vulnerable depending on what the writing task was about and whether or not you are being tasked with presenting it or not. Another reason why I didn’t love poetry is because I never really understood it, I feel as though my teachers in high school never took the time to perform a close reading of the poem. We would respond to it and say what we thought it meant, but never really went into that much detail. Because of this, I learned how I would want to teach poetry in my own classroom. The poems provided for this week would be perfect examples on what kind of poetry I would use for this lesson. I would pick a few of these poems and read them a loud with the class. Then I would ask the students to pick one of the poems provided and break it apart line by line. Once they do that I will then ask them to re-write the line to what they think it means/says. Students are able to translate the writing into their own interpretation. These specific poetry allows for the reader to decifer it however they want, and I would want my students to do the same. Students will then be encouraged to either share their response with a partner or read it aloud in class, this way students will be able to see how differently each student reacted each poem. This allows students to also practice their close reading skills while also helping them see poetry in a new light.

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 10:16:41 am

Hi Sydney,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with all of us! I share a similar experience with you. I also did not enjoy poetry in high school. In fact, I was intimidated by it until I got to college, and I had a professor who took his time explaining to the whole class how to read/understand/analyze poetry effectively. I think the key lies in close reading and having students break down a poem line by line seeing how each poetry device is being used and if there are keywords that stand out to them that are used to convey a larger theme. In addition, I like the idea of reading aloud to them. Maybe students need to hear a poem in order for them to comprehend its meaning of it. You could also ask for volunteers to make it more engaging or even play a YouTube audio of the poem. This platform is filled with great audio and most of the time, these videos show great images or scenes that could help students understand the meaning of the poems.

Nicole Shepard

11/14/2022 10:51:52 am

Hi Sydney!
I also wasn’t a fan of poetry in high school and honestly am still somewhat afraid of it today. It’s not so much that I don’t like reading and analyzing poetry but more so that I don’t like the thought of having to share my poetry with people. I struggled a lot when it came to analyzing poetry in high school and really didn’t grasp what it meant to analyze a poem until college. As you said, these struggles are the reason why we, as future teachers, have many creative and different ideas than our past teachers. One exercise you put in your discussion that I think will be really helpful is having your students break down the poems line by line and writing what they think the line means. This is a great way to get your students thinking actively and having them engage with the text rather than just having them share what they think the poem is trying to say.

Samantha Tyrrell

11/15/2022 04:53:15 am

Hi Sydney!

I can definitely relate, as I wasn't a fan of poetry in high school. The meanings of the poems that we read eluded me, and it honestly felt like a waste of time. Now that I have more experience with poetry, I feel differently. I'm glad you could turn a negative experience with poetry into a positive one by teaching it differently. I like your step-by-step analysis of the poems with your students. It would help those students who struggle with poetry to understand the meanings better.

Jenivieve D'Andrea

11/15/2022 07:11:55 am

Hi there Sydney,

I similarly was not taught poetry in the most compelling of fashions to say the least. We would read the poem, and discuss it on the surface level. Most students seemed to be dragged along, and even I felt that way. I always loved poetry, and even writing my own.

Your ideas about going through a poem line by line for meaning is a great strategy to improve comprehension. Maybe pairing this with group work to get underlying meanings for figurative language, word choice, extended metaphor, rhyme scheme, etc.

Great ideas!

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 10:03:55 am

Poetry is one of my beloved topics in English literature. When I was in high school, I used to fear poetry and it took me until college when I had a professor who took the time to teach us how to analyze poems that my fear of it decreased, and my love for it increased. Reflecting on this, I can see how it might be intimidating for other high school students, which is why although they are in 12th grade, I would still take the time to teach them how to effectively analyze poems. For this class setup, I will be discussing how to teach “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost because it is a high-level poem that discusses making difficult decisions in life that these students, especially at their grad level, can resonate with.
I would first ask them to reflect in their writing about a time in which they had to make a hard decision. I would ask them to describe the situation and to talk about the decision they made and whether they regret it or feel at peace with it. I wouldn’t ask them to share aloud because it could be very personal to them, but I would give them the option in case they wanted to. If this is the first poem of the semester or one of the first couple of ones we have talked about, we would break it down as a whole class. If it isn’t, I would allow the students to practice on their own. Regardless of whichever option it falls into, I would read the poem aloud to them and or ask for volunteers to help me read each stanza. Then, I would ask them to practice close reading and active reading by looking for poetry devices in each stanza and asking themselves what the speaker is trying to say. We would then reconvene as a whole class, and I would ask them these two questions: 1) What is the speaker trying to say? 2)How do they convey this message? (lit devices, rhyme scheme, form, etc.)
Then, I would have them watch a YouTube video titled “Decision-Motivational” and we would discuss it. I would close the lesson by asking them to reflect on their own life. I would ask them to think about a decision that they are trying to make but are having difficulty making and then create a pro and con column for each one. This way we are using the material for students to reflect on their own life while they are gaining skills to tackle these issues.

Patricia Diaz

11/14/2022 10:12:30 am

Just as a clarification, I picked this poem because just like the ones we were talking about this week, it relates to common issues that many people experience. In addition, I thought it would help students to go from low stake reading to high stake critical thinking!

Alexa Delling

11/14/2022 01:39:05 pm

Hi Patricia!
Your post caught my eye since I agree that it is how you are taught poetry that makes you love it or hate it. When we arrived at college, we realized the professors genuinely care about what they are teaching us and I bet for you poetry was taught in a more caring, delicate, and overall explained better than in high school. I am all about connecting with one’s emotions especially within English lit. I think the best work comes from within and when you can get all those bottled-up feelings down on the page (and let’s be honest high schoolers usually have a lot of those) they feel this sense of relief and accomplishment because they genuinely care about what they have just produced. I think an emotional side mixed with an academic side such as a close reading through breaking down the stanzas allows the students to feel comfortable and be more apt to want to learn about poetry and write their own. Your post really resonated with me as I am so passionate about mixing academics with relating to the students real lives, great job!!!

Nicole Shepard

11/14/2022 10:45:35 am

Poetry can be a difficult topic to teach as students seem to either love it or hate it. As someone who wasn’t too fond of poetry in high school, I understand why students tend to fear this type of literature. Even though it might seem like poetry is easy to comprehend, especially the poems that are short, it is just as hard to analyze as all other types of literature.

As a teacher, I want my students to be comfortable and confident reading all sorts of genres and if that means having fun during one of our units to ensure my students are grasping the full meaning of poetry, then that’s what I’ll do. To begin my poetry lesson, I will have my students get into equal groups of four. They can work with people sitting near them or they can move around to work with other people. I will have the titles of all 8 poems written on a piece of paper and put into a bucket. Once my students are in groups, they will each pick out one poem from the bucket to read. I will have them all read their poem silently and then as a group they will elect one member to read the poem aloud. Since analyzing poetry is so important and there are so many elements to it (form, speaker, theme, tone, figurative language), I will have each student analyze the poem for one element. This will be both group and individual work since I will encourage my students to bounce ideas off each other when choosing what elements to analyze. It might take more than one class, but I will have each group, one at a time, come up to the front of the room, read their poem aloud, and explain what elements they found in their poem.

In my opinion, writing poetry is more tedious and anxiety-ridden than analyzing poetry which is why I will include a fun activity for my students to practice their poetry writing. I will set a time for 10-15 minutes and tell each student to just write a poem about whatever they desire. They won’t be given any other details at the time. When they are done writing, I will ask them to pick one partner to share their poem with and then they will work together to combine their two poems. This could result in some crazy poems being written but that’s the fun of it. They can take words, phrases, or full sentences from each other’s poems to create one piece of writing.

Meaghan Cook

11/14/2022 02:02:27 pm

Hi Nicole,

I also did not love poetry in high school, especially when it came to writing and sharing my own. I found analysis to be a bit easier to stomach. I appreciate how your lesson plan really focuses on the experience of the students, rather than the work they produce. I also like how you break the ice in the poetry writing section by making it something that’s almost meant to be silly. It really lowers the pressure and encourages the students to have fun creatively with each other. It sounds like a lesson I would have loved to be a part of in high school!

Megan Moore

11/14/2022 02:45:45 pm

Hi Nicole, I like how you begin by acknowledging that you weren't a big fan of poetry in high school. If you didn't enjoy something, you have a better idea as to how your students might negatively react to your lesson and can take steps to account for that. I think having students work in groups but analyze one aspect of the poem is an interesting way to get them comfortable with taking risks with analysis and finding the parts of the poem that speak to them. Your Franken-poem activity sounds super fun, and even though this is intended for a 12th grade classroom, I could see students of all ages enjoying this activity. Great job!

Katie Rodrigues

11/14/2022 12:58:32 pm

I have always been a fan of poetry and have enjoyed reading and writing it in my classes. For me personally, poetry was not something that was done often, so it was a treat whenever a teacher would introduce a poetry lesson. For my classroom, I want students to be creative in their poems and try to get the to enjoy reading them.
I would have the students read the assigned poems to themselves. I would have the read it once or twice so they can try to get a decent understanding of what the poem is trying to say. Once a poem has been read, I would want to open the floor up to group discussion. This group discussion would include how the students analyzed the poems and what they thought the meaning of the poem was. I would do a mix of whole class and small group discussions to open the floor up to students who might not like sharing in a whole class setting.
Once we read through and discussed the poems, I would give my students time to write poetry of their own. This can be a daunting task that many people might feel vulnerable doing, but that is what will better their writing. Students can write their poems about whatever they choose, whether it be a deep piece with emotions, or a surface level piece about a piece of cake. Anything to get the students writing.
Something else that I would like to do is for the students to pick their own poems and do an analysis on it. Not everyone is going to like every single poem, so by allowing the students to choose their poems this will keep them more engaged because they can pick something that is of interest to them. By doing this, hopefully they will be able to appreciate poetry rather than shy away from it.

Mary Viera

11/18/2022 07:26:11 pm

Hi Katie! I really like the ideas you have. You made me look at how to introduce this assignment in a new way. I agree that readings of the poem should be followed up with discussion, because I think this is a great way to lay out ideas that the students have. I like how you would incorporate small groups to get those shy kids more active in the classroom too. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about students writing poetry on their own without having a “full” understanding of it, but as I read your reasoning for it I couldn’t agree more! While some students may find it intimidating at first I think that encouragement (like you were talking about the deep v. surface level meaning) could help students to understand that poetry is personal and does not have to meet a specific standard.

Jenivieve D'Andrea

11/14/2022 01:00:25 pm

After doing some research about Brockton High Schools International Baccalaureate Programme, I learned that their mission statement is to develop young minds that have inquiry skills, knowledgeable, and caring through intercultural understanding and respect. The website described the curriculum itself as student centered learning based, spoken and written assessments, values motivation not memorization, etc.

Nonetheless, students at Brockton high school are gifted. Teaching this week's poems would be a great set of works for Brockton High School Students. In a program like IB, students could do research in small groups on the author of one of the poems, and do an analysis of the poem in a Google slides presentation. Then there will be a gallery walk at the end where the groups travel to each "exhibit", and learn about the poet and poem. I would take time to read poetry aloud with students and ask them to each share a line aloud that stuck out to them. I would then repeat this with asking for a single word to be shared by each student. The affect of hearing the poem from each classmate aloud helps students to comprehend the importance of word choice and even the meaning of the work.

Many of the authors of this week's poems were of different backgrounds. With poetry, students could research poets of their own backgrounds.

IB at Brockton High values spoken assessments equally with written. Having students write and perform their own original poems would be a great assessment.

Link here:
https://bhs.bpsma.org/academics/international-baccalaureate-programme

Alexa Delling

11/14/2022 01:32:19 pm

I think many students have a love hate relationship with poetry and may lean more towards the hate end of the stick when the teacher uses specific poetry and makes the students break down each and every word. In my experience, I liked reading poetry, but I never felt too confident in writing my own. My high school teachers definitely did not read poetry that interested me all too much and maybe that is what set me up to not love it. The poems we read for today were exciting, new, and didn’t seem to rely so heavily on rhyming and being the “perfect” poem. I always felt pressure and confused by the overarching syntax of a poem. ABBA ABBA haunts me in my sleep sometimes but when I come across poetry that we read for this week, I genuinely enjoyed it and my interested was sparked.
I would start by introducing drastically different genres and topics within poetry since of course no student will read, comprehend, and like the same things as another.

I would ask my students to browse poetry looking for different topics, different lengths, and most importantly any poem that simply sparks their interest. It is like pulling teeth when a teacher is doing a lesson on some totally boring poem that you want no part of so I would love for each of my students to choose their own poem that interests them and to then share with the class in a group circle. I want them to dive into their emotions and use this advantage to discuss what this poem means to them. Maybe the poem is “The Sadness of Clothes” by Emily Fragos and they have experienced loss in their life and found comfort in this poem. Maybe the poem is “Knoxville, Tennessee” by Nikko Giovanni and they grew up in Tennessee, have family there, or had an amazing trip there when they visited. I find personally I work best and to my fullest potential when I can relate and I would emphasize to my students to dig deep and put their emotions into what they are reading since our emotions are what make us human beings.

Meaghan Cook

11/14/2022 01:59:43 pm

From what we read about the International Baccalaureate Program at Brockton High School, it is clear that these students are encouraged to be creative and strive to produce their best work in every area. Poetry would likely be no exception. If I were to teach these specific eight poems, I would start by dividing the students into eight separate groups and have each group analyze one poem in the scope of traditional literary analysis. I would ask them to identify the message, or messages, the themes, the poetic devices, and the significance of the title chosen by the poet. Each group would also be responsible to find the connection that each poem has with certain historical or cultural issues, such as the murder of Eric Garner discussed in A Small Needful Fact. This would serve to connect students’ experiences with poetry and other writings with the world around them. Once each group has completed their analysis, I would then ask each group to present their findings to the rest of the class. In addition to the traditional analysis, these presentations would focus on the overall message of each poem, as well as the historical context. For those students who are viewing the presentation, I would ask them to identify the similarities and differences between each poem. I would also give each group time to answer questions posed by the other students regarding the poem, so that each student can come away from the assignment with an understanding of each poem.

At this point in the lesson, we would make a list on the board of the common themes, poetic devices, and messages across all eight poems. Once these things were identified, I would ask each student to write their own poems which they could turn into me privately. The poems would be distributed anonymously, with only me knowing the identities of each poet. The class would analyze each poem for the same literary themes, poetic devices, overall message, and historical or cultural significance. We would finish out the lesson by comparing and contrasting the usage of poetic devices by the published authors and the students, in order to provide a benchmark for how far the writers in the class have come in their writing journey.

As many of my classmates have pointed out, poetry can be a polarizing subject. Writing and sharing poetry also a very vulnerable act. By sharing these poems anonymously, as well as the whole class knowing that everyone is in the same boat as them, I would hope each student would feel comfortable getting creative and produce their best work, as is the expectation of their accelerated program.

Catie Mullen

11/15/2022 04:38:45 pm

Hi Meaghan! I love the creativity with your lesson on poetry. I especially like how you take a biographical/cultural standpoint to poetry, which is especially important. The students at this school are highly intelligent and have the tools to be successful, so allowing them to grow and challenge themselves is important in this lesson too. I think my favorite part of the lesson was writing the poems anonymously. Poem writing can be very intimidating and difficult for most people. Not everyone has a creative mind like others, so I think this gives everyone the opportunity for freedom and lifts anxiety. Last question: what do you mean by benchmark? How would you determine this benchmark?

Allie Gallahue

11/14/2022 05:20:53 pm

Reading and analyzing poetry can be extremely intimidating for high school students who have limited exposure to the literary genre. Without even trying to understand the poems, many students give up on them simply because they do not have a lot of experience with them, and this is largely due to the negative feelings that many people have regarding poetry. When I was in high school, my teachers would always tell me their own opinions about poetry, and those feelings were usually negative. They would say things like “I have always hated poetry” or “poetry isn’t my thing” or even “poetry is way too hard to understand.” Statements like these are the reason why many of my classmates hated poetry and never even gave the genre a fair chance. Because of this, I will start off each lesson that I teach by saying that poetry is nothing to be scared of. I would only speak positively about poetry as literature, regardless of my own opinions. This way, students are able to focus on their own thoughts, rather than simply agreeing with what I think and not engaging in the poetry because they are going into it with negative feelings. To teach the poems we focused on this week in class, I would split the class into groups and randomly assign one of the poems to each group. I would ask the students to analyze the poems together and share their opinions on the text. Then, the groups would split up and form secondary groups, with one person from each of the original groups in it. This way, the students could share a summary of the poem with their new group who did not read the same one, and they could share their thoughts and feelings with their new group and tell them something interesting that they learned about reading poetry.

Adam Fernandes

11/15/2022 04:07:28 am

I was afraid of poetry in high school, and it wasn't until college that I met a professor who taught me how to analyze poetry. So I fell more and more in love with poetry. When I think about it, I understand how it scares other high school students, so even in 12th grade I spend time learning how to analyze poetry effectively. In this course we will discuss how to teach on a path that Robert Frost did not choose. Since this poem is a progressive poem about making difficult decisions in life, it is especially suitable for graduate students.
Ask them to think about the first time they had to make a difficult decision as they wrote. I would ask them to explain the situation and tell me what decision they have made and whether they will regret it or accept it. I don't ask them to share it out loud because that might be too personal, but I will give them a choice if they want to. If this is the first poem of the term or the first poem we remember, share it with the class. If not, I let the students practice on their own. Anyway, I got a volunteer to read the poem to them and help them read each stanza. Then have them practice serious and active reading, reading each stanza, looking for poetic material and trying to understand what the speaker is trying to say.

celeste barbosa

11/15/2022 07:04:29 am

Hi Adam!
I think your incorporation of the Robert Frost poem is a very smart choice. These students are in their last year of high school and they are about to face some very real life decisions and choices, so giving them something they can relate to is so important and useful. I think your idea of breaking it up into each stanza is really important too, something that I think could benefit this class would maybe make it like a jigsaw activity. Break the students up into groups and then give them the task of actively reading one stanza. Have them pull apart the poetic materials and literary devices, and then once the class is done, they could all come together and have a class discussion as to what each group interpreted in their stanza. It would be a great close reading technique, and it would promote class community and discussion. Great response!

Maddy Ames

11/15/2022 02:14:01 pm

Hi Adam!

I loved how you brought up Robert Frost. He's one of my favorites.
I think that your practical discussion leading into the discussion about poetry is so helpful for students. Poetry is one of those things that can feel overwhelming or even irrelevant to students, so showing them how to apply a poem to something they have all felt or experiences at one point is a great idea. I think that taking any chance we get as future teachers to draw parallels from the print on paper to the lives unfolding in front of our students is really important. It can help create a feeling of ownership and makes their learning personal, rather than something passive and removed from them.

Samantha Tyrrell

11/15/2022 04:58:12 am

Poetry can be a tough genre to teach to high schoolers. Many struggle with analyzes the meanings of poems, especially short ones, like I did. I would open the unit by asking the students their thoughts and concerns about starting a poetry unit. I would hopefully address their concerns by reassuring them that we will spend some time analyzing poetry together. First I would start by reading a poem to the class. Then I would ask the class to analyze it line-by-line. This exercise would show them what I am looking for in an analysis. Then I would break the class into groups, and give them each a poem to analyze. Each group would then present their ideas to the class.

Megan Keller

11/15/2022 02:07:34 pm

Hi Samantha!

When I was reading your response, I really enjoyed seeing that you added your own personal experiences to your activity. I like how you are allowing your students to express their own thoughts and concerns on poetry before even starting the work. This will definitely help you as their educator to understand where their heads are at. In terms of the activity itself, I was wondering if there was some type of way to make this more interactive than simply having a group presentation? How could students work on poetry in a more interactive and open space? Overall though, I loved your ideas, they were very well developed.

Celeste Barbosa

11/15/2022 06:57:54 am

When I think of poetry, I always think of my 12th grade AP Literature class and how this is where my love for poetry and poetry analysis started, however, this is not something that can be felt by all students. Sometimes poetry can feel very daunting or boring because of its complex nature or poor choice of poetry selection. When looking at poetry, I believe that since this topic is so vulnerable and can be emotionally driven, it is important to give students the choice of what poem they want to focus on to analyze. Giving students the choice of what poem to look at will help students create a connection to the poem, which will impact their desire to write and quality of writing as well.

Looking specifically at Brockton students, it is clear they have a very diverse population, so I feel as though the best way to spark students interest in poetry and engaging with poetry would be through the incorporation of multicultural authors. I think giving students a total of five poems by different authors will allow students to create interest in what they are reading while also creating a deeper connection to the text at hand.

Before students pick the poem that they want to engage with, we would begin the TP-CASTT method, which is an acronym that stands for title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shift, title (again), and theme. We would look at a poem as a class and go through the TP-CASTT method and engage step by step with the poem. After we finish this as a class, students will be asked to dissect their poem independently. Once they are done with their independent annotation, we will split into groups based on the poems that were chosen. Students will be asked to discuss what they annotated and how they feel about the poem. After they complete their discussion, they will create a poster with their group analyzing the poem. They would copy the poem onto their poster and annotate it just like they did on their paper. Each student would be asked to participate and make their annotations known by using different color markers. They would then have to write a short summary on the poster that they came up with as a group. They would present it to the class so all the students can see how their classmates annotated and felt connected to the other poems. After this activity, we would begin writing a real literary analysis on a different poem. This would only be day one of the poetry unit, so they will just receive their poem and begin annotating, but the weeks that follow would revolve around writing their literary analysis.

Megan Keller

11/15/2022 02:04:09 pm

When it comes to the idea of poetry as an overall unit, I think it is important to recognize that some students will like this unit, while others will not. With this in mind, I know I want to make this unit interactive and fun for my students. I felt that all the poems read this week fit the level of my students I am teaching and can be used on the assignment I am offering my students. After reading about the IB program, it is clear that a lot of the assignments are focused on creativity and the ability to express themselves through education. With this in mind, I will use a past poetry activity I did in English class in my own high school experience.

To begin, I will have my students read all the poems assigned for this week and then we will openly discuss themes, figurative language and so on. I will also display a powerpoint on some of the terms discussed within this discussion so students can gain a bit more knowledge. After all this is done, I am going to hand out paint swatches I had previously had. Hardware stores such as Lowes or Home Depot allow for individuals to take a swatch with the title of the color on the piece of paper. After all the colored paper is handed out, I will ask students to write a poem on the back of their swatch about their personal swatch they received. This allows students the chance to practice poetry skills while still having fun and being able to connect their poem to the color or title of the color they have received.

Maddy Ames

11/15/2022 02:10:04 pm

When I was in high school, I vividly remember DREADING any sort of poetry unit. I felt in over my head and didn't understand why I needed to care about any of it, if I'm honest. I found poetry confusing and it felt above me. As I got older, and had more and more teachers who honest to God cared about poetry, my heart towards it changed too.

I think in my own classroom, I would start by acknowledging some of the concerns I had as a student learning how to read and interpret poetry. I would open up a space for my students to express concerns or even their dislike, but make them include a "why" behind the statements they make- not just an "I hate it" without reason.

Then, I would try to include poetry from all different authors and all different time periods- from Shakespeare's to Maya Angelou to Edgar Allan Poe to Rupi Kaur- my hope would be to showcase many voices and styles so that my students could begin to see themselves reflected in at least one of the authors we looked at. Furthermore, I would encourage them to explore different styles of poetry that are less daunting, such as a haiku or diamante poem. My hope would be to make poetry accessible to them and something that they feel empowered to read and eventually replicate.

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 01:25:12 pm

Hi Maddy,

I enjoyed reading your post and I can relate to having a really difficult time with poetry in high school, it was definitely a struggle. I really liked how you would incorporate various poems from different time periods, cultures, and topics. This will allow your students to have a better understanding when it comes to learning about multiple types of poetry. I think that students being able to find a connection within at least one of the poems you teach is very important as well.

Lucienne Quirk

11/15/2022 04:05:45 pm

For a high-achieving twelfth grade class of students, teaching poetry at Brockton High could be a rewarding experience for the whole classroom. According to the IBP’s description of the English course, it seems that a cultivation of an appreciation for literature is at the its core. I want students to gain a special connection with poetry– seeing it as a form of expression and a reflection of the human experience.
To achieve this end, I would first want students to find poetry that is truly meaningful to them. Just like we had for this week, I'd like students to pick a poem they gravitated to the most.
This won’t work unless I deliberately model what it’s like to read a poem. Slowness is key– mindfulness is key. So many students have unfortunately been taught to skim, to open tabs, to copy-paste– to gain information the fastest way possible– not the most meaningful way. I want my twelfth graders to get real slow. I mean like writing the poem by hand on a separate piece of paper. And taking a bag of words and re-assembling the poem, word by word. Sounds like a boring pain in the ass, I’m sure, but that’s what we’re geared to think in a society so fast paced that slowing down is uncomfortable, skin-crawling even. I want to make students comfortable with slowing down. We’ll play music. We’ll sit with the text– really give it a chance.
After some intensive care and thoughtful reading, I would love for students to make a collage of what the poem makes them feel– I think so much of the impact of poetry is a non-verbal happening, much like art– and this would help them get out their ideas on the page, unencumbered by language. Once they’ve done their collages, I’d love for students to let them sit in a drawer for a week before taking them out again, and reflecting on them: what seems to be the images or emotions that come to you when you read this poem? How does this collage represent a sort of mind map? Can you connect certain impressions you got from the poem to a specific line? A word?
I would end a unit on poetry, of course, by having students produce their own poetry and presenting all of it in one class. Our classroom will become a “Poetry Cafe”. We’ll dim the lights, be funny, snap when people are done. And I want to give students a real shot at it and make it matter– instead of it being some silly thing we do to cap everything off. I want the kids to be drafting their poems from day one. Really. And then revising it over and over, incorporating things they liked from other poems, things they’ve learned in the class through self-reflection and lecture. I want them to write their poems three times on separate pieces of paper, to make doodles out of their poems, to carry their poems home with them and hold tight to their impetus to start– that seed of an emotion that demanded growth on a page, that needed water, care, time to grow– I always think of “Kitchenette Building” by Gwendolyn Brooks as a perfect example of making a poem– “Even if we were willing to let it in,/
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean, / Anticipate a message, let it begin?”.

Catie Mullen

11/15/2022 04:33:16 pm

Poetry is a tricky topic to teach, no matter the age. I always found that with poetry you were either good at it or you weren't. I always felt ashamed when I was an in an English class and I interpreted the text completely different than how another student interpreted it. However, I feel that is how you learn. You need to be in the right, comfortable setting to learn poetry. You need to be able to build off of other people's interpretations and ideas.

There are many different ways teachers can go with poetry. To this particular demographic in the 12th grade Literature course that meets the outcomes for International Baccalaureate Programme, it seems that these students are open to being challenged and have the technology at this school to support their learning. The eight poems we looked at this week in our English 344 course all have themes that pertain to young adults. These are themes that young adults can relate to and build off of. By the time students are in 12th grade, they should have at least some experience with poetry. Although, to begin teaching the lesson, we will spend one to two class periods going over basic entities of poetry (ie., figures of speech, themes, lines). I would start by having the class read the eight poems for homework. These are quick poems, so it isn't too big of an assignment. Then, during class we will have poems to refer to and discuss when we are talking about the basics of poetry. One thing I find to be really powerful in English courses is discussion and breaking students out into groups to find commonalities within their thoughts and different ways that they perceived a writing piece from another student. These students would then be broken off into their own literacy circle groups to research poems according to the specific theme their group was assigned. For instance, groups may be assigned to themes such as trauma, coming of age, rebellion, grief, and friendship. They would analyze the poem on their own and then discuss their analyses as a group. From there, these literacy circle groups would come together to write their own poem based on their theme to share with the class.

I am not always a big fan of doing a lot of group work, but when it comes to poetry, where most people tend to struggle, I think collecting thoughts as a group would be beneficial in learning from each other.

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 01:21:24 pm

Hi Catie!

I enjoyed reading your response and I think you offer really good and helpful ideas for the classroom! I agree that group work can be really beneficial when it comes to poetry. It allows students to hear other interpretations of themes and main ideas. It can be helpful too and students will be able to notice things that they may not have while reading the poem on their own. Great job!

Chloe Tavernier

11/16/2022 08:04:10 am

A new friend, yet as if from times of yore
How I wish our story could have begun there
Imagine all the nights of tale-telling, their mystery enthralling
Stars shine upon our meeting, the sky embellished with pearls twinkling
From the joys of union we are awakening, our dreams inlaid with moonlit dews shimmering

Linnea Fawkes

11/16/2022 01:15:54 pm

I know that many students often struggle with reading and interpreting poetry. I was one of those students myself, even though I love all things English. Many students have difficulty finding the true meaning of the poem and what the grammar/sentence structure means in relation to the theme. There are still occasions now that I struggle with poetry, but I have grown a much deeper appreciation for it. That is what I would hope my students would develop over their academic years. I would tell my students that poetry is not easy, that it takes work, and time. Most students do not have the effort or yearn to do so, that's why it is important that students have the ability to choose poetry that is interesting for them and that they are able to create poems about anything they would like. The poems for this week were very compelling and can appeal to many different types of people from multiple age levels. If I were to do a poetry unit in my classroom, I would introduce a few poems that are relevant to this time period and a few classics. From this, we would compare modern day poetry to the first early forms of poetry. This would hopefully allow students to gain a deeper appreciation for poetry and realize that poetry can be written in so many forms. Evenuall after several classes looking at these poems, I would ask my students to write a poem themselves. I would allow them to have free range in this poem, letting them choose the topic, length, and style. I would encourage students to share their poems, but would never make it a requirement. If the poem could be sensitive to others, I would advise them to allow their classmates to know in advance.

Mary Viera

11/18/2022 07:18:19 pm

These selection of texts are strong enough to support a poetry unit because they offer a variety of topics and poets. This variety is important in fostering an understanding and appreciation of poetry in students new to the genre. Poetry is very personal and emotional, and in order for students to be interested in it they must be able to find a connection to it. I would start with having the whole class read one of the poems together as a group silently, and then I would read it aloud to see the different effect that it has. We would discuss casually as a group if any feelings came up or if anyone felt any connections or related to it. I would then provide a brief overview of the poet’s life or maybe provide an interview of the poet describing the creation process in order to demonstrate to students how the poetry is personal to the poet but yet is also a strong way to emotionally connect with others. Poetry is shared humanity. I would have mini-lessons for each poem. Maybe focusing on how form informs content, or how different readings of poetry aloud affect the meaning. Each time we read a new poem, however, we would follow up with a class discussion sharing our thoughts. After reading it I would encourage students to write down a few thoughts (so those that don’t like to share in front of the class can still have a chance to share their thoughts). The purpose of this is encourage students to begin to think about how they relate to poetry. Hopefully they will realize throughout the readings that there are some poems they relate to and some that they don’t. Because they are high achieving readers and writers I would then want to challenge them with an assignment that requires them to choose the poem that they connect to the most and do some deep analysis to discover what it is that is so effective in the poem.

Allison Raposo

12/5/2022 05:47:06 am

Mary,
I really enjoyed your point about how you think poetry is a shared humanity, I think that it makes poetry extremely personal. I also will be including mini-lessons in my unit plan on the different types of poetry which I think is beneficial for students that struggle with poetry.

Allison Raposo

12/5/2022 05:36:26 am

As a student I had always hated poetry and was never successful when attempting to write it. I was always overwhelmed by the rules and different types of poems there could be, and remembering how to distinguish one from the other. As a future educator I will teach poetry very differently than how I was taught at a young age.
I will create a unit that focuses entirely on poetry, with each lesson plan identifying a different type of poetry. By dedicating entire lesson plans to the different types of poetry, students will feel more confident when writing their own and analyzing any that I give to them. I will introduce each type of poetry that I be teaching by having them take notes on it first. I will use the whiteboard to write the definition of the type of poetry, then I will show them a short example on the projector and ask them questions about it. These questions will include identification of form, content, and poetry rules. After a few of these practice poems on the board, I will give them a handout with a poem on it for them to annotate the form. The next lesson will indicate how to analyze the poem, which is where I will break down a small poem on the board line by line. I will then ask them questions about each line, and what they think the deeper meaning is.

Poetry & the Student Writer

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