Teaching the Language Arts: Weeks 6

Week 6: Poetry!

Hello all, we did not have a weekly post for week 5, so I will be giving some insight into some of the things we have been doing and will be doing.  First, I want to share with you my poetry reflection.  This is my initial thoughts to poetry before completing my reading and class discussions over the next week!

Poetry Reflection:

1. My personal feelings about reading poetry:

   1. I believe poetry is beautiful, hut I struggle with analyzing poetry when I am asked to read it. Therefore, I will say that I enjoy reading poetry… on my own terms.

2. My personal feeling about writing poetry:

   1. Writing poetry has become less threatening in college, since most of my professors have made so that I was not graded on my poetry writing skills, thank goodness! I actually enjoy writing poetry now when I have time to sit down and really think about it.

3. My personal feelings about teaching poetry:

   1. Teaching poetry scares me a little bit. I remember hating poetry as a kid, and I want to teach poetry in a way that is not so scary or threatening to my students. I have only ever taught acrostic poetry, as a review lesson to a second grade class, so I look forward to learning more about how to teach poetry this semester.

4. My Criteria for a “really good poem”:

   1. My criteria for a “really good poem” is based off a fear of poetry that I had up until recently:

      • must be very ”deep” and have a lot of meaning behind it

      • doesn’t always have to rhyme but yet if it still sounds sophisticated, then it’s nice if it does

      • shorter poems (haiku, 6-word memoir, etc.) are way too challenging and must have an even more of a “deep” meaning than a long, narrative style poem.

5. How will I create a poetry environment in my classroom?:

   1. To be honest, I’m not sure how to create a poetry environment in my classroom, but I know that I want it to feel safe, and out of the way of criticism. I hope to foster a creative nature in which the students can experiment, get helpful (not hurtful) feedback, and have many chances for revision.

The book, Awakening the Heart by Georgia Heard gives many tips on how to teach poetry in the classroom.  One part that I found very helpful was that it walks teachers through how to set up a classroom environment that supports the students as poets.  Not only does Heard give up many different stations we can set up in our classrooms, she also gives instructions that teachers can give to their students, either in their own words, or directly from her book.  Heard focuses a lot of the reading of poetry, which is a crucial to learning to write poetry.  Because of a class assignment we are beginning to work on for class, and this book, I now know about self-portrait anthologies.  I have read so many poems in the past that I relate to, without writing them down.  Now that I am working on finding poems I relate to, I am struggling.  This project has convinced me to never pass by another poem I relate to without writing it down.  Creating a project like this in my classroom can give students a library of poems to return to as mentor texts when they begin writing their own poems.  As I complete this project, I will learn more about the process of it and I will most definitely have my future students complete a self-portrait anthology project.

Heart also discussed “where poems hide” in her book.  I am still struggling to figure out where my poems hide, because I do not write poetry on a regular basis.  My goal for the next few weeks is to look for my poetry inspirations, or where my poetry “hides.”  So far, I am finding that I am the most inspired (for any kind of writing) is in nature, and when surrounded by my loved ones (fiancé and other family members).   I look forward to learning more poetry writing skills that I can practice and teach my students to practice.

Source:

Heard, G. (1999). Awakening the heart: Exploring poetry in elementary and middle school.   Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.