Smith said it’s one of his favorite subjects because “the understanding that happens happens” as the students go. “This experience allows students to physically understand the flow and movement of the poem … that they didn’t get when they first read it, sitting at their desk reading the poem out loud.”
“New Day’s Lyric” by Amanda Gorman
Smith teaches this poem right after winter break. “Since Gorman wrote it as a poem to ring in the new year, it’s perfect for starting a new semester and reforming ourselves with purpose and hope as we investigate the mistakes of the past,” she said.
The poem deals with themes of reckoning with the past, coming together, hope and healing, and incorporates a variety of literary devices. “This poem gives students the opportunity to see a master of wordplay and language,” said Smith. By asking readers to notice the nuances of Gorman’s art, they see how the poem ‘works.’
Smith asks his students to highlight certain writing instruments in designated colors and then create a work of art based on the poem. Gorman himself recommended the course to X.
“Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo
“Acevedo is able to teach the history and wisdom of the ancestors with this poem that talks about her hair and hair (and the things she experienced with it) which is part of the heritage of every woman of African origin,” he said. Julia Torreslibrarianship in the Denver Metro area. “Her poetry is intimate and touching everywhere, it is an expression of self in a world that always tries to make Black women betray themselves in their pursuit of ‘beauty.’
Torres said the poem is important in teaching metaphor and symbols, “an obscure language that can be difficult for students to understand.” Acevedo also uses juxtaposition in the poem. Torres shared two examples of her students’ reactions to the poem:
- “Personally I am not a person of color but I know how important hair is in this culture. Since this is a big part of her, she is proud of her hair. It is curvy and has great volume and texture. Doing it, in my mind, was good. I feel that he should not hide it.” – KA
- “When people have confidence in themselves, they will always be proud of their state of health.” – DN
“This Is Not a Small Word” by Sonia Sanchez
Adrian NeibauerColorado fifth graders love this “short and sweet” a poem. Since it’s not quite the middle yet, Neibauer said his students “are often seen as children who don’t have their own ideas.” The vocal and activist themes of this poem encourage them to find their own voices. “Students can easily relate to themes of humanity, the power of the human voice and activism,” said Neibauer.
This poem also provides examples of teaching anaphora. “I love how Sanchez uses repetition, which helps students with their poetic fluency,” Neibauer said.
“Wild Horses” by Paisley Rekdal
Another with an activism theme, Neibauer said “Wild Horses” “an excellent introduction to the challenging themes of choice and protest.” Written from the perspective of Seraph Young Fordthe first woman to vote in Utah and in the modern world, and she needs to be taught beforehand about her, as well as the merits and traditional history.
“This is a very challenging poem, but the students responded well to the historical importance put into the poem,” said Neibauer, who has collaborated with the Rolling Stones. song of the same name and is happy to discuss the picture in both. The poem is also rich in vocabulary words, such as “acculturation,” for young readers.
“A Bird Made of Birds” by Sarah Kay
“The heart, the care and the accuracy of the images of this poem have always stayed with me,” he said RA VillanuevaSarah Lawrence College professor and middle school teacher. “There’s a real commitment to the strangeness and incredible beauty of the world – and a reliance on confusion as a spark of creativity.
Villanueva, also a poet herself, interacts with the students A TED talk where Kay explains her inspiration for creating the poem. “Listening to the flow of his stories in his performance inspired amazing conversations about the poetic articulation of power,” Villanueva said. “And since ‘Bird Made of Birds’ is also an array of personal responses to a variety of information and visuals, I am able to present [students] in ekphrasis / ekphrastic poetry.”
Two of the visuals in Kay’s speech and poem are the anatomical heart of a blue whale and a wonderful sigh. Villanueva students looked at diagrams showing the rate of a whale’s heart and watched a video of a starling’s moan. “After seeing all those different layers come together, amazing things happen: They are able to write freely through the interactions they get, practice annotation and note-taking skills, and use some important vocabulary,” he said.
“To Estefani Lora, Third Grade, Who Made Me a Card” by Aracelis Girmay
The poem “strikes with mystery and playfulness,” Villanueva said. In it, the author tries to decipher an unknown word on a hand-drawn card given to him by a young child. “It is not just an explanation or a mere reporting from memory; he is able to convey the collapse of his imagination and his genuine, child-like joy in connecting with the assurances of his former student. It’s a hopeful, soft poem,” said Villanueva.
His students – sixth graders and high schoolers – first encountered the poem animated video replay. “Listening to Aracelis Girmay’s voice, his crescendos and pauses, helps to refresh their knowledge of this poem. They are free to engage in doubt and then celebrate the epiphany and the speaker,” said Villanueva.
Afterward, students read the printed copy in small groups, analyzing Girmay’s unusual arrangement of lines and paragraphs, his stretching of punctuation conventions, and changes in rhythm. “How do we talk? enjambment it works as a musical symbol, how onomatopoeia helps the poet to wrestle with the sounds and meanings of the words he likes,” said Villanueva. “The combination of laughter and close reading analysis is amazing to hear.”
“One Vote” by Aimee Nezhumatathil
This poem makes reference to a book that Harry T. Burn received from his mother just before his vote moved the Tennessee General Assembly to ratify the 19th amendment. Susan Barbera high school English teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, teaches this poem during election season. His students are all adults, most of whom have had the opportunity to vote for the first time. For them, the poem “reinforces the idea that every vote — their vote — makes a difference,” Barber said.
Barber encourages readers to notice the poet’s use of enjambment and stanza breaks, as well as to unravel the metaphor of the eagle and the eagle learning to fly. “I like how Nezhumatathil turns to natural images as a way to understand ideas and things that happen every day,” she said.
“Maybe the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo
With its descriptions of many life events that happen around the kitchen table, Barber said this poem full of juxtapositions and comparisons for readers to draw out.
“I love how Harjo brings life to the ordinary,” Barber said of the band former United States Poet Laureate who became the first Native American to hold that title. “Everyone can relate to the table and the information around the table, so students always enjoy this poem.”
Barber said the poem is connected to the idea of ”breaking bread” and can lead to conversations about the intimacy of eating together. He likes to teach it around Thanksgiving break, when students expect family gatherings around kitchen tables.
“New National Anthem” by Ada Limón
Zach Czaiaan English teacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota, said she loves it this poem “talking back to the ‘old’ text” – national anthem. “It empowers students in college prep to use their voices, and feel like they belong too.” Their voice is also important,” he said.
Czaia focuses on word definition for this poem, using an activity from the Teach Living Poets website that asks students to make vertical circles on butcher paper and choose the most important word from the poem to place in the center. In the middle circle they write pictures and the relation of people to the middle word, and in the outer circle they write the meaning and theme of the poem.
“Students definitely responded well to this poem, and they are happy about its connection with the history they read in the past,” said Czaia.
“America Loves Me to Death” by Michael Kleber-Diggs
In this poem, Kleber-Diggs exposes the pain of being Black in America. And he does so between what Czaia calls “two very accessible but also legitimately interesting strategies.” The first letters are an acrostic, spelling out the title of the poem. The last word in each line comes from another text – the oath of allegiance. This last form is called “the poem of the golden shovel” and was created by poet Terrance Hayes and inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks.
“This attention to structure and pattern allows readers ways to look at Kleber-Diggs’s profound critique of systemic racism in America,” Czaia said of the combination of the acrostic spade and gold.
Czaia uses “America Is Loving Me To Death” as a teaching text for students to write their own golden shovel poems. She said her students love the poem and some have written to Kleber-Diggs, who lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota. “across the river” from Czaia’s school. Czaia said Kleber-Diggs responded to those books her students visited in her class — something only living poets can do.
“Camaro” is Phil Kaye
Brett VogelsingerEnglish teacher in Pennsylvania and author of Poems Are Suspended: Teaching Poetry to Enhance Student Writing in All Genreshe said his class is quiet after watching Kaye play this spoken poem. “Kaye’s delivery adds an extra dimension to the already amazing vocals,” Vogelsinger said.
The poem includes memories from childhood memories, old road trips, and later reunions after a breakup. “It talks about how moments stick with us for a long time, and it reminds us of how sadness and love can interact in our memories,” Vogelsinger said. “Students love to talk about how a past elementary school memory and a recent Camaro memory work together to influence the present, and why two people can remember (or forget) the same time differently and why and wherefore.”
Students can also distinguish the poet’s use of repetition, flashback, imagery, and figurative language. And, Vogelsinger said, “There will always be one student in the class who will also be able to subtly interpret ET!”
“Burning the Old Year” by Naomi Shihab Nye
As the name might suggest, this is another good thing a poem teaching after winter break. “The images are clear and beautiful and the idea of what we hold on to and let go of is important,” Vogelsinger said.
“Metaphors are prominent in this poem,” said Vogelsinger. After reading this poem, his students discuss the meaning of the two metaphors in the lines “Most of the year is burning” and “there is very little stone.” He then asked them to answer in their books two questions:
- What do you hope will catch fire from last year?
- What do you hope the stone is?
