Ms. Smith said this is one of her favorite lessons because it is “so fun to see the understanding unfold” as the students walk. “This allows students to physically understand the pace and movement of the poem, which they didn’t understand the first time they read it, but if they just sat at their desk and read the poem aloud. i didn’t understand.”
Amanda Gorman’s “New Day Lyrics”
smith teaches this poem Right after winter break. “Gorman wrote this song as a New Year’s poem, so it’s perfect for the start of a new school year as we reset ourselves with purpose and hope while questioning our past mistakes,” she said.
The poem deals with themes such as coming to terms with the past, unity, hope, and healing, and incorporates various literary devices. “This poem gives students the opportunity to witness wordplay and mastery of language,” Smith said. “By having students notice the nuances of Gorman’s craft, they are witnessing how poetry ‘works.’
Ms. Smith asks her students to highlight specific literary elements with designated colors. create a work of art based on a poem. Gorman himself praises the lessons on X.
“Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo
“Acevedo succeeds in teaching history and the wisdom of her ancestors in this poem about her own hair (and experiences with it), which is part of the heritage of every African woman. ” he said. Julia Torresa librarian in the Denver metropolitan area. “Her poetry is both intimate and universal, expressing the rebirth of the self in a world that constantly forces black women to seek ‘beauty’ and betray themselves.”
Professor Torres said the poem is valuable in teaching metaphor and symbolism, “abstract language that is difficult for students to understand.” Acevedo also uses juxtaposition in the poem. Torres shared two examples of student responses to the poem.
“Personally I’m not a person of color, but I know how important hair is to this culture. She takes great pride in her hair because this is a big part of her.” It’s curly and has great texture. In my mind, she doesn’t feel the need to hide it.
“Confidence always makes you proud of the state of your life.” –DN
Sonia Sanchez’s “This is Not a Small Voice”
Adrian NybauerColorado 5th graders love this “short and powerful” piece. poem. Neibauer said the students are not yet teenagers and are “often seen as young children who don’t have an opinion of their own.” The poem’s themes of voice and activity encourage them to find their own voice. “Students can easily relate to the themes of humanity, the power of their voice, and activism,” Neibauer said.
This poem also provides examples for teaching anaphora. “I like Sanchez’s use of repetition, which helps students with poetic fluency,” Neibauer said.
“Wild Horses” by Paisley Rekdal
Referring to another work that deals with the theme of activism, Neibauer said:wild horse” is “an excellent introduction to the more challenging subject of suffrage and protest.” It is written from the perspective of Seraph Young Fordthe first woman to have the right to vote in Utah and the modern nation, and you should educate yourself about her in advance, as well as the history of suffrage and Native Americans.
“This is a more challenging poem, but students respond well to the historical significance of the poem,” said Nybauer, who paired it with a Rolling Stones song. song of the same name I enjoy discussing both images. The poem also includes a wealth of vocabulary for young readers, such as “acculturation.”
“A Bird Made of Birds” by Sarah Kay
“The heart, care and precision of the imagery in this poem will always stay with me,” he said. RA VillanuevaSarah Lawrence University Professor and middle school teacher. “There is a true dedication to the strangeness and sublime beauty of the world and a faith in perplexity as a spark of creativity.
Mr. Villanueva, himself a poet, told the students: TED talk In it, Kay explains her inspiration and performance of poetry. “Hearing the storytelling that flows into her performance sparked a wonderful conversation about the details of the catalytic forces that give poetry power,” Villanueva said. “And Birds Made of Birds can introduce (students) to ekphrasis/ekphrasis poetry because it is also an array of personal responses to different types of knowledge and visuals.”
Two visuals featured in Kay’s lecture and poem are the anatomical heart of a blue whale and the Starling’s tweet. Mr. Villanueva’s students look at a diagram showing the scale of a whale’s heart and watch a video of a starling tweeting. “Once you look at all these different layers together, something wonderful happens: you can write freely through the connections you discover, you can practice your annotation and note-taking skills, and you can apply basic craft vocabulary. ” he said.
“To Estefany Lora, the third grader who made me a card,” by Aracelis Gilmay.
The poem “pulsates with mystery and playfulness,” Villanueva said. In it, the writer attempts to decipher unrecognizable words on a hand-drawn card given to him by a young child. “It’s not just a description or a mere report on memory. She is able to convey the confusion of the imagination and the pure childlike joy when it connects with the affirmation of a former student. It is a hopeful, tender poem. ” Villanueva said.
His students, sixth graders and graduate students, first encountered this poem. reading animation video. “Hearing Aracelis Gilmay’s own voice, her own crescendos and pauses, helps enliven their poetic experience. They are free to participate in the suspense and celebrate the revelations with the speaker. We can,” Villanueva said.
Students then worked in small groups to read the printed copies and analyze Garmay’s unusual arrangement of lines and stanzas, expanded punctuation rules, and changes in rhythm. “How do we Stealing “It’s a musical note-like piece, and it’s about how onomatopoeia helps poets grapple with the sounds and meanings of the words they love,” Villanueva said. “The mix of laughter and close reading analysis is incredible.”
“One Vote” by Amy Nezukumatasil
This poem suggests that letter It was something Harry T. Byrne received from his mother just before the Tennessee General Assembly voted to ratify the 19th Amendment. susan barbera high school English teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, teaches this poem during the election period. All of her students are seniors, many of whom will have the opportunity to vote for the first time. For them, the poem “reinforces the idea that every vote, their vote, makes a difference,” Barber said.
Barber invites students to notice the poet’s use of couplet and stanza breaks and to unpack the metaphor of the eagle and the eagle learning how to fly. “I love how Nezhukumatathil looks to images of nature as a means of understanding ideas and everyday events,” she said.
“Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo
Barber said, describing the various life experiences that take place around the kitchen table. this poem There are many juxtapositions and contrasts that students can understand.
“I love the way Harjo measures life through common objects,” Barber said of the piece. Former United States Poet Laureate He was the first Native American to hold that title. “Students always enjoy this poem because everyone can relate to the experience at and around the table.”
Barber said the poem ties into the idea of ”breaking bread” and could lead to a discussion about the intimacy of eating together. She loves teaching it near the Thanksgiving holiday, when students are anticipating family gatherings at the kitchen table.
“The New National Anthem” by Ada Limón
Zack ZeierAn English teacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota said she loves it. this poem “We go back to the ‘classical’ text” – the national anthem. “It allows students in college preparatory courses to express their voices and feel like they belong. Their voices matter, too,” he said.
Czaia focuses on the diction of this poem. It uses an exercise from the Teach Living Poets website that asks students to make concentric circles on butcher paper and choose the most important word from the poem to center. The center circle lists images and personal connections to the central word, while the outer circle describes the poem’s overall meaning and theme.
“Students definitely responded positively to this poem and appreciated the connection to the history they had previously learned,” Zeier said.
“America Loves Me to Death” by Michael Clever Diggs
In this poem, Clever-Diggs openly expresses the pain of being black in America. And he’s in the middle of what Zeier calls “two very accessible, but formally interesting strategies.” The first letter is an acrostic and spells out the title of the poem. The last words of each line come from another text – the oath of allegiance. This latter form is called “.golden shovel poem” Written by poet Terrence Hayes and inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks.
“This attention to structure and pattern allows students to consider Cleverdigs’ deep critique of systemic racism in America,” Zeier said of the combination of acrostics and golden shovels.
Zeia uses “America Loves Me to Death” as an instructional text for students to write their own Golden Shovel poems. He said students loved the poem and some even wrote letters to Clever Diggs, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s located “across the river” from Zeia’s school. Zeia said Kleber-Diggs responds to these letters with students visiting his classes, something only a living poet can do.
Phil Kay’s “Camaro”
Brett Vogelsingera Pennsylvania English teacher and author of the following books: Poetry Pause: Using Poetry to Improve Students’ Writing Skills in All Genressaid the classroom became quiet after watching Kei’s performance. this spoken word poem. “Kay’s language adds an extra dimension to an already great language,” Vogelsinger said.
The poem weaves together memories from childhood unrequited love, long-ago expeditions, and encounters after a breakup. “This work speaks to how moments can stay with us for a long time, and reminds us how sadness and nostalgia can interact in memory,” Vogelsinger said. he said. “Students will explore how past memories from elementary school and more recent memories of the Camaro interact to influence the present moment, and how two people can experience the same moment. I love talking about how we remember (or forget) things differently and why.
Students can also analyze the poet’s use of repetition, flashbacks, imagery, and figurative language. And, Vogelsinger said, “I’m sure at least one student in your class will notice the sly allusion to ET!”
“Burning the Old Years” by Naomi Shihab Nye
As the name suggests, this is also a good one poem I will be teaching after winter break. “The images are clear and beautiful. It’s important to think about what to hold on to and what to let go of,” Vogelsinger said.
“The metaphor shines through in this poem,” Vogelsinger said. After reading the poem, students discuss the meaning of the two metaphors in the lines “Most of the year is flammable” and “There are few stones.” Then ask them to answer the following two questions in their notes.
What do you think is more flammable from last year?
What do you think a stone is?
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