EXPLORING POETRY

Poetry plays a pivotal role in the reading connection. William Shakespeare in his Preface to Lyrical Ballad states that "poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings". Poetry when read out loud should stimulate a need to know more in students about the creative use of words and language (Gunning, 2000).
After reading the article it was apparent that planning is crucial and imperative when teaching students poetry. Additionally, students must be taught to read and consider poems in a holistic manner and gain insight into students into students' interests and feelings about what has been read.

It is also important that students be taught strategies to read and aid in their comprehension of poems. For instance, teachers should encourage the use of the KWL Chart as was previously discussed in older posts, along with in cooperate fluent oral reading and choral reading.
Teachers should seek to make poetry fun for students and expose them to a variety of short poems. These short poems can be used  for students to highlight similarities and techniques used by poets. Poetry should not be taught in isolation. Thus, it can be used with language classes. For example, a poem can be used to help students to identify sensory words which can be used to write a descriptive piece. Similar to any other type of writing, poetry must be assessed. Students should be taught to use self assessment and peer assessment checklists to evaluate their work and that of their peers. Hence, students are not only autonomous learners in the language classroom but the literature classes as well.

POINT TO NOTE: As a teacher, it is important that we create inclusive classrooms to cater to every student in our class, from those students who are present with disabilities to those who are gifted. It is important that we frequently monitor our peers, enhance memory comprehension and to ensure that every child is gaining the most out of each lesson. Remember to always encourage your students.