Tag Archives: Poetry

Inspired Poetry (Made Easy)

Posted on April 28, 2010 by ecossick| 1 Comment

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by Elizabeth Cossick, M.Ed.

Okay, so not every child is going to be Langston Hughes or Emily Dickinson out of the gate. But that’s alright. As teachers and parents, we need to remember that some of the most effective learning is not about a polished (or publishable) finished product, but rather about the process itself.

So it goes with this fun little poetry activity. Since poetry can be a big yawner for many kids, spice it up with magazines. Have the children each bring in a magazine* for cutting from home. Then, tell the students that they’re going to write a poem entirely out of the words they find in the magazine. They will cut out individual words and phrases and glue them onto a large sheet of white paper in the form of a poem.

Step One: Model

Pass out magazines, ensuring that each students has one at their desk. Then, show a model you made previously (or, if time, model in front of the class how to make one).

Step Two: Get Inspired

Encourage students to spend some time browsing a magazine or two, looking at ads and article titles. If they see anything they like, they should cut it out and put it in a pile on their desks. Tell them to swap magazines after a few minutes, to browse a new one.

Step Three: Piece it Together

Now, using a glue stick, students should glue their words and phrases to the paper so they make one cohesive poem. This is a great time to address the conventions of poetry in a mini-lesson. You can discuss usage of commas and periods, as well as the role of white space in a poem: most often, the words go down the center of the page with a lot of white space around them. If students need a word that they can’t find, they can build it out of individual letters.

While the students are working, circulate the room and hold up good examples to inspire the other students and give them a few concrete ideas.

Step Five: Share!

Give students a chance to share their clever poems with the class. Then hang them up! The principal will wonder why your classroom is filled with ransom notes. It can be your and the students’ little private joke. :0)

* It’s a good idea to browse the magazines that are brought in from home BEFORE this activity, to ensure that the content of articles and ads is appropriate for your classroom. Tear out inappropriate pages. Bring a stack of “safe” magazines from your house as a back-up.

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Posted in Parenting, Poetry, Writing

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Introducing Poetry: Makin’ it Cool with Music

Posted on November 28, 2009 by ecossick| Comments Off

by Elizabeth Cossick M.Ed.

The first year I introduced poetry to a class of too-cool-for-school eighth graders, I was optimistic…but skeptical. I had grand visions of unearthing a poetic genius from this unlikely crew, and I just knew that they would connect with the authentic voices of Langston Hughes, e.e. cummings and Maya Angelou. If I could get them to keep an open mind. Which–for eighth graders–is a big if.

Sure enough, when I announced the unit on the very first day, the word poetry was met with groans and rolled eyes. I knew I had to change the students’ perceptions. Clearly, they were thinking of poetry that’s limited by rules and rhymes. I wrote the word “poetry” on the board and asked them for a definition. As they called out phrases (“it rhymes,” “it’s all mushy and lovey-dovey,” “boring”), I wrote them on the board.

Then I told them we were going to read some of my favorite poems. I pulled out the overhead projector and put up an overhead with a long poem on it. We started reading it, and they were still groaning. It was a love poem. But, what they didn’t know was that it was actually a song; I’d typed out the lyrics to a song by Boyz II Men (who were seriously hot stuff at the time). But I kept that little secret to myself and just let the students tear into the “poem.”

Then, without saying much, I hit play on my CD player, and the song started playing. It took them a minute to catch on, but when they realized that they were listening to the words on the screen being sung by Boyz II Men…well, let’s just say I had them hooked on poetry.

After the song was over, I pointed out the obvious: music is poetry. If you like music, you like poetry. And so, with that revelation in mind, I erased their previous definitions of poetry and asked for new ones. This time, they filled the board with phrases like “meaningful,” “you can connect with it,” “sometimes it tells a story,”  etc.

By the end of the poetry unit, I was right. They had connected with Huges and Angelou and cummings. And…quite a few unlikely poetic geniuses had also been unearthed.

To search for song lyrics, check out www.allthelyrics.com.

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Posted in Motivation, Poetry, Teaching

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