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The interviewees and guests on RIF Exchange 205: Poetry:Fun With Words helped answer these questions. Q: What is Poetry? A: As defined in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Third Edition), poetry is: The art or work of a poet.
A piece of literature written in meter; verse. Prose that resembles a poem in some respect, as in form or sound. The essence or characteristic quality of a poem. The quality of a poem, as possessed by an object, act, or experience: the poetry of the dance movements.
"Poetry is man's rebellion against being what he is." — James Branch Cabell [Poetry is] "Written by a sponge dipped in warm milk and sprinkled with sugar."— John Ciardi "Poetry is speaking painting." — Plutarch "Poetry is what gets lost in translation." Poetry is beautiful words organized in very interesting ways. It captures the essence of a subject. It boils it down to the very most important meaning and helps you see things at a level that you would never think of seeing. It creates images that stay in your mind forever. — Bernice Cullinan Q: What happens when we read, listen to, or write a poem? A: Depending on its subject and form, a poem can stimulate our imaginations, make us laugh, invite us to join in with repeated words and refrains, touch deep feelings, and remind us of similar people, places, events, and experiences. Poetry opens a world of feelings and is a source of love and hope for children and adults--today and for the rest of their lives. Well it is interesting to me because it was just a way for me to let out all my feelings inside. Like because I would be angry so I would write a poem and it kind of helped me cool down a bit. — Student, Park Avenue Elementary School, It’s hard to explain. Poetry, it’s just an essence. I mean it comes from here. That’s as much as I can explain it. It’s just, I don’t know. It’s just my soul talking for me. That’s basically how I see it. — Poetry Slam Participant, Washington, DC Q: How can poetry influence young children's literacy development? A: In early childhood, children enjoy listening to the rhyming, predictable, and repetitious words of poetry. They enjoy the word play of poems, build their phonological awareness, and, when the same poems and rhymes are repeated often, join in with remembered words and phrases. For the early learner one of the very most important things that they can have is something called phonemic awareness. That’s simply learning how the sound of language works. Poetry is a natural for that because they have to learn the sounds that words have and then how those words are put together with different sounds and then learn to manipulate the sounds and make new words. — Jill Norris Q: How can poetry influence the literacy development of beginning readers? A: Beginning readers also benefit from the rhyming, predictable, and repetitious nature of poetry. Poems give cues that help children decode words they don't yet know how to read. For example, poems have words with the same ending sounds and beginning sounds. Children can make letter-sound connections by matching the sounds of words they hear with the letters in the words on a page. Many children can memorize rhymes and remember words after hearing and seeing them once. When you are reading a poem, you are reading sort of short, direct, gorgeous statements. It engages children right away. It gets them excited about reading and writing. And, as they get excited, they want to do more and more and more. — Mark Statman Q: How can poetry support struggling older readers? A: Struggling older readers find poems easier to tackle than prose because they are shorter, have plenty of white space on the page, usually include one phrase per line, and generally use simple vocabulary. The language of poetry often sounds natural. Once they can read a poem successfully, they are motivated to read more and eventually move on to stories and longer texts. There are two reasons that people are reluctant readers as far as I can tell. One is that they do not feel comfortable with themselves as readers . . . The second is that they have not found anything they want to read. One of the things that one can do with poetry . . . is I can make it work with anything that they want to read. — Mark Statman Q: What are some strategies for reading a poem aloud? Lee Bennett Hopkins suggests the following steps: Choose a poem you like that you think the audience will enjoy too. Prepare by reading the poem aloud to yourself several times so you can become very familiar with it. Get the feel of words and rhythm. Mark words and phrases you want to emphasize. Practice reading it as you feel it. Read to the group in a natural style. Follow the rhythm of the poem. Note how the physical appearance of the poem on the page dictates the rhythm and mood. Stop for a moment at times when it pleases you and when it fits the content and mood of the poem. Use your normal voice, as if describing a daily event. Be sincere. Stay quiet at the end of the reading. You don't need to ask, "Did you like it?" Find some poems that they like, and recite the poems with lots of expression. . . . All you have to do is put the expression on your face, before you say the words look at the audience and have them begin to wonder and anticipate what you’re going to say and recite the poem and take a bow, and let the children clap for you. — Brad Bagert Q: What forms and techniques can children and youth use to write poetry? A: Throughout history poets from all over the world have developed and used a variety of forms and techniques.
Couplet — two lines that rhyme Tercet/triplet — three lines ending in the same rhyming sound. Quatrain — four lines with any metrical pattern or rhyme scheme. Cinquain — an unrhymed stanza in five lines totaling 22 syllables. The first line is 2 syllables; each of the next 3 lines is longer than the previous one; the last line returns to 2 syllables (Line 1 = 2 syllables, 2 = 4 syllables, 3 = 6 syllables, 4 = 8 syllables, and 5 = 2 syllables). Asian verse forms: Haiku — 3 unrhymed lines with 17 syllables - Line 1 = 5 syllables, 2 = 7 syllables, 3 = 5 syllables. Usually the content is related to nature or the seasons of the year and the haiku presents a single image. Senryu — like a haiku, the lines in this form follow a 5, 7, 5 pattern and the poem presents a single image. However, the subject of the poem is not restricted to nature or seasons. Limericks — 5 lines; lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme; lines 3 and 4 may or may not rhyme. Concrete poems/shape poetry — picture poems made of letters and sounds, with each line completing a complete thought. Free verse — unrhymed and with less predictable rhythm. I like poetry. It’s like rock without the background music. When you write poetry it’s always fun to find the next word that’ll rhyme with the word you put before and finding words that go with it and words to describe it that will make the poem interesting. — Student, Cobb Mountain Elementary, CA Poetry is a slender form. There are not many words. So kids can see the structure of poetry and they can write. They can follow that pattern or that format because it’s so visible. It’s like the skeleton, and they can see the structure and the bones and so they can imitate that form for writing. — Bernice Cullinan Q: How can teachers encourage children and youth to write poems? A: Children and youth can write poems that rhyme or do not rhyme; are completely free-flowing or follow a specific form. Young poets can be very creative when given opportunities to play with language and use words in new and special ways. Techniques and strategies for teaching poetry writing depend in part on students’ ages and abilities. Here are a few ideas you might try—as is, or after adapting to fit your young poets. Use interesting examples of excellent poetry to introduce a variety of poetic forms and techniques. To help children get started, ask children to write in a specific form or by using a specific technique. Over time, as children become more comfortable expressing themselves through poetry, their creativity will soar.
Young poets will find it gratifying to see how others react to their creations. Set aside time each week for reading poetry aloud and make room in the class paper to publish poems. Encourage students to submit their poems to Internet sites for young poets and suggest they send poems via e-mail to friends and family.
— Michele Krueger
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