This is a practical guide for teachers of middle-school students that provides clear and fully-developed lesson plans and activities that use the teaching of poetry reading and writing as a vehicle for developing students¿ own creativity and appreciation for diversity.
This is a practical guide for teachers of middle-school students that provides clear and fully-developed lesson plans and activities that use the teaching of poetry reading and writing as a vehicle for developing students' own creativity and appreciation for diversity.
PrefaceIntroductionPoetry and A Few Hot TopicsPart I: Reading PoemsA Creative Environment: What It Means and How To Get ItAn Initial Classroom Activity: The Appointment BookLesson 1: Becoming an Active ReaderLesson 2: Understanding the Central MetaphorLesson 3: Literary Terms and Devicesa.Ironyb.ToneA Classroom TestLesson 4: Personificationa.Personificationb.More on PersonificationLesson 5: Standardized TestingLesson 6: Two Poems, Side By SideLesson 7: Other PoemsLesson 8: One More Favorite¿Building Confidence: Homework and FeedbackWriting Assignments and Poet ProjectTechnology, Multimedia, and TeamworkMore on Student AssessmentsPart II: Writing PoemsA Creative Environment for WritingWriting Poems: An Initial ExerciseWeek 1: HaikuWeek 2: CinquainWeek 3: TankaWeek 4: Event PoemWeek 5: List PoemWeek 6: Pastoral PoemWeek 7: Blues PoemWeek 8: SestinaWeek 9 and 10: Free VerseFinal Poetry Project, Class Anthology¿ and a Coffee House!Other Considerations for TeachersConclusionSelections LicensedAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author