The child as poet: myth or reality?

[carol bergin]

Livingston, M. C.  (1994)  The child as poet:  myth or reality?  Boston:  The Horn Book Cooperative

 

This book had many pages justifying the natural poetic talent of children.  The first paragraph will discuss this idea in detail.  The second paragraph will relate to teaching poetry - and poetry in the classroom.

 

Children are natural poets - singing before speaking.  Form, creativity, and rhythm are instinctive.  One law of chidrens' verbal intellegence is the desire for justification at any price.  Example:  "Poetry is like the moon because it floats all over the world.  When I see the moon, it looks like poetry is written all over his face"  Written by a fourth grade student.  Children are also able to make analogies and think in terms of vivid similies.  They also show an affinity with metaphor, repetition, onomatopoeia and personification.  Although, by fourth grade, childlren have a large file of cliches stored in their heads, they still want to write something that belongs to them; not to the teacher or parents.  Even young children can use simile and metaphor with originality.  These are natural operations of the mind; a way to understand concretely.  Rhyme can be difficult, but repetition may give structure and form.  Alliteration can reinforce meaning.  Childrens' poetry comes from their own life-experience as well as imaginative life.

 

With poetry, the process is always more important than the product.  A poem is a result of craft, revision, and has roots in individual experience and observation.  Children have to believe they have something to say.  Teaching poetry should allow a chance for self-exploration.  The author felt that poetry dies in schools too often because in our society, it is not respected because it is tacked onto language arts and mutilated by gimmickry.  I thought these five classroom suggestions were the most beneficial:

     1)  Reading poems by other children moves children to write their own.

     2)  Teachers should mix poems of nonsense and humor with those that express the emotions of joy and/or paid.

     3)  Poems that come from brain-storming words can help children express themselves and encourage independent writing.

     4)  "compupoems", written by a computer, may encourage planning ahead, image-making, and sentence structure.

     5)  "class collaborative poems", where one student contributes one line, are easy to write, no anxieties of competitiveness, and no worries about failing to write a good poem - since everyone has written one line.

 

Questions:

     1)  In the classroom, my teaching of poetry was units of haiku, couplets, etc.  Do you think this is effective?  How do you teach poetry to your classes?

 

     2)  Many of the suggestions also relate to writing prose.  How important is poetry in the classroom?  Is it a necessary process?  Why, or why not?

 

[Julianne Dillard]

Hi, Carol! I've been thinking about poetry a good deal lately, so it was fun to happen on your post! I think there's a lot of potential for poetry in the classroom in that they can be really show how playful language can be at times, how much room there is for creative expression. On the other hand, poetry can be used to highlight in an approachable way some pretty challenging literary concepts.

want to make poetry a part of this year's classroom on a more regular basis--was thinking of posting a poem at the beginning of the week with the expectation we'll discuss it at the end of the week. I'm going to email them to students so they can share at dinner if they'd like! :) There are so many ways to make poetry a positive part of a classroom and I just don't want to be a "here's a handout" and "this is what you couldn't see in the poem because you're a lousy reader" teachers of poetry. It seems I have some issues to resolve from my student life! :)

I totally think working with haiku or couplets is valid, as long as you have a purpose in mind (even if it's to enjoy word play). One book your questions bring to mind is Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? by Kenneth Koch. Have you seen it? Totally worth a look! Take care, Carol! See you soon! Julie

[Sara Kwasna]

1. I think that teaching smaller poems like the haiku and using couplets, both which are very structured in form, can be useful in teaching poetry- especially to special education students as you teach. Often they need the structure and form to make poetry work for them. I do, however, think it is fun to branch out into other forms of poetry including free verse and longer poems. Often it is hard for students to really say something profound in a shorter poem. I like using modeling with poetry. I give my students a poem and then have them write their own poem using the author's poem as a model. One example would be using "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens. After reading and analyzing the poem, I would ask students to write their own poem on ____ ways of looking at a ____. I challenge them to come up with 13, but tell them that it is not a requirement. After doing that with several poems, I ask students to choose a poet and they do an author's study of that poet. They have to research biographical information and present poems by that author to share with the class as well as write 3 of their own poems modeling some aspect of the poet's style. Students really enjoyed getting to know a poet that they liked and respected in depth in that project. i have also used shorter poems as warm-ups for students to respond to in a journal at the start of class. For example, when I teach Of Mice and Men, I use the Dreams poem by Langston Hughes as a warm up to respond to in their journals. I think that there are so many opportunities for using and teaching poetry in the classroom. Thank you for sharing this book.

2. One of my favorite quotes reads, "You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone." (John Ciardi) I like to share this with my students because I think that oftentimes it is true that even our reluctant writers are scribbling away poetry in their bedrooms at night. While many students see writing as a chore and academic work, they view poetry as more creative work and something that is fun. I think that many students can be successful writing poetry because you don't need to follow the rules of grammar and mechanics that are often the areas that they are not confident with. So yes, I believe that teaching poetry is a necessary process. It gives another opportunity for all students to experience success with writing in the classroom.

[Karen Pedersen]

Hello Carol:

This book really hits home. As a past music teacher, the arts are not as valued in many school communities as it is considered "fluff" or non-essential. Lyon County is a very athletic community, so if you can't swing it, hit it, run after it, jump on it, jump from it, or wrestle it, it must not be worth our time. (my words.) I, to this day, find myself defending music education as vital to a well rounded education. Of course I through much research and evidence, but it doesn't matter.
Poetry is viewed much the same way by many. I is not valued as a valid form of expression because it is percieved by many to be "so personal; more for the intrapersonal intelligence than for the mainstreamed learner." this is always frustrating. On the flip side, students love poetry. My husband is a story teller. I would love to give him the title of professional story teller because he is amazing, captivating, and has never let his audience down when telling stories, reciting poetry, etc. (He is a big performer in my family, and I have a large family. So, Dan is always on demand at family reunions, events, etc.)
Anyway, he recites poetry to his students on a weekly basis because he was brought up that way. His students love the diverse genres of poems and often times begin to request poems as the weeks go by. After developing a routine, and having casual conversations with his 4th graders about style, etc. Students begin to write their own poetry at the end of units. these poems are excellent because the student are motivated and excited to write their own "funny poem", silly poem", "serious poem" "formatted poem" etc.

I try to recreate this in my classroom, but am not as good at it as Dan.
What I have come to realize is that poetry is powerful. Students love poetry. It is quick, and easy. I am also surprised at how well students can evalute and interpret poetry. It is safe!

Questions.
1. I think I am much like you on this one. I use Haiku to integrate the concept of syllables. I also use Haiku to help student capture the essence of something be it art, nature, school, homework, etc. I teach a poetry unit that introduces students to many different genres of poetry so that they begin to understand expression comes in many forms: music, art, poetry, and writing.

2. I think poetry is a very necessary process because it addresses the soul of writing, has wit, is humorous, thought provoking, and is a great way to analyze author purpose. Poetry also provides a higher level of thinking when it comes to writing across the curriculum as students can show understanding of a concept or content throug poetry. This takes deeper thinking in order to demonstrate understanding of the main idea, supporting details, etc.

[Kelly Hiatt]

I am not a poet and for a long time I hated writing poetry. I always thought that poetry had to rhyme and lets face it I am not good at that either. I also think that it is silly and hinders us from writing with expression. However, I have come to love teaching poetry to my students. Most of my lessons have come from writing fix and include the use of picture books. I believe that your poetry units and any poetry taught in the class is effective. Students need the exposure to all types and genres of writing. I feel that poetry also allows those students who are creative and really struggle with writing prose the ability to feel successful as a writer. Poetry also encourages writers to use more sensory and figurative language. I find that after doing some poetry lessons my students are able to transition into writng prose with more details and sensory language. So yes, I do think that poetry is a necessary process in the classroom.

[Nadyne Burra]

1) In the classroom, my teaching of poetry was units of haiku, couplets, etc. Do you think this is effective? How do you teach poetry to your classes? This is my first year of teaching poetry in my class. It is the first writing unit that we are working. I think that teaching them the different styles of poetry can be effective, but ask yourself this; are you doing it just as a unit and never going back to it throughout the year or are you teaching more like a spiral curriculum where you will come back to it many times over the year? I'm trying to give my students the basics in poetry, haiku's couplets and formulated poems, but I plan on revisiting poetry many times throughout the year to help them build on that style of written expression.

2) Many of the suggestions also relate to writing prose. How important is poetry in the classroom? Is it a necessary process? Why, or why not? I feel that it is important for students to be exposed to many style of writing. As long as it helps one of my students find a means of expression I feel that it will be successful unit. Students come across poetry every day, they just don't realize it.