Each teacher has a favorite. Favorite subject, favorite activity, favorite lesson. Three years ago I started one of my favorites. Each year we start January with “Where I’m From”. The students reflect on where they are from and what makes them who they are. While reflecting on themselves and where they are from, students can focus […]
Poetry Month
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Reverse Poetry
I stumbled upon “Mirror Mirror” and “Follow Follow” in the Scholastic book order this past month. Being a lover of fairy tales I added them to my cart. I was happily surprised and amazed as I read these reversible verse poems. We had viewed one in church, but I did not realize it was a […]
Posted inFine Arts, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
April is Poetry Month: "Look in Thy Heart and Write!"
April is Poetry Month. What should you do about this? Take advice from Sir Philip Sidney and “Look in thy heart and write.” Sidney composed “An Apology for Poetry” (Defence of Poesie) in 1575, and in this essay he maintains poetry combines the liveliness of history with philosophy; this combination is more effective than either history or philosophy in inspiring readers. According to Sidney, poetry […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
A Poem for National Poetry Month
Teachers, I beg you to help me show them: All students deserve the benefits of a poem; You don’t have to teach English to know That students learn from the form and flow That only a poem can provide. Indeed, our creativity comes alive Whenever we’re forced to reason and rhyme; It doesn’t matter which […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Celebrate National Poetry Month – Summarize With a Poem
Teachers of all subjects, grades, and walks of life Don’t treat poetry like you’re holding a knife! This is Poetry month – help it to come alive By using poetry to summarize! How can you use poetry in class this month? Just a few suggestions: Have students work vocabulary words into a poem Have students […]
Posted inFeatured, Literacy, Middle School, Social Studies
The Poet Reminds Me
The month of April is a perfect time to to give attention to poetry. A middle school colleague and poet urged me to give some undivided attention to this often waylaid genre. My first email response was to do no more than to consider it but then I took a big breath and sent a […]