Poetry is an important part of our literacy program. Poetry is a unique genre that is highly accessible to children as well as adults. It encourages higher level thinking skills; students become more aware of the metaphorical, or inferential, meanings of text.

In class, we study poetry through discussion. Students spend some time reading and listening to poetry, then are encouraged to react to structure, sound, and meaning of the poems. Lessons are incorporated into the discussion. For instance, a student may notice a lot of "s" sounds in a poem, and this will present an opportunity to teach alliteration, which is the repeating of consonant sounds in writing. The goal is to create a stress free, risk-taking environment in which students can explore the genre of poetry.

Here are poems discussed recently in class:

 

Mother to Son

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’ Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.


---Langston Hughes

 

 

 

Autobiographia Literaria

When I was a child
I played by myself in a
corner of the schoolyard
all alone.

I hated dolls and I
hated games, animals were
not friendly and birds
flew away.

If anyone was looking
for me I hid behind a
tree and cried out "I am
an orphan."

And here I am, the
center of all beauty!
writing these poems!
Imagine!

---Frank O'Hara

Other Poems: