I wanted to write a bit of a narrative of sorts; it'll be kind of stream of consciousness...but here we go.
We're covering poetry in my classroom right now. We'll be working on it for a couple of weeks.
I love poetry. Something about the ability of a poet to take just a handful of words and paint a picture...it's just always resonated with me. Teaching poetry is one of my favorite things, and I haven't gotten to really teach poetry since I started teaching.
See, my first year, we had a writer in residence come and work with the kids on poetry, and there wasn't a lot for us to do after she was done. And last year...well...last year I wasn't in an environment that allowed me a lot of creative liberties, and let's just leave it at that.
But this year...I'm really getting to talk to my kids about why poetry is so awesome.
I found this book by an author named Sharon Creech, it's called Love That Dog. I actually found it kind of by accident, but isn't that always the case? It's the story of Jack, a student. It's as though you're reading his very own journal in his class, where he's writing his thoughts and feelings in regards to poetry. Now, Jack doesn't think that he (or any other boy) can write poetry, but he changes his mind as he's exposed to different types of poems by iconic poets like William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost.
I'm reading this book to my kids as we study poetry, in the hopes that they'll see that the power of the poem is granted entirely by the poet. Jack has this moment when he realizes that what poets really do is paint pictures with words. That's what I want for my kids. I want them to see the power in their own words; I want them to believe that they can create whatever they want--whatever they imagine--just by using the right words.
So far, my kids are loving the book. We'll see where it takes us, I suppose.
I've always been the outlier amongst my friends because of my love of poetry. I have friends who like poems, but they don't get as excited as I do. That's okay, because as I've told my students, poetry isn't for everyone.
But the great thing about poetry is that it can be written by anyone. Anyone can be a poet; anyone can write a poem about anything. For what else in life is there that kind of opportunity?
You may not be someone who likes to write, but I encourage you to tap into that creativity somehow.
You never know what you might wind up creating.
Until tomorrow.
♥ Marlee
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