This excerpt was taken from:
Entry 7: Poetry Writing
Kelly P. at Kelly P.'s Blog
After reading Tompkins (2012) and researching this genre for my
group's Expert Share presentation, I have realized that there are so
many more different types and forms of poetry than I had imagined.
Before this class, I wasn't aware that poetry was broken up into
different types (within the genre) and then broken down further into
different formats/formulas within those different types. For example,
the "I Am" poem is a specific type of formula poem and has its own
"rules" and structure
I am addressing the same concern in which many of us are not familiar with the dynamics and the multitude of rules that poetry bears. Poetry is my favorite genre as I have practiced writing almost everyday in my collection of journals since I was eleven. I will often bring in my journals for the students to see that not everything I wrote was "right" when it came to the rules of poetry, but they were right for me. I also showed then how my writing progressed as I began to learn more and practice more.
I am a huge fan of the "I am..." and "If I ruled the world..." templates. I have found this to be great with all levels of students. In particular, when I was able to implement these into the classroom, my special needs students were able to participate with a scribe and didn't require extra time. I remember how successful they felt which in turn made me feel good because they could do it and have fun doing it too.
Throughout my educational journey, I have taken many literature classes (haven't we all?) and poetry always seems to have the most negative feedback associated with it. I love poetry because it is not cut and dry and one person's interpretation can be different from another, yet one doesn't necessarily have to be wrong. I love teaching poetry but I have found many students feel overwhelmed by it. Free verse and formulas can be great tools to start students off on a positive note and give them a chance to be successful.
I have always thought it would be important to let our students know that:
A poem, is a poem, is a poem, is a poem.,,just like the rose.
Marsha, as always you have identified an important topic to discuss. Unfortunately though you do not allow yourself the opportunity to fully explore these ideas. Remember you are to publish pieces which would be approximately 2-3 pages (MSword formatted) and a goal here is for you to try use writing to lead yourself to significant new learnings.
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