Sunday, March 17, 2013

Thursday 3/21 is World Poetry Day!


As we have discussed before, the common core standards are a blueprint for designing a curriculum. It states what must be accomplished by the end of a school year, but they do not necessarily direct teachers how to get there.  

Teachers may use a variety of age-appropriate genres to address the reading standards, and poetry is one of the more entertaining ones. As World Poetry Day is approaching, you may be looking for some reliable resources to add to or update your poetry lessons: 
  • The Library of Congress: Some great ideas in how to use primary sources and the work of American poets.
  • Common Core Curriculum Maps: Besides being the most comprehensive guide in ELA, poetry is embedded in each unit.
  • Poets.org: A complete collection of lessons for all grade levels.
  • PBS NewsHour: Not what comes to your mind when you think poetry, but the two lessons are good ones.  We did a poetry slam with 8th grade, and they really enjoyed it.  Great opportunity to make connections.

I just read, Love that Dog and Hate that Cat (Sharon Creech), two wonderful works of poetry that include references and structures of other poems.  Consider using these two books as the foundation of your poetry study.  In addition to reading quality text, the opportunities to compare works and relate to real life are obvious strategies. The story line encourages children write their own poems as well.

CC Connection:  Poetry is one of the genres classroom teachers can use to address any of the reading standards.  Writing poetry allows students to make connections and relate to real life situations.

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