Poetry has always been an important feature in my life and I have been writing poetry since I was 11 years of age. My experience with poetry has also included me having to teach it to my students and getting them interested by showing them that many of the songs they sing are just poems themselves. Still, I could not figure out why poetry was so important since I did not see what it contributed to the world or any soceity than just personal expression. This chapter illustrated it perfectly when it stated that poems are words that convey an image through rhythmic ,repeetitive speech and sometimes interesting shapes. A poem can convey the feelings, tell a story, teach a lesson, give directions, and entertain in a few lines or many. There is such a vareity of poems as well from the musically inclined lyric and ballad poetry to the more playful nonsense, limmerick, and humrous poems. Poems have been used by many to convey feelings on every matter possible from romance to nature and can be a valuable teaching tool for children today.
Some very creative ideas were presented such as having students dramatize the plays they read and encounter to various ways of choral speaking that can actively involved students in reciting and learning plays. Showing students plays that correlate to what they are learning can also be an interesting way to get them interested in poetry and showing poems that reflect a variety of situations and feelings such as a poem titled "School is Bore, Cannot take anymore" can also interest children in poetry.
Personally, I had never really thought of presenting poems in shapes but, that could be a great idea. In my classroom I do not use poetry nearly as much as I could but, the few assignments I have done with poetry the kids have loved. Once my students did acrostic poems, I did their first names and listed admirable qualities about them and then had them all go online to virtual dictionaries and thesaruses to find "big" words to use to describe themselves. Some of them ended up with words such as "ennoble" and "bodacious". After they placed it on paper they transferred it to a vanilla folder with their first name to the top and their last name to the bottom. They were able to decorate it how they pleased and I then laminated it, took photos of it, and told them to always strive to live up to those qualities as I definitely pray they all will. Another assignment that my students did involving poetry was to have them design a song, recite the poem without a beat, and then devise a beat for it. That really helped them to remember the parts of a poem then. What really sticks with me from this reading is the listing of just a few poems out of many that can be linked with topics from math, language arts, science, and social studies. It would be so cool to find poems that can help teach students techniques and concepts they need to learn.
Does anyone else here have any experiences with poems?
Linda Smith I found the chapter interesting because it states that Poetry is not easily defined, measured, or classified. This being said, it has certain characteristics that make it what it is. Poetry has rhythm, meter, form, and often rhyme. It has expression of emotion and it uses words playfully and creatively. Poetry can be described as many things; it takes an individual perspective to see what it means to you. Probably the definition that I appreciate the most in the chapter is that of Michael Bedard’s from the book Emily, in which the father in the story defined poetry for his daughter. He says that “You can’t explain it; it’s a mystery. Well, when words do that (send shivers up your spine like the mother’s music), we call it poetry”.
I have always enjoyed poetry and I am a huge believer that it should be integrated into the classroom as much as possible. There are so many ways to use poetry in so many different subjects. A teacher could use them in the gym while skipping rope, using acrostic poems to learn about your students, seasonal writing projects, and so much more. I remember doing diamantes, cinquains, and acrostic poems in early elementary school. I really enjoyed them. I think that because these have guidelines they are easier for students to do. I like the suggestion in the book of using photography to provide the visual images and details so the students can then come up with the words. This is a good idea and I would take it one step further. I would choose a book that we are discussing, show it, and then have the students write a poem about what they have learned or retell the story.
My fondest memory of poetry involves my grandmother reciting poems to me when she babysat me as a child. She would sit on my twin sister and my bed and say poems from memory. Often times she would tell Mother Goose stories as well. Jack Prelutsky is mentioned in the chapter and I think his work is amazing. I also like Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. I remember the first time I read these and I was hooked. Anything by Shel Silverstein is good I think. I think it is a teachers job to make sure that interest in poetry does not fade away as children grow. If it is integrated into the classroom in creative ways we can show children the wonder of it and all it can bring to their lives.
In the first grade we have a writing center and children can use this area to create during center time. In the center there are suggested activities to try. One example is when we study Johnny Appleseed, a paper book shaped like an apple is in the center and the student can create their own. Inside the apple I often have a poem already written so they can practice their writing skills on thier own lined paper. Then I also have word lists so that if the child wants to write their own poem they can. This is just one way to incorporate poems in the lower elementary grades.
That sounds very fun, your assignment with the students finding a poem inside of the apple and then devising their own. It seems that because of the rhythm and repetitious nature of poems that kids seem to love them until they hit around the 5th grade and their interest seems to decline. Now, I see why. Poetry, like all other subjects, in order to gain the students' attention needs to show that it is relevant and useful to them in their lives.
That is why I showed students the link between poetry and genres of music since that was the only way I could think of getting them all interested and for some of them the interest continued. One girl wrote a poem about whatever issue she was doing and she was so good at it that I provided with contact information to this company that helps individuals get their written work published. She wrote about feeling lonely, the beauty of nature, the relatively cheerful mood of the holidays, and so forth. She really realized that poetry is the power of words through structure. This chapter has caused me to see that in literally every assignment I can include poetry to some extent and kids love expressing how they feel especially at the 11-14 year old it really gets interesting. From my experience that age group loves having their "say" and if they know that poetry will be the only way then I am sure they will naturally take more of an interest in the activity.
Admittedly, I am not much of a fan of poetry. However, I understand, that at a young age, the speech patterns in simple rhymes are essential to the development of strong language skills. While the words Dr. Suess writes may feel like tongue twisters sometimes, they are playing an important part in the language development of children.
Selecting poetry for children I found that there were so many elements to look at. The rhymes, sound patterns, repitiion, were all things that I failed, before, to consider independently as parts of a poem.
As I read through the chapter, I elected to speak many of the poems out loud -- and, to my amazement, I actually had fun. Sometimes it was tough, sometimes I found another meaning in a poem I'd read a thousand times, and sometimes I was left scratching my head. But saying the silly rhymes was an enjoyable experience for me. I think it adds an element of imagination that all words in poetry do not have to be words. I think of Shel Silverstein, many of his poems had made up words, but I so dearly loved them because they told a special story. Also, poetry verbalizes sounds in such a way that makes everyday noises seems an intereting part of the story the poem is telling.
Gregg, I agree with you. I think poetry can move from silly rhymes to help you with vocabulary at a young age to a seriously expressive form of the written word as you move through life. I know that writing poetry is something that many teenagers do to express themselves. Sometimes through poems, sometimes through song, sometimes through rap -- but it boils down to the same concept. Annie
I like poetry and i believe it is something that should be practiced more in schools. it is such an easy way to express yourself and to center yourself. i find it very relaxing. i really like reviewing the different types of poetry. i also feel that they aren't stressed enough in schools.
in response to raechelb. i also agree that poetry could be a great and usefull way to help children learn nouns and other parts of grammer but i think it could be applied to other area's too. i remember in science class i could make up stories or poems to memorize terms that i needed to know for tests.
7 comments:
Poetry has always been an important feature in my life and I have been writing poetry since I was 11 years of age. My experience with poetry has also included me having to teach it to my students and getting them interested by showing them that many of the songs they sing are just poems themselves. Still, I could not figure out why poetry was so important since I did not see what it contributed to the world or any soceity than just personal expression. This chapter illustrated it perfectly when it stated that poems are words that convey an image through rhythmic ,repeetitive speech and sometimes interesting shapes. A poem can convey the feelings, tell a story, teach a lesson, give directions, and entertain in a few lines or many. There is such a vareity of poems as well from the musically inclined lyric and ballad poetry to the more playful nonsense, limmerick, and humrous poems. Poems have been used by many to convey feelings on every matter possible from romance to nature and can be a valuable teaching tool for children today.
Some very creative ideas were presented such as having students dramatize the plays they read and encounter to various ways of choral speaking that can actively involved students in reciting and learning plays. Showing students plays that correlate to what they are learning can also be an interesting way to get them interested in poetry and showing poems that reflect a variety of situations and feelings such as a poem titled "School is Bore, Cannot take anymore" can also interest children in poetry.
Personally, I had never really thought of presenting poems in shapes but, that could be a great idea. In my classroom I do not use poetry nearly as much as I could but, the few assignments I have done with poetry the kids have loved. Once my students did acrostic poems, I did their first names and listed admirable qualities about them and then had them all go online to virtual dictionaries and thesaruses to find "big" words to use to describe themselves. Some of them ended up with words such as "ennoble" and "bodacious". After they placed it on paper they transferred it to a vanilla folder with their first name to the top and their last name to the bottom. They were able to decorate it how they pleased and I then laminated it, took photos of it, and told them to always strive to live up to those qualities as I definitely pray they all will. Another assignment that my students did involving poetry was to have them design a song, recite the poem without a beat, and then devise a beat for it. That really helped them to remember the parts of a poem then. What really sticks with me from this reading is the listing of just a few poems out of many that can be linked with topics from math, language arts, science, and social studies. It would be so cool to find poems that can help teach students techniques and concepts they need to learn.
Does anyone else here have any experiences with poems?
Linda Smith
I found the chapter interesting because it states that Poetry is not easily defined, measured, or classified. This being said, it has certain characteristics that make it what it is. Poetry has rhythm, meter, form, and often rhyme. It has expression of emotion and it uses words playfully and creatively. Poetry can be described as many things; it takes an individual perspective to see what it means to you. Probably the definition that I appreciate the most in the chapter is that of Michael Bedard’s from the book Emily, in which the father in the story defined poetry for his daughter. He says that “You can’t explain it; it’s a mystery. Well, when words do that (send shivers up your spine like the mother’s music), we call it poetry”.
I have always enjoyed poetry and I am a huge believer that it should be integrated into the classroom as much as possible. There are so many ways to use poetry in so many different subjects. A teacher could use them in the gym while skipping rope, using acrostic poems to learn about your students, seasonal writing projects, and so much more.
I remember doing diamantes, cinquains, and acrostic poems in early elementary school. I really enjoyed them. I think that because these have guidelines they are easier for students to do. I like the suggestion in the book of using photography to provide the visual images and details so the students can then come up with the words. This is a good idea and I would take it one step further. I would choose a book that we are discussing, show it, and then have the students write a poem about what they have learned or retell the story.
My fondest memory of poetry involves my grandmother reciting poems to me when she babysat me as a child. She would sit on my twin sister and my bed and say poems from memory. Often times she would tell Mother Goose stories as well.
Jack Prelutsky is mentioned in the chapter and I think his work is amazing. I also like Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. I remember the first time I read these and I was hooked. Anything by Shel Silverstein is good I think.
I think it is a teachers job to make sure that interest in poetry does not fade away as children grow. If it is integrated into the classroom in creative ways we can show children the wonder of it and all it can bring to their lives.
In the first grade we have a writing center and children can use this area to create during center time. In the center there are suggested activities to try. One example is when we study Johnny Appleseed, a paper book shaped like an apple is in the center and the student can create their own. Inside the apple I often have a poem already written so they can practice their writing skills on thier own lined paper. Then I also have word lists so that if the child wants to write their own poem they can. This is just one way to incorporate poems in the lower elementary grades.
Linda,
That sounds very fun, your assignment with the students finding a poem inside of the apple and then devising their own. It seems that because of the rhythm and repetitious nature of poems that kids seem to love them until they hit around the 5th grade and their interest seems to decline. Now, I see why. Poetry, like all other subjects, in order to gain the students' attention needs to show that it is relevant and useful to them in their lives.
That is why I showed students the link between poetry and genres of music since that was the only way I could think of getting them all interested and for some of them the interest continued. One girl wrote a poem about whatever issue she was doing and she was so good at it that I provided with contact information to this company that helps individuals get their written work published. She wrote about feeling lonely, the beauty of nature, the relatively cheerful mood of the holidays, and so forth. She really realized that poetry is the power of words through structure. This chapter has caused me to see that in literally every assignment I can include poetry to some extent and kids love expressing how they feel especially at the 11-14 year old it really gets interesting. From my experience that age group loves having their "say" and if they know that poetry will be the only way then I am sure they will naturally take more of an interest in the activity.
Gregg
Admittedly, I am not much of a fan of poetry. However, I understand, that at a young age, the speech patterns in simple rhymes are essential to the development of strong language skills. While the words Dr. Suess writes may feel like tongue twisters sometimes, they are playing an important part in the language development of children.
Selecting poetry for children I found that there were so many elements to look at. The rhymes, sound patterns, repitiion, were all things that I failed, before, to consider independently as parts of a poem.
As I read through the chapter, I elected to speak many of the poems out loud -- and, to my amazement, I actually had fun. Sometimes it was tough, sometimes I found another meaning in a poem I'd read a thousand times, and sometimes I was left scratching my head. But saying the silly rhymes was an enjoyable experience for me. I think it adds an element of imagination that all words in poetry do not have to be words. I think of Shel Silverstein, many of his poems had made up words, but I so dearly loved them because they told a special story. Also, poetry verbalizes sounds in such a way that makes everyday noises seems an intereting part of the story the poem is telling.
Gregg,
I agree with you. I think poetry can move from silly rhymes to help you with vocabulary at a young age to a seriously expressive form of the written word as you move through life. I know that writing poetry is something that many teenagers do to express themselves. Sometimes through poems, sometimes through song, sometimes through rap -- but it boils down to the same concept.
Annie
I like poetry and i believe it is something that should be practiced more in schools. it is such an easy way to express yourself and to center yourself. i find it very relaxing. i really like reviewing the different types of poetry. i also feel that they aren't stressed enough in schools.
in response to raechelb.
i also agree that poetry could be a great and usefull way to help children learn nouns and other parts of grammer but i think it could be applied to other area's too. i remember in science class i could make up stories or poems to memorize terms that i needed to know for tests.
Post a Comment