TEACHING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

Crystal Leon
LBS 355
October 1, 2014
Teaching Poetry in the Classroom

TEACHING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

Teaching Poetry in the Classroom

It has been the traditional way to teach poetry by having students read poems and
meticulously analyze it. Poetry, however, can be used in a variety of ways that can help students
in an exciting and positive way. Poetry can be beneficial to the student because it will build selfconfidence in reading fluency, it will increase reading enjoyment, and it will boost
comprehension.
First, poetry can be beneficial because it provides students an opportunity to buildup self
confidence in their reading fluency. The benefits of poetry come from the brief stanzas. The
stanzas in poetry are short and playful which will not overwhelm a student. Because poetry will
offers a sense of comfort for the student, confidence in reading is then built by establishing a
leveled arena in which students can practice in. That arena is created is by allowing all students
to choral read, read with a partner, and finally hear their partner read to them. Faver (2008) has
found that students who have read poetry, in the ways mentioned previously, have shown growth
in confidence when reading. Growth occurs because of poetrys less intimidating text will allow
the student to focus more on developing confidence in reading fluency, which will help students
obtain notable benefits.
Furthermore, poetry can be beneficial to the student because it will increase reading
enjoyment. Poetry is known to have vivid and playful diction that can help student enjoy what
they are reading (Hughes, 2007). The playful language that poetry uses, like rhyming words for
example, lets the student dive into a text that they can learn from as well as enjoy. Also, when the
text is mentally and visually pleasing for the student, then the student is more likely to enjoy
reading. Sizmur (2008) has found that there has been a decline in childrens reading enjoyment

TEACHING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

even though their confidence has grown. That shows that reading enjoyment is not declining
from lack of confidence from the student. Confidence has mostly declined because the student is
not engaged with what he or she is reading. The fact that Sizmur (2008) has found that there is a
decline in reading enjoyment, opens up an opportunity for educators to fill that void with the
exciting and colorful language that poetry encompasses. Filling up that void with poetry will
increase reading enjoyment for disengaged students.
Additionally, poetry can be beneficial for the student by boosting comprehension. When a
student is reading a text and is able to create mental images of what they are reading, that is a
clear indication that they comprehend what they are reading. Sizmur (2008) argued that students
that are exposed to alliteration, rhythm and repetition of poetry, develops reading and
comprehension skills in general. Exposing the students to poetry will allow students to increase
comprehension by allowing themselves to be taken on a journey by the figurative language that
is used in poetry.
It would be great for a teacher to see the mental images that students create when reading
poetry. A great way for a teacher to see those images is by holding a Poem to Painting
workshop. In this workshop, students will have a canvas, paint brushes, and paint set up in a
circle. The student and their canvas will be facing out allowing students to look only at their
canvasses. The teacher then walks into the center of the circle where he or she can ask the
students to close their eyes and to really pay attention to the images that they create in their head
while she/he reads the poem. The poem will be one that the student is extremely familiar with,
which will allow the student to focus completely on the image in their head and not on trying to
decipher words. After the teacher reads the poem, the student will paint the poem on the canvas.
When all canvasses are finished, host a gallery walk for parents and faculty. This poetry lesson

TEACHING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

will help boost confidence and comprehension by rewarding them with a fun activity that
displays their successes in mastering that poem.

TEACHING POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

References
Faver, S. (2008). Repeated reading of poetry can influence fluency. Reading Teacher, 62(4),
350-352.
Hughes, J. (2007). Poetry: A powerful medium for literacy and technology development.
Sizmur, J. (2008). Attitudes to reading survey- rhyme or reason?. Literacy Today, 57, 29-31.