We all know that time is limited, and teachers have to make instructional choices. Poetry is that gift, so I want to end with a present from some of my students here in China. Making poetry available and fun for children is an important part of a child’s education. Why Poetry Is Necessary. Working creatively with sentence structures helps improve writing skills and creative thinking, and poetry is the perfect genre for introducing creative and interesting vocabulary to children. Poems are a fun way for students to learn and collect new facts. In this blog, I described how poetry can be used at the start of the year to learn about where students come from and who they are. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom … Poems have accounted for no more than 100. Poetry is a very integral part of children’s learning overall, and the learning of language skills.Poetry makes learning fun for children, and gives the opportunity to learn through association. Because poems defy rules, poetry can be made accessible for ELLs -- poems can be easily scaffolded and students can find ways of expressing their voices while being limited in their vocabulary. April is National Poetry Month, inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets to celebrate poetry and its vital role in American culture.The academy sponsors events such as the star-studded Poetry & the Creative Mind Gala (April 17 at Lincoln Center in New York City) and mass-appeal activities like Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 18), when everyone is encouraged to carry a poem. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. Poetry is a unique literary art form that has been written and read for millenia. Poetry Is defined as a work of literacy at which special Intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. It lets us into other minds. And we must find ways to talk about the difficult and unexplainable things in life -- death and suffering and even profound joy and transformation. Anyone who writes poetry can attest, you have to write it with an open heart. Although the support is specific to our collection, the general approach and strategies can be applied to any work of poetry you hope to help your kids enjoy. Students should be exposed to this form of art and they should be allowed to experiment with writing poetry, as well. “Poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. That’s where the practicality of poetry comes in. I remember loving poetry when I was young, just like I loved music, but I began to feel stressed about poetry when, in junior high, we had to memorize and recite poetry in front of the class. Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems: Featuring Lee Bennett Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Naomi Shihab Nye, and others.. Through poetry, students can also learn the underappreciated importance of silence. And since pretty much every time we studied poetry in junior high school, a teacher would make me memorize and recite in front of the class, poetry began to equal stress for me. Why does it matter that children enjoy poetry? To my mind, poetry is the complete package. My own story is in line with national surveys. Just to add a little perspective, fear of clowns is number eleven on the list. 10 poetry unit explored in this article, involved the personal experiences of students juxtaposed to Australian history, Australian poets and students’ evolving sense of self. Reason #1: Poetry helps us know each other and build community. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. But, most importantly, we try to make poetry fun and stress free. Find the poems that wake you up, that make you feel as if you've submerged yourself in a mineral hot spring or an ice bath; find the poems that make you feel (almost) irrational joy or sadness or delight. “Poetry ignites students to think about what it’s like to share their opinion, be heard, and make a difference in their world,” Southerton said. Before our son could walk, I was reading him poems about bugs, and my husband shares his favorite children’s poems, such as Edward Lear’s “The Jumblies” and Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” with our son. Poetry is an art form which uses the beauty and rhythm of language to produce emotions in a reader. It isn't a hiding place. To Deepen Your Understand of Language. All rights reserved. After … Reason #2: When read aloud, poetry is rhythm and music and sounds and beats. I tell the kids the most important thing about poetry is that people feel differently after reading it.” It asks us to celebrate language for its beauty and strangeness. Sometimes, the most powerful word choice is choosing no words at all. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions,” states literature professor Andrew Simmons in an open letter to The Atlantic. I'm also a mum of three young adults who, to my surprise, learned to read easily and fairly quickly with very little in the way of formal instruction. 1. Sometimes, while sitting alone in front of my computer, I have wondered whether I was wasting my time. Poetry also helps in understanding different perspectives. If you’re looking for ways to get your kids excited about a poem or a work of poetry, you can find helpful ideas here. Poetry is so important because it helps us understand and appreciate the world around us. This post includes five reasons to teach poetry in the classroom. High school seniors Sam and Catherine will tell you what they have gotten ou… Poetry allows kids to put language to use-to make it serve a deep internal purpose, to break rules along the way (grammar, punctuation, capitalization -- think of e.e. It's the most kinesthetic of all literature, it's physical and full-bodied which activates your heart and soul and sometimes bypasses the traps of our minds and the outcome is that poetry moves us. Part of HuffPost News. Most likely, children are having some negative experiences with poetry in school and are not getting enough positive experiences with poetry anywhere else. ELLs can learn about or read poetry in their primary language, helping them bridge their worlds. It is a form of self-expression with the creativity of words and emotion to convey a message to the audience. cummings) and to find voice, representation, community perhaps. I don’t know where you stand on public speaking, but most people fear it. As parents, we may know that reading is important but not stop to think about the value of poetry. It’s good for your mind. It fuels the imagination and invites us to play. Repeating rhymes also impacts kids’ physical deve lopment. No question about it. The basics of poetic form are often a major part of secondary and post-secondary study. Today is National Voter Registration Day! My husband and I recently launched an independent publishing company, and one of our goals is to help bring poetry to life for children and make it more fun for adults. It starts by helping children find poetry they enjoy. Through rhymes and poems, children learn to recognize patterns, and through patterns, they learn to understand what a sequence is, both of which help with learning math skills later. Let me start with this: We need poetry. So as a reader, we must do the same. April is National Poetry Month. I asked a few why poetry was important. Research shows that young children prefer funny, silly, or whimsical poems, but poetry preferences will change as children grow older. If you don't already have these two books, get them now! Here is why reading poetry is good for you: First of all, poetry is emotional. ©2021 Verizon Media. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. It can add additional value to our studies. Teaching With Fire: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Teach, Leading from Within: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Lead, Aquí y Allá/Here and There: Exploring Our Lives Through Poetry, "Talking Back to the World: Turning Poetic Lines into Visual Poetry". As noted in this piece from NY Magazine, poetry reading and interpretation demand analysis and critical thinking, important skills for all of us. Founder of parenting blog, "Pajamas, Books, and Chickens", Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. But why should we be worried about children’s experiences with poetry? Here are five reasons why we need poetry in our schools. Why is Poetry Important for Learning to Read? This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Every society is measured by the extent to which it has high culture. Our schools are places of too much "brain only;" we must find ways to surface other ways of being, other modes of learning. All of us, as both parents and teachers, can work to bring poetry to life for children and make sure children don’t end up with strong negative experiences with poetry. We’ve started with a free support page for our first book of children’s poetry offering discussion starters, activities, and art support to help enrich poetry experiences for children. What’s happening along the way that’s changing the way we feel about poetry? A national poetry survey in the mid 2000s indicated that 9 of 10 American adults do not enjoy poetry, and, in 2012, a national poll showed that only 7 percent of American adults reported reading a work of poetry in the last year. So many writers avoid writing poetry. Reason #3: Poetry opens venues for speaking and listening, much neglected domains of a robust English Language Arts curriculum. Reason #5: Poetry builds resilience in kids and adults; it fosters Social and Emotional Learning. However, it is a powerful instructional tool and an important art to study at any age. Reason #1: Poetry helps us know each other and build community. It can be taught as part of reading, writing, and language lessons, and it fits easily into classroom themes, projects, and celebrations. Poetry can inspire nonfiction writing. Use fun, informative poems as a mentor text for your students. So we start out loving poetry but end up disliking it. This is a shame — not just because poetry is important to teach, but also because poetry is important for the It can cross boundaries that little else can. William Butler Yeats said this about poetry: "It is blood, imagination, intellect running together...It bids us to touch and taste and hear and see the world, and shrink from all that is of the brain only." It is a finding place.". However, reading it emotionally allows the nuances and paradoxes to enter our understanding. Young children -- babies and preschoolers included -- may not understand all the words or meaning, but they'll feel the rhythms, get curious about what the sounds mean and perhaps want to create their own. Why should teaching poetry matter at all? Find the poems that make you want to roll around in them or paint their colors all over your bedroom ceiling. Read It Often. Throughout time poetry has been a medium for expressing ideas, emotions, and beliefs. It is a creative piece of writing that often has meanings and messages that appear hidden. Furthermore, poetry is universal. It takes us to other worlds. When reciting poetry students are given the freedom to express feelings to their audience. So far this year, my 12th grade literature students have read nearly 200,000 words for my class. Throughout history, poetry has been important because it gives us a historical representation of what previous generations found beautiful, important, or profound. Contrary to popular belief amongst kids, boys get really into poetry when brought in through rhythm and rhyme. Poetry forces you to search the language for the perfect word. Visit this Edutopia article for more ideas. Poem of the week activitiescan be easily implemented to strengthen language arts lessons. It stretches your linguistic faculties in ways that pay off later. Poetry has a place in our curriculum. The program was recently brought to the NSW Southern Highlands where students were taught to compose poems in the Gundungurra language to coincide with World Poetry Day. But perhaps most importantly, poetry can have a positive impact on students’ mental health. Its helps us express ourselves. Poetry is an ancient art form and dates back to the first human civilization in … It took me years to learn to love poetry again, and now that I read poetry and can enjoy it, my life is enriched. As a parent, I didn’t want my children to have the same kinds of negative experiences with poetry that I did. 5. If you are a poetry advocate already, I hope you gain some additional insight and ideas to strengthen your program. Teaching and learning from poetry can help students respect and understand the viewpoints of people across the globe. It turns out that there are some important developmental benefits of poetry for children. 06/26/2011 04:53 pm ET Updated Aug 26, 2011 In the last few years I have spent much of my time writing books on poetry. My husband writes poetry, and we read poetry regularly. “Students can let go of traditional writing rules with poetry. “poetry slams are cool,” I know that teaching poetry requires a commitment that is intrinsically rewarding-for teachers and for students of all ages. Poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience.