Why Poetry Is Pertinent
Why Poetry is Pertinent:
Why Teaching Poetry is Important
with Activities and Teaching Tips
Introduction
Simple.
Relevant.
Worthy of class time.
These are not words and phrases usually associated with poetry.
As an English Language Arts teacher for twenty years, I’ve heard questions and concerns regarding poetry similar to the following:
Poetry is too hard to understand — my students don’t get it, and it’s hard to teach.
Do we even need to teach poetry? There’s not much of it on the state standardized test.
I don’t have time to teach poetry.
All these concerns are valid. However, the advantages of teaching and learning poetry make it worth considering.
Concern 1. Poetry is too hard to understand — my students don’t get it, and it’s hard to teach.
Admitting that poetry can be challenging is a significant first step to building a positive relationship with the genre. However, just because a subject is complex doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. The key is knowing that poetry can be both challenging and rewarding and communicating that positively to learners.
Teacher attitudes toward poetry directly impact student’s attitudes toward learning it. “Haynes (1968), reporting on student recollections of poetry teaching, noted that ‘the personality of the teacher was the one main influencing factors on whether poetry was liked or not. “(Travers)
Instructor attitudes are shaped by their coursework, certification, and personal exposure to the genre. For example, a teacher who majors in Education and takes the traditional route to certification may need more practice with poetry than an instructor who majors in English Language Arts and takes alternative routes to teacher certification. Or a teacher who enjoys poetry outside of the classroom may have an advantage over a teacher who doesn’t.
Why is Poetry Hard to Understand?
Like theater, painting, and music, poetry is an art form that requires practice and skill. Let your students know this; don’t sugarcoat it. Doing so will help them mentally prepare for the task.
Imagine this. You are a student in a music class. Your music teacher plays you a song composed by classical composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Next, you are told to listen to it, comprehend it, and mimic it. You may be able to identify some of the notes, but you may be in over your head. Acquiring the skills to comprehend a fine art takes time.
A study by Aisyah et al., found that critical thinking skills, especially in the context of poetry, need adequate time to develop. “ . . . critical thinking skills could not be developed instantly.”
Students may not thrive when “immersed” in the world of poetry. Sure, they may be able to identify a stanza or simile, but having it all mixed can be overwhelming.
Another reason poetry seems complicated to understand is the passages. One look at practice tests and many textbooks will reveal that texts can date back hundreds or thousands of years. The language is different from what students encounter daily.
Why is there such a disconnect? Many publishers use texts from the public domain because they are free. This practice can create a conundrum for students. Add metaphors and meter to the outdated language; you’ve just made a mess.
One way to counteract the chaos is by taking baby steps. Some ways to start simply include the following:
Use modern texts in addition to canonical texts
Allow students to choose the poems they want to read
Read short poems daily by subscribing to “Poem a Day”
Next, teachers can scaffold students up to higher-level texts. For example, one may start with Shel Silverstein and then work up to Shakespeare. This approach gives students a better chance of experiencing the benefits of learning about poetry.
Concern 2: Do I even need to teach poetry? There is not much of it on the state standardized test.
Ah, the standardized test. Teachers know that class time must be devoted to covering the standards that students must master before the end of the year.
English Language Arts (ELA) educators teach standards such as key ideas, details, theme, plot, and word usage multiple times. Why not incorporate poetry to teach them from various angles?
Why is Poetry Beneficial?
There are many benefits to teaching, learning, reading, and writing poetry, such as:
Syllabication Awareness and Improvement
Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage
Enhanced Writing Skills/Self - Expression
Opportunities for Collaboration
Heightened Critical Thinking Skills
How Poetry Helps Students
The benefits of teaching, learning, reading, and writing poetry range from increasing foundational reading skills to enhancing high-level reading comprehension.
Students reading and listening to poetry reinforce foundational reading skills, including identifying rhythm. How does this help increase reading comprehension? In poetry, rhythm is created by syllables. When reading metered poetry, the reader reads to a rhythm, allowing the audience to use foundational skills such as syllabication. The use of syllabication helps students correctly pronounce words.
Many educators who teach upper elementary (and above) have students still struggling with basic reading skills. Sometimes, teachers have to remind students to “sound it out.” What better way to do so than with a shorter text like poetry? Let them practice syllables with lines and stanzas instead of sentences and paragraphs.
In addition, if teachers use lyrics or poems that students are already familiar with, struggling students may feel less apprehensive.
Educators can also allow students to listen to the audio versions of a poem and mark and count the syllables in each line. Start with one line and scaffold up.
Also, educators should use the Gradual Release Method. Teachers could model the first line, the second line can be done together, and then the student can complete the third line alone. Completing an activity like this allows striving readers to hear and see the pattern.
How Poetry Helps Increase Writing and Vocabulary Skills
Once students have mastered syllables, they may be ready to mimic the line or lines they just listened to and marked. Doing this helps them improve their vocabulary and writing skills.
“Students can develop their vocabulary skills through poetry analysis. Lessons focusing on precise language, synonyms, and antonyms can provide students with clarity on the effectiveness of vocabulary.” (Wald)
For example, If a student is trying to mimic the first line from Humpty Dumpty:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses
And all the kings’ men
I couldn't put Humpty together again.
The first line has eight syllables.
Either ask the student to pick a topic or assign a topic.
Next, ask them to mimic the number of syllables in line 1.
Perhaps they are writing about their cat Clara; they may pen the following:
Clara likes to sit on top of the fence.
Allow students the chance to brainstorm. The sentence above has ten syllables, so it needs to be corrected. Students must use synonyms and consider word order to hit their target. Another option is to pair students up and allow them to check each other’s work and collaborate to meet the expected number of syllables.
Possible Answers:
Clara sits on top of the fence.
The above example is a simple way to achieve the proper number of syllables.
Or
Sitting pretty, on the fence top.
The sentence above is also a great way to mimic the example by starting with two two-syllable words and choosing four more one-syllable words to finish the line.
Students who are more advanced can dig into the world of foot and meter and do similar activities to mimic the patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.
How Poetry Helps Reading Comprehension
In addition to providing syllabication and vocabulary practice, students will need to comprehend figurative language and sound devices.
Students must understand that poetry is an art form that concisely expresses prose-worthy ideas. This brevity leads to a concentration of figurative language and sound devices that help the author convey their message in a creative, non-cliche way.
For example,
I will cross the ocean for you. (cliche)
First, teachers and students can work together to figure this out (idiom, hyperbole). Next, students should be allowed to collaborate to rephrase it in a fresh, original way.
This activity may seem simple (I hope so!) But look at the ELA standards and skills that are being reinforced:
Figurative Language
Idioms
Hyperboles
Reading Comprehension
Inferences
Writing
Brainstorming
Revising
Editing
Collaboration
How Poetry Improves Critical Thinking: Divergent and Convergent Thinking
According to Oxford Languages, critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgment. Students use critical thinking on standardized tests, but in a “there’s only one right answer” way. This is convergent thinking, and it’s time it shared the stage in the classroom.
Enter Divergent thinking. According to the University of Texas at Austin, divergent thinking is:
. . . the initial stage of creative problem solving where learners have the space and freedom to explore out-of-the-box ideas, take risks, push beyond apparent answers, probe more profound, and defy some of the conventional boundaries and constraints of a particular discipline.
Divergent thinking can be used in the ELA classroom by allowing students to read the poetic text and offer their opinions about different text elements (theme, setting, conflict, mood, etc). Teachers must stipulate that to form strong claims about the text; students need text-based evidence to support it.
This type of activity allows students to form their own opinions and hear the views of others. Even if they disagree with others, they can at least comprehend their point of view. Understanding others' perspectives without agreeing with them is a highly transferable skill that contributes to creating a culture where people can respectfully listen to others' opinions.
Going back to standardized testing, even if students disagree with the correct answer, they can understand the process used to arrive at that conclusion and select the correct answer even if they have a different interpretation.
Concern 3: I don’t have time to teach poetry.
Did I mention I was a teacher for twenty years? So, I understand time constraints. Here are a few practical ways you can teach poetry.
How Busy Teachers Can Incorporate Poetry in Their Classrooms
Teach a Gradual Release mini-lesson and assign homework
A Few Lesson Ideas:
What is Poetry
The Structure of Poetry
Figurative Language
Sound Devices
Assign Reading Logs and require parent signatures
Assign free - writing for homework (this is not graded on content, but serves as a base to create poems)
Review concepts in a warm-up
Informally Assess: Review concepts in an exit ticket
Review missed items from the exit ticket as a quick mini-lesson
Allow students to write free-form poetry when they finish all their other work
Let students volunteer to read their poems or teach a small group about a concept they have grasped (for example, sound devices)
Use pre-created poetry Quizlets and allow students to work on them during a small group rotation
Conclusion
The perception of poetry is that it is hard to understand. It's also true that it makes little of an appearance on standardized tests and requires valuable class time to teach. However, if the perception of poetry will ever be changed it will have to start with the very ones who have loathed it.
This is not a light charge to keep, but a challenge to accept as we, like our students, are in a state of continual learning and metacognition. For so long we have been patient, graceful, merciful and supportive of everyone else - now, let’s lavish that same luxury on ourselves as we delve into the complicated yet rewarding world of poetry.
REFERENCES
Aisyah, Widodo, Mubarok, Harumi. 2019. The Role Of Poems In Developing Critical Thinking Skills Of Low Achieving Students. Magister Scientiae.
Murison Travers, D. M., Elster, C. A., Hanauer, D. I., Perfect, K. A., White, B., Vogel, M., Tilley, J., & CANTERFORD, B. N. (1984). The Poetry Teacher: Behavior and Attitudes. Research in the Teaching of English, 18(4), 367-384.
Oxford Languages. “Critical Thinking”. Accessed June 10, 2024.
University of Texas Austin. How to Teach Divergent Thinking. The University of Texas at Austin Faculty Innovation Center.
Wald, Maya. 2023. Iowa Reading Research Center. The Benefits of Poetry Reading. Iowa Reading Research Center.