Annotated Bibliography
Cumming, R. (2007). Language Play in the Classroom: Encouraging Children's Intuitive Creativity with
Words through Poetry. Literacy, 41(2), 93-101.
Section I WHAT?
It is natural for children to have a tendency to play with language pg 93
Research suggests that children are exposed to a variety of poetry outside of the classroom, even before they begin formal schooling pg 93
Playing with language reinforces development of metalinguistic skills, which improves understanding of language pg 95
When a teacher shows anxiety over writing the atmosphere is not favorable for language play, and it makes language to be something that is functional and used to get a task done with little enjoyment pg 95
A teacher’s own experience with poetry during their schooling shapes their perceptions and attitudes towards their own teaching of poetry pg 96
Socio-constructivism works well with the teaching and learning of poetry pg 97
A socio-constructive approach to poetry: poetry should appeal to student’s interest, imagination, creativity and emotion, should give them time to respond individually and cooperatively, should encourage them to experiment and paly with language, should help them recognize the importance of their play with language, and should relate poetry to wider constructs of language development beyond the classroom pg 98
“The imaginative conditions within the child are right for the enjoyment of poetry” Pg 100
Section II SO WHAT
In many of my classes I have learned about building on the background knowledge of students to help them be successful learners. Since it is likely students have been exposed to some form of poetry in their lifetime, using poetry in the classroom would be beneficial because it would be something they could relate to on some level. When my PDS teacher was instructing the students on an acrostic poem they had to write, I and the students could pick up on her negative feelings towards writing it. Her attitude transferred to the students, and there seemed to be little enjoyment as they wrote their poems. They had to write poems about veterans, something they had no personal connection to. I believe their disconnect from the topic also played a part in their enjoyment of the assignment.
Section III NOW WHAT
This article taught me a good approach to teaching poetry in my classroom. I agree that poetry fits well into a socio-constructivist approach because it should be a social experience that extends beyond the classroom. I believe the most important step to teaching poetry is to make sure the poems are relevant to students’ lives and interests. If poems are not of interest to students, they will not be engaged, and little will be learned. I was previously aware of the fact that teachers often take their schooling experiences and use them to shape their own teaching, but I never thought about teacher anxiety. If a teacher does not feel comfortable doing something, those feelings will create a negative attitude in the classroom which the students will pick up on. While I can’t be perfect and know how to do everything, I will be confident enough to take risks and allow my students to see that I am a learner just as they are.
Dean, J. (2002). Simon Says: A Case Study of Simon, Poetry, and Success. Voices from the Middle, 10(2), 25-
28.
Section I WHAT?
Ideas were there, but their expression was impeded by Simon’s written language difficulties pg 26
Poetry works as a wonderful tool in communicating with children on several levels pg 26
“By writing poetry, students shed their outer shells of grammar etiquette, loosen their linguistic and emotional formality, and show readers versions of themselves that are otherwise unseen” pg 26
Children are taught basically to think within the box, using structures and forms that have been deemed appropriate. True learning requires freedom pg 27
The creative process of poetry writing empowers students with an ownership of ideas and words rarely seen in students pg 28
Poetry helps students become excited about words. This enthusiasm and sensibility for language will be transferred into other spheres of discourse: reading, essays, and everyday conversation pg 28
Section II SO WHAT?
All students have ideas and thoughts they want to share, but when it comes to writing some have a more difficult time expressing these ideas than others. Students are taught a formulated way to write from a young age. Setting such strict boundaries for students makes it hard for some to express their ideas, and sets them up for criticism when they fail to write within theacceptable parameters. Poetry not only empowers students with ideas and words,but allows them to express themselves without the constraints of grammar etiquette and proper sentence structure.
Section III NOW WHAT?
Poetry is a powerful writing tool that can help students learn to express themselves. Poetry will have a big role in my classroom because it is beneficial to every type of student. Since there are several factors, whether genetic or just attitude, that causes a child to be turned away from writing, it is important to incorporate poetry because it can help students become excited about words. Something I had never considered before is that this excitement will transfer to other areas such as reading, essays, and everyday conversations.
Lee, G., & Hughes, M.(2012). The Interpretive Strategies Utilized by Elementary Students with and without
Learning Disabilities in Comprehending Poems.International Electronic Journal of Elementary
Education, 4(3), 489-506. Retrieved November 5, 2012, from http://www.iejee.com/4_3_2012/IEJEE.
Section I WHAT?
“Poetry is a genre that supports all aspects of literacy” pg 489
Using poetry improves a student’s reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills pg 489
Using poetry instruction with third graders who were struggling readers helped improve their fluency, attention to the reading process, word recognition, and confidence pg 490
When students were asked to identify literacy devices and tell why the poet used them, students did not know the term for the device, but were able to understand how the device functioned in the poem pg 495
Students with a learning disability outnumbered general education students (50%-44%) in recognizing metaphors in the poems, and ability to give an example of personification pg 496
This study shows that LD students performed as well as their general education peers in their ability to make sense of the two poems that varied in complexity pg 501
LD students had a difficult time moving beyond the surface meaning of the poems, and understanding an extended metaphor pg 501
Students who have learning disabilities normally have poor comprehension skills, but they were able to identify examples of metaphor, personification, alliteration, and hyperbole and understood how these devices affected the meaning of the poems pg 501
The confusion the students with disabilities encountered is due to their tendency to comprehend things in a literal manner pg 501
Students with learning disabilities were better able to interpret the more contemporary poem pg 502
Students reported that they enjoyed the poems regardless of difficulty pg 503
Students did not make the connection between songs or rap as poetry pg 503
“Poetry is a medium for self-expression that helps readers (and listeners) develop new ways of seeing and understanding the world” pg 503
Section II SO WHAT
Just because a student doesn’t know the correct term for a literacy device, doesn’t mean they can’t identify them. During interactions with my students in my PDS classroom I heard them say things such as, “it’s comparing a broom to the wind, and, a computer can’t hate you!” They did not know what the technical terms for these were, but they were able to identify them. When studying poetry in 11thgrade, my teacher gave us lyrics to a song for us to study. It was clear that many students did not make the connection to poetry because they raised their hand and exclaimed, “I thought we were studying poems!”
Section III NOW WHAT
I was surprised to learn that students with learning disabilities were better at recognizing metaphors
and giving examples of personification. Since I know that students with learning disabilities have trouble with comprehension, I would have thought they would have had a harder time identifying literary devices. This research study taught me that students with learning disabilities are just as capable to comprehend poetry as any other student. Because they have such a difficult time with literal versus figurative translation, poetry would be a great tool to use to help them distinguish between the two. Since this study showed that students with learning disabilities were better able to interpret contemporary poems, the first type of poetry I will introduce to my students will be contemporary.
Routman, R. (2000).Conversations Strategies for Teaching, Learning, and Evaluating.
Portsmouth:Heinemann.
Section I WHAT?
When writing poetry in the classroom, a teacher with four special education students (two LD, one language delayed, and one behavior disorder) was unable to distinguish their poetry from other students pg 365
Writing poetry helps students stay focused because there is less writing required and it is easier for them to develop their ideas pg 366
“Poetry is noncompetitive and acts as an equalizer. Sometimes the best poems come from struggling students” pg 366
Poetry offers students immediate affirmation because the short length of poems makes it easy for a whole class to share what they have written pg 366
Students say they don’t like writing poetry because it has to rhyme and that is too hard, and they have never done it before pg 367
When introducing poetry it is a good idea to create a “what I know about poetry” chart with the students to get a feel for their knowledge and misconceptions about poetry pg 367
Poetry writing should be introduced at the beginning of the year and used throughout the school year instead of just as a unit pg 367
Section II SO WHAT
When comparing the poetry writing of students with learning disabilities, and non-learning disabled students in my PDS classroom, I was unable to tell which ones were written by the students with learning disabilities. The structure for the poem the teacher provided allowed every student to be successful. Every student in the class was on task and engaged with the assignment the entire time they were given to write. Even the students who are normally off task worked hard and stayed focused on their writing.
Section III NOW WHAT
When I begin teaching I plan to introduce my students to poetry within the first week of school, and use poetry throughout the year. Before introducing poetry I will create a “what I know chart” with my students to learn about their misconceptions and knowledge of poetry. Knowing their misconceptions will allow me to better choose poetry that will address their misconceptions. For example, if students have the misconception that all poetry rhymes, I will share free verse poetry with them.
Routman, R. (2000). Kid's Poems Teaching Third and Fourth Graders to Love Writing Poetry. New York:
Scholastic.
Section I WHAT?
Using poetry that is written by other children shows students that writing poetry can be easy and gets them interested because they can see similarities between themselves and the authors pg 5
It is better to teach free verse rather than rhyming poetry because free verse allows students to express themselves more easily since they do not have to try and rhyme pg 5
Students who don’t like to write are able to write free verse easily because poems can be short and do not require much revision pg 5
When poetry is used in the classroom it is usually rhymed verse, structured and rule based pg 6
Poetry notebook are used for students to not only write their own poetry, but also to copy their favorite poems pg 9
For the first poetry lesson the teacher should share kids poems for 15-20 minutes, then have 25-30 minutes of sustained writing, then spend 10-15 minutes of sharing and celebrating with a partner or in a small group pg 11
Using kids’ poetry shows students that poems “can be about anything, are easy to create, share something about the author and have a unique form and shape” pg 11
Minilessons for poetry- selecting topics, writing with voice and language choice pg 26-28
Section II SO WHAT?
This article taught me the importance of sharing poetry written by other children with my students. While using poetry in the classroom has many benefits, using poetry by authors the students can connect to can be very powerful. If students can make a personal connection to not only the content of the poem, but the person who wrote it, they can interact with the poem on a deeper level, and learn that poetry isn’t something just created by adults. The poetry I have seen used in my PDS classroom has been structured and rule based. Before writing their poems, no poetry was read aloud.
Section III NOW WHAT?
I really love the ideas of using kids’ poetry and poetry notebooks. These are two things I would like to incorporate into my classroom. I like how the poetry notebook is not only for students’ own writing, but give them a space to copy down poems they like. I know that minilessons are an important part to the writing process. This article taught me specific
minilessons I can use for teaching poetry that will help my students be more successful at writing poetry.
Stange, T., & Wyant, S. (2008). Poetry Proves to be Positive in the Primary Grades. Reading Horizons,
48(3), 201-212. Retrieved November 2, 2012, from
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=reading_horizons
Section I WHAT?
“Using poetry is an effective interactive strategy for literacy and a useful way to address misbehavior through making personal connections with the content of the poems” pg 202
“Awareness of rhyme, rhythm, repetition, alliteration, and phonemic awareness distinguish effective readers from readers at risk” pg 203
Poetry is a useful tool for improving literacy pg 203
Language learning is an integrative process comprising reading writing, speaking and listening in meaningful contexts. Improvement of a particular language process also facilitates improvements in other langue processes” pg 203
Poetry should be integrated into all subjects pg 203
Poetry builds phonemic awareness, while enhancing the alphabetic principle, vocabulary, fluency, expression, and writing skills pg 204
Poetry is an interactive process that encourages critical, creative and higher order thinking skills pg 208
Personal self-expression poems can be therapeutic by promoting greater self-esteem and motivation pg 211
Section II SO WHAT
In my PDS classrooms I have noticed that when students make connections to what they are learning they are
more engaged, and as a result, there is less misbehavior. In my kindergarten classroom I was in charge of administering a phonemic awareness assessment at the beginning of the year. The students who were not able to identify words that
rhymed, or pick out sounds in words scored the lowest on the iStation assessment. Poetry is useful for improving literacy because it frequently uses rhyme, rhythm, repetition and alliteration.
Section III NOW WHAT
Before this article, I never really considered using poetry in other subjects. After thinking about this I realize how great of an idea it is. Having students write a quick poem would be a great way to assess their knowledge at the end of a lesson. Poetry is important to use in the classroom because it encourages students to use their critical, creative and higher order thinking skills. All students, including ones with disabilities, should be engaged in tasks that have them use these skills. I would also like to have students in my class write personal poems because they can help with motivation and self- esteem. High self-esteem and motivation are very important for students to have. Students with disabilities might have lower motivation and self-esteem, so using poetry with them would not only help them cognitively, but psychologically as well.
Tompkins, G. (2012). Poetry Writing. Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product (6 ed., pp. 154-177).
Boston: Pearson.
Section I WHAT?
Children are naturally attracted to songs, verses, and rhymes pg 156
Students often have misconceptions about what poetry is pg 171
One of the main misconceptions about poetry is that is have to rhyme pg 171
English language learners are more successful with poetry than other genres pg 176
Poetic formulas act as a backbone for writing poetry and serve to scaffold the writer pg 156
“Students write poetry successfully using poetic formulas” pg 156
Poetry allows students more freedom in how they use punctuation, capitalization, and page arrangement pg 156
Section II SO WHAT?
The loose conventions of poetry allow students to focus more on their thoughts rather than the correct use of punctuation, capitalization and page arrangement. This allows them to share their ideas with more ease. The structure of poetry allows English learners, as well as other academically struggling students to be more successful with written language. Poetic
formulas provide structure that would help students with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, focus their thoughts and create written works that express their thoughts in a meaningful way. In my PDS classroom I noticed a boy with severe
ADHD and dyslexia struggling to write on a daily basis. When the teacher modeled a poem the class was to write, he was able to stay on task and create a great piece of poetry.
Section III NOW WHAT?
As a teacher I will make sure to introduce my students to a variety of poems, and make them an integral part of my classroom. Since children are naturally attracted to verse and rhyme, it is likely students will find poetry enjoyable, which will help them be more engaged. Sharing a variety of different types of poetry with students will not only help give them ideas, but allow them to see that not all poetry rhymes. When teaching students to write poetry, I will make sure to use poetic formulas, so that all students can be successful poets.
Wicklund, LaDonna. "Shared Poetry: A whole language experience adapted for remedial readers." The
Reading Teacher 42 -7 (1989): 478-481.
Section I WHAT?
“Shared poetry experience is a powerful means of helping disabled readers achieve success in writing, building sight and meaning vocabulary, and improving fluency” pg 478
Using poetry as a whole language experience is beneficial for readers with disabilities pg 478
Because the language of poetry is descriptive, it can be used to extend vocabulary pg 478
Students can memorize poems and carry the language with them to use in speaking and writing because of the rhythmic sounds and patterns poems have pg 478
Poems are very useful because they are short and can be easily enlarged on chart paper for group work pg 478
There are so many different types of poems about a range of topics that they can be easily matched to students’ interests and experiences pg 478
A teacher should share poems that are appropriate for the age, interests, and experiences of the students pg 478
Poetry engages students who have trouble reading in a meaningful language reading-writing experience which is highly motivating and improves their desire to read and write pg 481
“Using structured poetry allows students to write independently and gives them the patterns and structures which they need to write successfully”pg 480
McCracken and McCraken suggest using literature as a starting point for creative language play and writing pg 479
Lucy Calkin’s research tells us that students in kindergarten and first grade use structured texts, such as attribute books, for writing. Students with disabilities who are poor readers and writers need more practice with the types of stories used in early grades pg 480
Using class written poetry to revise is beneficial to struggling students who normally see revision only as the task of recopying a rough draft.“Doing this allows students to see that revision focuses on ideas and language and that they have the ability to influence language”. Pg 481
Section II SO WHAT
Poetry is such a powerful tool to use as part of a whole language experience. Using poems for not only writing, but also reading is very beneficial to students with disabilities. It helps build vocabulary, and can structure their writing so they can be successful. In my 3rd grade classroom I have noticed that two students with dyslexia are most successful with writing when they write a poem.
Section III NOW WHAT
Poetry should not only be used to structure writing, but should be used for reading as well. In my classroom I will be sure to use poetry in reading lessons as well as writing so that students can be more successful. I will make sure to learn about the interests and experiences of my students so that I can find poetry that connects with them. Doing this is very important to making sure students are engaged in the poetry I use in class.