Poetry: Tips to Enhance Literacy and Ignite Learning

MICHAEL STRICKLAND

Why read and write poetry? It is a worthy and important art form for anyone. However, poetry has often been pushed to the back of the list when all other writing is completed. We often don’t perceive poetry as a practical pursuit, but it can be the doorway into other areas of higher thinking and creativity.

Distance learning is here to stay, and poetry is a learned behavior. I love exploring online tools as I develop ways to support teachers, students, and library patrons at a distance. Over the past few years, I have often pondered ways to bring poetry and other literature into classrooms and libraries. I am constantly searching for ways to engage learners with words. How can we use methods that are physically interactive and philosophically reflective? The activities described here address all these goals and outcomes. Many of these strategies will work when teaching students in person, or remotely. Adjust accordingly.

Poetry is a terrific resource. Students as David Rickert (n.d.) writes in his article Why Poetry is Perfect for Remote Learning , “If you give a student a poem, especially a modern poem that isn’t out there on SparkNotes or Shmoop, they have to read it, can’t fake reading it, as teachers often see with novels. And then all you have to do is create activities that get them to analyze it” (“Students Can’t Fake Read Poetry”). Poems allow students to practice close reading. They are short and meant to be read over and over again. This makes the art form effective for developing reading fluency and comprehension.

The craft of writing words and the joy of reading them out loud allow people to feel empowered as writers and as readers. It offers an opportunity to frame the challenge of every writer. Reading poetry also has tremendous value. Writers need to write the words, but readers make them come to life. Poetry lends itself to being read aloud with powerful expression and deep feelings. There are rich aesthetics, such as those found in the poems of E.E. Cummings, in which the shapes are as important as the words themselves.

Teachers, try these engagements: Read a poem of the day to your students in-person or in a video you post. Choose something inspirational. Maybe something silly. Whatever you choose, your students will enjoy hearing your voice. Poetry allows you to connect with your students. In remote instruction or in person, sharing daily poetry may be a soothing way to begin each day in either a synchronous or self-guided format.

Play music. This usually works best with jazz, classical or other instrumentals without lyrics. Students can write words or phrases to describe the music.

Ask students to look up and find a favorite piece of visual art. Next, have them make a list of words to describe the artwork. Use the descriptive words to write a line or more of poetry using onomatopoeia, simile, personification, metaphor, oxymoron, or other figurative language. Ask them to write another line using different figurative language. Put all of the visuals on a screen or a whiteboard. Ask students to read the lines to a partner or the class who will try to guess the piece of art.

“Do a poem jigsaw,” says Peter Armenti (2015) in his article, Reading Poetry in the Classroom: Bell Ringers.

Hand each student one or two lines from a poem, depending on the length of the lines. Mix a few short poems through the class or give everyone an excerpt from the same long poem. (Students should not know how many different poems have been distributed.) After reading their line(s) and recording one or two sentences of reaction, ask students to move around the room to find someone else with lines from what they think is the same poem. They should sit together to discuss reasons why they believe the lines come from the same poem. (Armenti, 2015, “Poem Jigsaw”).

Inevitably, unless everyone in the class is working with the same poem, some students will partner with someone with lines from a different poem. They may or may not figure this out after taking a closer look. However, the most significant outcome of the activity is that students are discussing poetry in a meaningful way. Put the poems from the activity in a book for students to access in the classroom.

Encourage students to explore poems with which they will feel an affinity. Provide links to a wide range of poems and poets. Check out the Carney Sandoe Blog (Carney Sandoe & Associates, 2020) for some good sources. In addition to reading live, or recording a reading, you may ask students to write or record a reaction, focusing on why they found the poem appealing.

One way to do this is to have students read a poem three times, each time with a different color for annotation. That way you can see the development of ideas upon successive readings. And perhaps students will get the aha! moment that reading something a few times is a worthwhile thing to do.

Poems are easy to add to existing remote curriculum. Unlike contemporary literature, great poems are readily available online. All you have to do is provide students with a link. You can also copy the text and paste it into a document where they can annotate it or answer some questions. Poetry can easily be added to reading or writing units. For example, pick a classic young adult novel and google its name along with the words “poetry pairings.” You’ll find resources, ideas, connections, relationships and lesson plans. When writing a persuasive paper, have students analyze related poems for rhetorical strategies.

A poetry lover is a person who loves at least one poem, that’s all. It is as accessible as you want it to be. Poetry’s short and concise format is often more manageable, especially for people with writer’s block. Poetry’s range of subject matter is vast and varied and can help stimulate rich, precise, imaginative language. Through poetry, you can practice inferential thinking in text that is short yet filled with meaning. It can help you make a personal connection to those around you. Poetry can help create a more relaxed and positive atmosphere at home or in the workplace. It gives voice and emits a sense of the beauty and joy of being alive.

References

Armenti, P. (2015, March 25). Reading poetry in the classroom: Bellringers. From the catbird seat: Poetry at the Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/catbird/2015/03/readingpoetry-in-the-classroom-bell-ringers/?loc/r=blog

Rickert, D. (n.d.). Why poetry is perfect for remote learning. https://davidrickert.com/whypoetry-remotelearning

Sandoe, C., & Associates. (2020, April 3). Teaching poetry virtually in National Poetry Month. The Puzzle Blog. https://www.carneysandoe.com/blog-post/teaching-poetry-virtuallyin--national-poetry-month

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Strickland is an author and poet who teaches at Boise State University. He is founder and president of The Human Rights Collective, Inc.

Macaroni and Cheese (A poem for two voices) MARK WEAKLAND

Making macaroni and cheese...

...isabreeze.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3

It’saseasyas1,2,3

Step One: Macaroni.

StepTwo:Addthecheese.

Step Three: Serve yourself.

Hey,howaboutme?

Editors’ Note:

Oh.... yeah...

Serve each other!

Serveeachother!

This poem was originally selfpublished by the author in his poetry collection, The Delicious Chocolate Donut (and Other OffKilter Poems) (Weakland, 2011, March 20, p. 30, Happy Hummer Press). This poem is reproduced in MRA Today 2023 with permission from the author.

About the Author

Want some more?

Prettyplease!

Mark Weakland is a consultant, teacher, writer, and musician. The author of teacher resource books, award-winning writing and music projects, and more than 75 books for children, his latest book, How to Prevent Reading Difficulties, PreK-3 (2021) is published by Corwin. Visit his website (www.MarkWeaklandLiteracy. com); follow him on Twitter @ MarkWeakland.

Kicking Leaves

Patricia Crain De Galarce

One crisp fall day walking across Amherst Commons, Rick O’Neil absentmindedly kicked the leaves that lay in his path. His meditative walk was interrupted by “Ricky, Ricky, Ricky!” Rick was waved over by one of his most brilliant and inspiring professors, Doris E. Abramson. She tells him how he reminds her of Robert Frost who had walked down the very path kicking the leaves.

Poetry, in many ways, is like kicking leaves. Imagine the rhythm of Ricky’s and Robert’s walk and the sound of the crunch, the fun swish of the kick, and the leaves tossing freely. Frost uses these types of images in his poetry like in An Old Man’s Winter Night, he writes “Of trees and crack of branches, common things” (1916, line 13). There is childlike play embedded in kicking leaves. This essay is for educators who are delighted by poetry and common things, like kicking leaves.

Poetry can be found in many places when we pay attention to details, observe nature, or find simple joys. Find poetry in video games (www.filamentgames.com/blog/video-gamesand-poetry/), climbing hills (www.weareteachers.com/poetry-month-amanda-gorman/) singing (https://poetry.arizona.edu/blog/five-poetry-lesson-plans-inspired-music-sound), skipping rope (https://poetry4kids.com/news/jump-rope-rhymes/) , kicking leaves, and even piling rocks. In Mending Walls, Frost ponders “Oh, just another kind of out-door game” (1914, line 21).

The art of poetry, like the art of kicking leaves, is a creative outlet. It embodies emotions, playful language, and youthful memories. When poetry connects us with nature, it evokes a freeing spirit, taps reflection, and reduces stress. Robert Frost describes this in his poem called Birches, “One could do worse than be a swinger of birches” (1915, line 59). There is freedom in this connection with nature. It awakens the senses and inspires artistic expression. Breathing in the fall air and listening to poetry can both help you appreciate the beauty and transform you into an innovative space. The liberating, playful feeling inspires both creative expression and appreciation of nature.

Frost uses language and movement throughout his poetry that sounds like the flying leaves being kicked. “Tossed, tangled, whirled and whirled above” (1892, line 16) comes from his first poem ever sold. My Butterfly was written and sold for $15 in 1892 when Robert was a student at Lawrence High School. This poem shares an appreciation of the simple beauty of life and the natural world. Young Robert Frost captures the beauty of a butterfly and the sense of loss that he feels when it dies.

The emotions found in his poetry express the fleeting nature of life and happiness. Like in Carpe Diem, Frosts writes:

He waited, (they were strangers)

Till they were out of hearing

To bid them both be happy.

“Be happy, happy, happy,

And seize the day of pleasure.” (1938, lines 6-10)

Educators and students can find happiness in poetry and the imagery of nature. Robert Frost not only kicked the leaves but often used leaves as a metaphor for life, seasons, and the passage of time. In the poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Frost writes:

Nature’s first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leaf’s a flower

But only so an hour. (1923, lines 1-4)

Rick’s playful walk was interpreted differently by Professor Davidson. “My professor thought perhaps I was angry, but I wasn’t. There were no profound thoughts, I was just kicking leaves because it was fun.” Twenty-five years earlier, she had asked Robert Frost “why are you so grumpy, professor?” His kicking of leaves was a cathartic release of some frustration. Like writing poetry, this gave Robert an outlet for his emotions. In Frost’s poetry, he used metaphors and nature to express complex feelings. Walking through the Amherst Commons, the repetitive act of kicking leaves does the same.

Frost encourages the pace of schools to slow-down. In the poem October, he suggests “begin the hours of this day slow” (1913b, line 8). By reflecting on the world around us, he suggests we can “make the day seem to us less brief” (1913b, line 9). Frost encourages us to listen closely to sounds and take in the smells of nature. He continues by suggesting we closely observe the sights.

Beguile us in the way you know. Release one leaf at break of day; At noon release another leaf; One from our trees, one far away. Retard the sun with gentle mist; Enchant the land with amethyst. (1913b, lines 11-16)

Leaves are found in so many poems by Robert Frost. In Harwood Groves, Frost uses leaves to describe the cycle of life, the passing of time, and the beauty of nature.

The same leaves over and over again! They fall from giving shade above To make one texture of faded brown And fit the earth like a leather glove. (1913a, lines 1-4)

Frost’s most famous poem, The Road Not Taken (1915), has us all contemplating life. Frost writes about the choice between two paths in the woods. I imagine him standing on the fork and seeing a “road diverged in a wood” (line 18). He chooses the one with leaves on the ground, “the one less traveled by” (line 19), so he can step on and kick the undisturbed leaves. “And that has made all the difference” (line 20).

In Reluctance (1913c), Frost talks about dead leaves on the ground and the few reluctant leaves “that the oak is keeping” (line 8). It feels like the poet is inviting the reader to go ahead and kick the leaves. If we do not take risks and revel in each moment, we might leave “the dead leaves like huddle and still” (line 13). If we don’t slow down and play with language, the leaves on the ground might “no longer blown hither and thither” (line 14). Frost is inviting us all to enjoy poetry and play in nature.

For my friend Rick, being compared to Robert Frost by a favorite professor was a transformative experience. Although Ricky does not yet sell his poetry, he enjoys nature, writes music, acts, cooks, and is an inspirational speaker and storyteller. When we bring poetry and joy to the classroom, we create hopeful, creative spaces. Robert Frost invites us to share the anticipation of inspiration and spring in his poem, To the Thawing Wind

Run the rattling pages o’er; Scatter poems on the floor; Turn the poet out of door. (1913d, lines 13-15)

Frost, R. (1892). My butterfly.

Poems Cited https://poets.org/poem/my-butterfly https://www.poetryverse.com/robert-frost-poems/inhardwood-groves https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53084/october56d23212a5b72 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53085/reluctance

Frost, R. (1913a). In hardwood groves.

Frost, R. (1913b). October.

Frost, R. (1913c). Reluctance.

Frost, R. (1913d). To the thawing wind . www.americanpoems.com https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/ mending-wall

Frost, R. (1914). In mending walls .

Frost, R. (1915). Birches https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44260/birches

Frost, R. (1915). The road not taken https://poets.org/text/road-not-taken-poem-everyoneloves-and-everyone-gets-wrong

Frost, R. (1916). An old man’s winter night . https://poets.org/poem/old-mans-winter-night

Frost, R. (1923). Nothing gold can stay . https://poets.org/poem/nothing-gold-can-stay https://www.robertfrost.org-diem.jsp

Frost, R. (1938). Carpe diem .

About The Author

Patricia Crain de Galarce is the director of the Center for Inclusive and Special Education at Lesley University. She was inspired to write this essay after a conversation with her dear friend Rick O’Neil.