You are on page 1of 6

1

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013

Inquiry Project Annotated Bibliography


Inquiry Question: How can poetry be meaningful and effective for me and the students?
USING POETRY TO LEARN AND SHARE CULTURE Multilingual Poetry Caf: - Teaching English Language Learners poems in English to teach concepts and vocabulary such as rhyme, rhythm, metre, verse, stanza, assonance, onomatopoeia, poetic sentence structure, and cultural aspects of poetry such as genre (romantic, patriotic, nature etc.). - Turn classroom into a Poetry Caf: checkered table clothes, dim lights, coffee, tea, pastry for everyone - This source goes into detail on how to set up a caf in your classroom - Purpose: for students to gain an appreciation for interesting cultural differences in poetic themes and structure from various cultural traditions. Coelho, Elizabeth. (2012). Making Space for Community Languages. Language and Learning in Multilingual Classrooms: A Practical Approach. 220-221. Poetic High: This article discusses how language can be used to create meaning in the classroom and all voices can be shared: it is through their own voices where they discover that they have at least one thing in common: that they all have something to say (10). The article puts emphasis on sharing and creating within the classroom a safe space for sharing lyricist lounge (12). There is a guided spoken wordshop which includes 9 elements which uses the basic pedagogical principles: Assess Prior Schema, Conduct a Mini Lesson, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Anchor Charting, Critique, Authentic Products, and Real Audiences. This wordshop focuses on empowering students and ultimately bringing forth the language of our lives. Reyes, Gerald T. (2006). Finding the Poetic High: Building a Spoken Word Poetry Community and Culture of Creative, Caring and Critical Intellectuals. Multicultural Education. 1016. Geography: Poetry is essentially the same as geography: The geographer, the poet and the dramatist write of the same thing: people, and their lives in certain times and places. The geographer marshalls [sic] facts and presents them in systematic fashion; the poet offers images in unique language, frequently of personal and localized experience; the dramatist takes a time, a place, some people, and brews a conflict. I might even say that the first geographers were those long-ago storytellers who sang in poetic and dramatic cadences of the hunt, or the battle, or the sights of a wondrous, distant place. (excerpt from Donaldson 2001). This introduction sums up the purpose of this

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013 article nicely. The article connects the comparisons between social studies and language arts. There is a detailed exploration of how different poems could be used to connect to each outcome. For example: Poems about maps describing the spatial relations of people and places and also encourage the verbal poetic expression of mental maps. Woody Guthries This Land is Your Land. Student poetry can be used for project assignments, class presentations, culminating activities, informal assessment, and as an optional activity for any student moved to create a poem just for the enjoyment of the topic. Using poetry in geography can add a new dimension of learning in the classroom. Kirman, Joseph M. (2007). Aesthetics in Geography: Ideas for Teaching Geography Using Poetry. Journal of Geography 106. 207-214 INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY Cin(E)-Poetry Project: Technology and Poetry This article discusses how students can actively explore poetry through the multimodal approach of Cine(E)-Poetry. This approach enables students to personally and collaboratively respond to poetry through digital media and may lead to more positive attitudes about poetry. In order to make poetry more meaningful to students the emphasis should move away from cognitive interpretation and into reader response (How did that poem make you feel?). Students will be more actively engaged with a text if they can interact with it by discovering meaning and responding emotionally and interpreting from their own experiences. The article is arguing for a move away from close and concise analysis of poetry. Many students in the 21st century are visual learners and have grown up in the digital age. Allowing the use of technology as a way for students to respond to poetry makes room for more creative responses: pictures, photography, dance, theatre, music, visual art, orally. Students should be encouraged to respond through the use of technology and other multimedia tools. The main focus of this article is on the Cin(E)-Poetry (Cinematic Electronic Poetry) Project. This is an engaging integration of poetry, reader response, and technology. Cin(E)-Poetry is one way to bridge the study of and response to poetry through the media of the 21st-century student. Here are the steps discussed to complete a Cine(E)-Poetry project in the classroom: 1. Talk about poetry, wonder about poetry; 2. Read, read, read poems, poems, poems; 3. Learn about Cin(E)Poetry; 4. Collaborate to select a poem; 5. Storyboard the poem; 6. Collect digital images; 7. Load images into creative software to sequence; 8. Edit movie with selected effects; 9. Add selected titles, words, sounds, music; 10. Share and celebrate Cin(E)-Poetry at mini-film festival! This article also connects to three lesson plans provided by ReadWriteThink.org that combine poetry and technology: Compiling Poetry Collections and a Working Definition of Poetry The author suggests that students collect poems before beginning their project. This lesson plan walks students through that process while helping them craft a definition for the different types of poetry. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=354

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013 Weaving the Threads: Integrating Poetry Annotation and Web Technology This project engages students in meaningful research using poetry as a focal point. Students identify words and phrases in a poem by a Native American and in the process, learn about Native American culture and history. Students create a website using the poem as a launching space that takes readers into various explanations of words and phrases. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=36 Students as Creators: Exploring Multimedia In this lesson, students analyze an online multimedia resource as an introduction to the genre. They then create an original multimedia project, similar to Cin(E)-Poetry. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1088 Stuart, Denise H. (2010). Cine(E)-Poetry: Engaging the Digital Generation in 21st-Century Response Voices from the Middle 17(3): 27-35. Resource: The Poetry App This application is a great resource for integrating technology into the classroom. This app combines interactive exploration and amazing graphics to engage the learner. The app could be used in a teacher led lesson with the app projected onto the smart board or it could be used for students to learn independently or in small groups. The Poetry app is a collection of over 100 poems from sixteen great poets. Each poem is accompanied by video and audio narrations from over 30 world class actors. The app includes essays and introductions to guide learners into the lives of these featured poets. The article below provides the argument that students are more engaged in reading texts that are online. Valenza, Joyce K and Wendy Stephens. (2012). Reading Remixed ASCD: Educational Leadership: 75-78. Resource: Word Mover This application can be used to supplement classroom instruction, reinforce concepts taught in class, offer increased student engagement, and promote out-of-school literacy through the use of tablet devices and their associated functionality. Word Mover allows students to create their own found poetry by choosing from different word banks (and famous works); students also have the ability to add in new words. The app gives creative freedom over to students so they can add their own stylistic enrichments, change the size, color, and font of the text, add backgrounds etc. (There are many other similar applications available for download) OTHER TEACHING STRATEGIES/ACTIVITIES Textbook: Activities The Textbook were using this year includes a chapter dedicated to teaching poetry. Campbell discusses the importance of reading poetry aloud; she includes some tips for reading poetry aloud. Campbell includes many different activities for teaching poetry in the classroom: found

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013 poems, snapping the beat, using music, journals and discussion, poetry corruption, use of particulars, chanting favorite words, looking for patterns, using films, music videos, and living the lines. Included throughout the chapter and at the end are more resources for poems to use in class that meet particular criteria for lessons (for example she lists poems that illustrate sound devices). Included at the end of the chapter are a list of books and articles that would be useful for educators. Campbell, Kimberly H. (2007). Poetry. Less is More: Teaching Literature with Short Texts Grade 6 -12. 144-174. The PEACE Class: Poetry Journals The Importance of spoken word is explored in Desai and Marshs article. They argue the importance of spoken word connecting to the audience: Spoken word is a type of poetry that bonds the poet with the audience to an end (72). As an art form spoken word allows teachers to connect with their students to broader critical theories and makes room for self-discovery and expression. This article discusses some of the theoretical frameworks behind the methods of teaching spoken words: critical pedagogy, critical race theory and critical literacy studies. I really liked the methods portion of the article which discusses the concept of The PEACE Class and how students would be responsible for teaching on a critical issue of their choice. The article details the setup of the classroom community and the learning space. This project allowed students to find ways to express their feelings through a poetry journal. If students are writing meaningful poem journals they will be expressing their deepest thoughts, struggles, wants and feelings. Through these poems the teacher has the opportunity to understand the context in which our students are coming from. Desai Shiv and Tyson Marsh. (2005). Weaving Multiple Dialects in the Classroom Discourse: Poetry and Spoken Word as a Critical Teaching Tool Cultural and Education. 71-90. Teaching Poetry through Song This article discusses how a student studying poetry might incorporate similar strategies when they are studying music. Songs and all forms of music can be argued to be a form of poetry. During a song the singer becomes the speaker of the lyric and in turn the speaker of the lyric becomes the singer: All good voice teaching is a discovery of the path towards more expressive performances. In the classroom engaging students interest could be as simple as inviting them to bring in their favourite song to deconstruct the meaning behind the lyrics. Or students could create a found poem using lyrics from the current songs on their I-pods. The article discusses the opportunity music provides for students to connect with the lyrics in a way that simply speaking the words might not allow. Seminatore, Gerald. (2010) Teaching Poetry Through Song: A Modest Proposal Journal of Singing 66(5): 515-525.

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013 Integrating Writing This article explores how integrating poetry and writing may engage students: the engagement of poetry may be as basic as a catchy tune heard in an advertisement. Ward argues that immersing students in poetry means students can read and respond in meaningful and enjoyable ways, according to their needs and developmental levels, which can intensify the readers senses and imagination. This in turn motivates students to read and write poetry so they can share, connect and create enthusiasm. Teachers who challenge students thinking will explore literacy structures as meaningful, ensuring students discover important links between writing and poetry. When students are able to verbalise, see, hear and feel the words they gain a better understanding of the authors purpose and critique the writing and develop a personal response. There are six activities presented in this article for integrating writing into a poetry unit. (1)Sketch to Stretch (Tompkins 2009) -connects visual meaning with written words -in small groups, students read a poem aloud, discuss themes, thoughts, feelings and how they could be interpreted visually -individually sketch what poem means to you. Share and discuss (2) Quickwrite (Tompkins 2009) -10 minutes of uninterrupted time to respond to poem -students write their perceptions connected to what they see and feel, ideas and inferences -free flow of thinking and visuals. No editing is needed (3) Venn Diagrams (Hancock & Leaver 2006) -compare similarities or contrasts different poems: characters, setting, plot, themes, contextual features (4) Text Graphic Representations (Marzano & Pickering 2005) -build on academic vocabulary by creating a visual dictionary of terms -include descriptions and examples -helps students develop a deeper understanding and how printed text works to communicate meaning (5) Poetry Writing -writing poetry based on themes -explore and deepen their feelings, understandings and how the sounds and rhythm of words are part of meaning (6) Narrative Writing -adapting a poem to a narrative where students have the opportunity to transform the characters, themes, plot or setting into other forms: drama, mystery, adventure etc. Ward, Louise. (2013). Integrating Poetry and Writing: Ways in which to engage literacy learners. Practically Primary 18(2): 17-20.

Angela Bakes EDUC 5345: Advanced Language Arts Curriculum Practices November 20 2013

Inclusion of Poetry in Teacher Education This article explores the impact of using an aesthetic approach in a poetry course provided to preservice teachers to explore their poetic experiences and dispositions (attitudes and habits), which can inform both content and pedagogical decisions. This article details the growth of reading and writing through poetry when certain activities were implemented: students are provided with diverse poetry, a variety of prompts, and the opportunity to workshop with peers, and occasions to witness and take part in performances. Certo, Janine L. et al. (2012). Living the Poets Life: Using Aesthetic Approach to Poetry to Enhance Preservice Teachers Poetry Experiences and Dispositions. English Education 44(2): 102-146. Big Ideas This article discusses the importance of reading poetry aloud to connect students to the big ideas. The author argues that: engaging students in a selection of poems around larger, relevant ideas, rather than focusing solely on the traditional whole-class text, is essential to creating what Gay Ivy and Doug Fisher call literacy-rich classrooms. Its also a manageable way to differentiate instruction for various reading levels or even various maturity levels in a single classroom. The article goes on to argue that: Even the most reluctant reader will agree that big ideas are worth talking about. Whether they are presented as read-alouds (the teacher reads the text), shared readings (the class follows along as the teacher reads), or a combination of both, appealing poems are a great way to begin each class period or to engage students in a variety of powerful textual experiences within a unit. Speaking to or articulating the concerns and preoccupations of our students is the privilege of a great English teacher and a great poem. I liked this article for its section on visual representations connected to poetry: you cant get a metaphor if you cant imagine its concrete referent. Consciously practicing visualization opens incredible discussion opportunities for students. It can be as simple as saying, If you were to make a movie of this poem, what would it look like? Giving students an opportunity to approach a text with the purpose of visualizing puts them in a refreshingly creative stance as they read. Making sketches of every image and using words from the text to title their drawingsa kind of visual note-takingis another simple response that demands high-quality close reading. Other visual art products make excellent tools for engaging and monitoring struggling readers: collage, storyboard, photo essay, comic strip, animation, video, and painting. The article also touches on performances and creative writing in poetry units. Murphy, Eileen. (2009). Against Slogging: Engaging Poetry in the Classroom: Ways to make every text, every minute count with struggling readers. Poetry Foundation. Web.

You might also like