How To Teach Poetry Crystal Lake IL

Whether you're teaching kindergarteners or an adult enrichment class, a poetry lesson can be engaging for all if you take a few things into consideration first.

1. Examine your attitudes toward poetry. Before your teach poetry, you must first consider your own thoughts and feelings on the subject. Perhaps you love all things poetry, so you can do nothing but inspire students with your enthusiasm. However, most people have at least a few biases against poetry or preconceived notions about it. You may prefer formal, rhymed poetry and see free verse as so much nonsense. Maybe you love the modern works of living, breathing poets, but you must be forced to read the classics. Being aware of these tendencies will keep you from unfairly influencing the opinions of your class and can help you strive for balance in the poetry you teach.
   
   
2. Determine your goals. Before planning any lesson, you should determine your goals. This is especially important with poetry, because you can take several different approaches to the subject, each requiring different preparation.
   
   
   • Enjoyment - You may simply wish for students to gain an overall appreciation of poetry, so you can plan your lessons around enjoying the poetry you read. Have fun with the rhythm of the words, look for intriguing images, and find poems with inspiring messages and themes.
     
     
   • Literary analysis - In many classes, poetry is studied with an eye on dissecting its meaning. The emphasis is on identifying literary techniques like simile and metaphor and evaluating their effectiveness. This analytical approach can sometimes hinder students' enjoyment of poetry, but such analysis is also an important skill, so finding a balance is key.
     
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Author: Lorie Witkop