Every year as the third six weeks poetry unit begins, I take an informal poll of my 6th grade students to determine their feelings toward poetry. Without fail, the majority of my students express negative feelings. When I probe deeper and ask why, they give answers such as: “It doesn’t make any sense, I don’t understand it, it’s about all this fancy stuff, or it always stands for something else.” This past six weeks was no different; once again I faced the seemingly insurmountable task of making poetry accessible and meaningful to 11 year olds.
To begin the unit and grab their attention, I began with “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, and “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. The purpose of this was two-fold: it engaged them quickly and showed poetry can be narrative. Second, it showed poetry can contain violence, monsters, murder, and ghosts which is high interest in 6th grade. I was also able to briefly begin introducing the names of poetic devices and review figurative language. However, I didn’t spend much time on the mechanics of poetry at that point as my purpose was to pique interest—not cover nuts and bolts.
Telling the students stories about the poets added to their engagement…many students went home to read more of Edgar Allen Poe’s works on the internet after I told them that he was obsessed with murder and macabre, warning them, “Do not read the ‘Tell Tale Heart’ heart unless you want to be completely grossed out!” The third part of my strategy to pique interest was to use YouTube videos reciting the above poems with animation and emotional music. Students were captivated by what they watched as schema for understanding future poetry was built.
The next poem I introduced was “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman to give an example of a poem that has metaphoric meaning. Without telling the students that the poem was about the death of Abraham Lincoln, we discussed as a class what they thought was the meaning of the poem. Only then did I explain the poem was actually about Lincoln. This led to a great discussion about the history of his presidency and assassination which generally fascinates sixth graders.
Inevitably at some point, someone asked, “Why anyone would want to write a poem about that?” This segued into one of my most important lessons—poetry is about the poet, not the reader. Explaining to them that poetry was a venue for someone to express feelings/ideas that are important to him/her with the option to break writing rules. I weaved this idea throughout all the poetry we read, reinforcing it at all opportunities because I wanted them to have internalized it by the time they started writing their own poetry.
Next, I had the students read the “Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos William. This poem served as the perfect example to show how poetry doesn’t have to be about anything grandiose. After reading, I asked the students to write a “mirror poem” in which they picked an object of their choice, patterning their poem with the line, “So much depends upon….” Teachers in elementary school and junior high often use formulaic poetry outlines which ask the students to fill in certain kinds of parts of speech, words, or follow a formula to complete the poem. This does supply structure for the students to write within; however, I believe students need to be allowed more freedom when they write. Mirror poetry provides this by allowing the students to incorporate one aspect of the mentor poem and then extending it to include their own thoughts and form. Writing this first poem was critical for students to have the freedom to choose not only the object they wrote about but to choose the structure of the poem. They could choose to copy the original exactly or change the poem. I also agree with Ralph Fletcher, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide and What a Writer Needs, that it is essential to let boys express their aggressive emotions and thoughts even if they write about violence, fighting, etc.
Throughout the unit, I continued to immerse the students in published, well-known poetry as well as original poetry by other students. The students continued to write “mirror” poems and self-inspired original poetry. I, too, wrote with the students to model how I played with words and struggled over what to say.
Finally, when teaching students to understand poetry my strategy was very basic. I taught them to approach a poem in steps. First, always read the poem through twice without stopping. Next, read again from the beginning, pausing to stop at the end of each line. At the end of each line, mentally decide the meaning of that line. Do not go onto the next line until you have a clear understanding. After reading the poem through this way, then go back to examine figurative language and poetic devices and evaluating how they added to the poem. The final step--mentally summarize the poem. This systematic approach broke down the anxiety that many students felt when reading poetry.
The poetry unit lasted about 5 weeks and for the first time culminated in a beatnik inspired poetry slam/reading. Along with the help of parents, we transformed the library into a coffee shop with flameless candles, dark lighting, stage and spotlight, bongos, snapping instead of clapping, and a coffee bar serving decaf, hot chocolate, and apple cider. Students voluntarily signed up to read either original poetry or published poems. Many students also dressed in all black with berets. More than half of our sixth grade student body--341 students--read poetry as their fellow students sipped and snapped. It was incredible and beyond expectations. (For logistics we rotated classes through the library, the largest group about 50 at one time in our coffee shop.)
I would be disingenuous if I didn’t admit that there were days along the way where I had to remind myself that it was possible for sixth graders to appreciate poetry even if they didn’t love it. There were days when my students groaned, “Another poem?” A young lady named Maren often groaned the loudest. She had announced from the beginning that she hated poetry—“It is a complete waste of time.” But I believe two of the poems Maren wrote, which I have included below, reveal pivotal steps she took during this unit which are essential to bringing her closer to an appreciation for poetry.
Her first poem, loaded with allusions, brilliantly expressed her feelings toward famous poets and the poems we initially read while using the very medium she hated! Here is one of Maren’s first poems:
I Hate Poetry
I hate it so you can’t change my mind.
All you’ve done is waste my time.
It’s awful deep fat fried
Served with confusing
and extra fries.
I don’t care why Edgar Poe wrote it
I still think he he’s a terrible poet.
Annoying nature
Is all I need mosquitoes
Are the devil’s feed.
Walt Whitman is totally dead
I wonder if he got shot in the head
Like Abraham Lincoln.
That boat is still sinking.
Funeral be done! Let’s party instead.
I’ve drowned in the deepness
and can’t climb the steepness.
Now I shall leave woefully
defeated by poetry.
--Maren 6th grade
The final poem Maren wrote was inspired by a children’s book I read to the class, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. To provide the students with their own “magic pebble” I had bought a multitude of colored glass rocks. The only directions I gave the class after selecting the perfect “pebble” was to write an original piece about their own “magic pebble”—short story, children’s story, poem, anything they wanted. And Maren chose to write a poem. A beautiful poem. A poem that incorporated everything we had learned in the poetry unit:
My Pebble
My pebble is a peppermint
round and cool
strip of yellow and orange
being sucked into one line
while smoke curling
red drips, like cool aid from my chin
My Pebble is a strawberry
ready to be plucked and eaten
---Maren 6th grade
Will Maren ever love poetry? Possibly not. However, with this approach to poetry, I believe she dipped her toes into the murky waters. She learned she can express herself poetically without judgment and realized that was what poetry was about.
Because “Walt Whitman is totally dead, I wonder if he got shot in the head, Like Abraham Lincoln, that boat is still sinking. Funeral be done! Let’s party instead!”
To begin the unit and grab their attention, I began with “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, and “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. The purpose of this was two-fold: it engaged them quickly and showed poetry can be narrative. Second, it showed poetry can contain violence, monsters, murder, and ghosts which is high interest in 6th grade. I was also able to briefly begin introducing the names of poetic devices and review figurative language. However, I didn’t spend much time on the mechanics of poetry at that point as my purpose was to pique interest—not cover nuts and bolts.
Telling the students stories about the poets added to their engagement…many students went home to read more of Edgar Allen Poe’s works on the internet after I told them that he was obsessed with murder and macabre, warning them, “Do not read the ‘Tell Tale Heart’ heart unless you want to be completely grossed out!” The third part of my strategy to pique interest was to use YouTube videos reciting the above poems with animation and emotional music. Students were captivated by what they watched as schema for understanding future poetry was built.
The next poem I introduced was “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman to give an example of a poem that has metaphoric meaning. Without telling the students that the poem was about the death of Abraham Lincoln, we discussed as a class what they thought was the meaning of the poem. Only then did I explain the poem was actually about Lincoln. This led to a great discussion about the history of his presidency and assassination which generally fascinates sixth graders.
Inevitably at some point, someone asked, “Why anyone would want to write a poem about that?” This segued into one of my most important lessons—poetry is about the poet, not the reader. Explaining to them that poetry was a venue for someone to express feelings/ideas that are important to him/her with the option to break writing rules. I weaved this idea throughout all the poetry we read, reinforcing it at all opportunities because I wanted them to have internalized it by the time they started writing their own poetry.
Next, I had the students read the “Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos William. This poem served as the perfect example to show how poetry doesn’t have to be about anything grandiose. After reading, I asked the students to write a “mirror poem” in which they picked an object of their choice, patterning their poem with the line, “So much depends upon….” Teachers in elementary school and junior high often use formulaic poetry outlines which ask the students to fill in certain kinds of parts of speech, words, or follow a formula to complete the poem. This does supply structure for the students to write within; however, I believe students need to be allowed more freedom when they write. Mirror poetry provides this by allowing the students to incorporate one aspect of the mentor poem and then extending it to include their own thoughts and form. Writing this first poem was critical for students to have the freedom to choose not only the object they wrote about but to choose the structure of the poem. They could choose to copy the original exactly or change the poem. I also agree with Ralph Fletcher, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide and What a Writer Needs, that it is essential to let boys express their aggressive emotions and thoughts even if they write about violence, fighting, etc.
Throughout the unit, I continued to immerse the students in published, well-known poetry as well as original poetry by other students. The students continued to write “mirror” poems and self-inspired original poetry. I, too, wrote with the students to model how I played with words and struggled over what to say.
Finally, when teaching students to understand poetry my strategy was very basic. I taught them to approach a poem in steps. First, always read the poem through twice without stopping. Next, read again from the beginning, pausing to stop at the end of each line. At the end of each line, mentally decide the meaning of that line. Do not go onto the next line until you have a clear understanding. After reading the poem through this way, then go back to examine figurative language and poetic devices and evaluating how they added to the poem. The final step--mentally summarize the poem. This systematic approach broke down the anxiety that many students felt when reading poetry.
The poetry unit lasted about 5 weeks and for the first time culminated in a beatnik inspired poetry slam/reading. Along with the help of parents, we transformed the library into a coffee shop with flameless candles, dark lighting, stage and spotlight, bongos, snapping instead of clapping, and a coffee bar serving decaf, hot chocolate, and apple cider. Students voluntarily signed up to read either original poetry or published poems. Many students also dressed in all black with berets. More than half of our sixth grade student body--341 students--read poetry as their fellow students sipped and snapped. It was incredible and beyond expectations. (For logistics we rotated classes through the library, the largest group about 50 at one time in our coffee shop.)
I would be disingenuous if I didn’t admit that there were days along the way where I had to remind myself that it was possible for sixth graders to appreciate poetry even if they didn’t love it. There were days when my students groaned, “Another poem?” A young lady named Maren often groaned the loudest. She had announced from the beginning that she hated poetry—“It is a complete waste of time.” But I believe two of the poems Maren wrote, which I have included below, reveal pivotal steps she took during this unit which are essential to bringing her closer to an appreciation for poetry.
Her first poem, loaded with allusions, brilliantly expressed her feelings toward famous poets and the poems we initially read while using the very medium she hated! Here is one of Maren’s first poems:
I Hate Poetry
I hate it so you can’t change my mind.
All you’ve done is waste my time.
It’s awful deep fat fried
Served with confusing
and extra fries.
I don’t care why Edgar Poe wrote it
I still think he he’s a terrible poet.
Annoying nature
Is all I need mosquitoes
Are the devil’s feed.
Walt Whitman is totally dead
I wonder if he got shot in the head
Like Abraham Lincoln.
That boat is still sinking.
Funeral be done! Let’s party instead.
I’ve drowned in the deepness
and can’t climb the steepness.
Now I shall leave woefully
defeated by poetry.
--Maren 6th grade
The final poem Maren wrote was inspired by a children’s book I read to the class, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. To provide the students with their own “magic pebble” I had bought a multitude of colored glass rocks. The only directions I gave the class after selecting the perfect “pebble” was to write an original piece about their own “magic pebble”—short story, children’s story, poem, anything they wanted. And Maren chose to write a poem. A beautiful poem. A poem that incorporated everything we had learned in the poetry unit:
My Pebble
My pebble is a peppermint
round and cool
strip of yellow and orange
being sucked into one line
while smoke curling
red drips, like cool aid from my chin
My Pebble is a strawberry
ready to be plucked and eaten
---Maren 6th grade
Will Maren ever love poetry? Possibly not. However, with this approach to poetry, I believe she dipped her toes into the murky waters. She learned she can express herself poetically without judgment and realized that was what poetry was about.
Because “Walt Whitman is totally dead, I wonder if he got shot in the head, Like Abraham Lincoln, that boat is still sinking. Funeral be done! Let’s party instead!”