Use of Poetry
Submitted by Ann Brian Murphy (profile)

Strategy: Using Poetry in the Classroom

Synopsis: Poetry works especially well in CLTL classes. Ask students to read a short poem on a contemporary issue and then to respond to it with questions, comments, and reactions. They'll discover that the process of reading - even something as intimidating as poetry - can be exciting and interesting, as well as challenging. And you'll find that they ask fresh and original questions, leading them often into the heart of the text, illuminating the poem for you as well as for them.

Technique:

What, precisely, do you do in the first CLTL class to break through their resistance and fears? Reading a short story or essay can take a long time and be difficult to absorb in one class. But a poem can be shorter; reading a poem in the first class allows students to begin work immediately, and it allows you to introduce reading techniques they'll use for the rest of the semester.

I started using poetry in the CLTL class as a way to introduce students to ways of reading literature on the first night. What I found, however, was that the students do great readings of poetry. They have very few preconceptions about what they are "supposed" to say, for one thing, so they often ask insightful questions and cut straight through to the heart of the poem. Further, poems are compact and entire, difficult but ultimately accessible, and reading them gives students a sense of pride and accomplishment. So now I do poems in almost every class, often selecting ones that enhance or comment on the essay, story, or novel we are reading.

--First I read the poem aloud, pausing at the end of each sentence or thought, and asking students to write their comments, questions, ideas, and reactions. If they don't know what to say, just tell them to write what they think the poem is saying.

--Once we finish reading the poem, I invite them to discuss their reactions and to read aloud phrases or sentences they find powerful or puzzling. This allows me to stress that being puzzled is not a sign of failure but an opportunity to ask questions and find connections.

--After we discuss their reactions to the poem, we turn to the reading questions we have developed: Who is the speaker? What is the setting? Where do we see imagery? We discuss how those questions illuminate or complicate the poem.

--And finally, I ask them to write what they see as the main themes and ideas of the poem, and we discuss our reactions to those ideas.

Links to poetry:

Miss Rosie by Lucille Clifton

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

St. Francis and the Sow by Galway Kinnell