Annotated Bibliography

Teaching poetry to a class of heterogeneous eighth grade students can prove to be a challenge.  As required in the curriculum, my poetry unit will include types of poetry, parts of poetry, themes, poetry vocabulary, analyzing poetry, and writing poetry.  Historically, the textbook has been used for most poems and content taught, but I fear that the material in the textbook does not meet the diverse needs of my class of 25 average 8th grade students.  It is important to me that the students find a part of the unit that they can connect with, even if they do not fall in love with poetry as a whole; poetry is full of variety, and if I provide students with accessible and interesting options, I hope that they will find something that they can relate to and enjoy.  To enhance my poetry unit, use relatable and accessible texts, and to provide the much needed variety, I will supplement the unit with three trade books and two websites. 

Though the school provides teachers with a textbook that is suppose to be used as the base for the eighth grade poetry unit, the text is not accessible by all students nor does it provide sufficient variety to grasp the interest of the average student.  My average student does not enter my classroom with a passion for reading and exploring poetry, but instead that average student rolls his or her eyes at the mention of poetry.  Using a variety of texts and incorporating trade books in my into my poetry unit will hopefully provide all students, no matter what their hobbies or reading level, with access to texts that are interesting, educational, and readable.  The textbook is so limited in the poetry offered, but when I supplement with additional texts the students and I can find pieces that they like and can read.

A Kick in the Head:  An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

Paul B. Janeczko 

Bright and colorful with beautiful illustrations, A Kick in the Head, combines poetry with definitions of poetry forms and art.  A Kick in the Head starts with an introduction that explains why there are different kinds of poems, why the rules of different poetic forms are important, and how to continue reading the book.  The next forty seven pages appear to be a colorful picture-book, but really the pages present a variety of poetry, a quick definition of the rules that go along with the coinciding poetic forms, and an illustration that relates to each poem.  The last four pages of the book provide more in-depth definitions of the twenty nine poetic forms explored and displayed in the bulk of the book’s content.  User-friendly, unintimidating, deeply informative, and artistically beautiful, Paul Janeczko’s A Kick in the Head is a wonderful source for all ages to use when exploring poetry. 

Because it appears so inviting and unintimidating, I plan to use A Kick in the Head as the centerpiece to a “Poetry Scavenger Hunt.”  Early in the poetry unit, when I am introducing poetic forms, I will divide the students into heterogeneous groups that will work together to work through packets.  The packets will require students to define the ten poetic forms that we will be studying in our unit, and using the definitions and poems provided in A Kick in the Head, the students will have to find another example of each poetic form in a variety of books and online sources provided around the room.  Because A Kick in the Head so clearly labels the poetic form of each poem, students will begin to build conceptual knowledge and I will ask them to work together as a group to extend and broaden their concepts.  I will have enough copies of the book for each group of four students to have two books.  The fun style, quality definitions, layout, and instruction of A Kick in the Head make it the perfect centerpiece for every group to start with on the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt.”

Poems From Homeroom:  A Writer’s Place to Start

Kathi Appelt 

All but one of the poems in Poems From Homeroom are about a specific person.  The individual’s name may or may not be stated, but the poem grasps a specific aspect or generalization of the person.  Though the reader does not know who the people in each poem personally, the poems allow the reader to visualize an individual in his or her school as that person.  In addition to creating images of the subject of each poem, the poems also reveal thoughts of speakers that many high school students have.  The thoughts reveal crushes on teachers, fitting in, romantic feelings for other students, and many more common teen ponderings.  All twenty six of the poems appear in the first half of the book, and the second half has a narrative and set of thought provoking questions that go along with each poem.  The author hopes that the reader will use her work and primer questions to create their own poetry and explore their own creativity; some of the questions are just designed to provoke thought, while other questions ask students to create original work. 

Poems From Homeroom would not be a required text in my poetry unit, but instead would be used directly with excerpts and would be available in the classroom for independent reading, inspiration, or to be used in the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt” described with A Kick in the Head.   Excerpts from Poetry From Homeroom would be used in whole group instruction in two ways:  when analyzing poetry and when writing poetry.  To provide poetry that is interesting and applicable to students when learning how to break apart and analyze poetry I will create an overhead of “What he Knew” to work on with the class.  Another selection, such as “Apply Yourself!” could also be used in the packet of poems given to students to analyze during group and independent work.  When we begin to write poetry I will let students choose between “The Tattoo Dragon” and “Coach’s Son”, and will ask them to answer two of the questions that accompany the poem in the second half of the book.  At least one of the responses has to be a suggested poem response.  These poems, the narratives, and the questions will all be provided to the students on handouts.  In addition to the specific excerpts used, five copies of the book will be present in the room for students to read, explore, use as a reference, or become inspired.

Bronx Masquerade

Nikki Grimes 

Nikki Grimes’ Bronx Masquerade is a young adult novel about a high school English class in the Bronx.  The point of view of the book reveals the voices of nineteen students in Mr. Ward’s English class, who revealed not only to themselves but also to each other through the implementation of “Open Mike Fridays” for the whole class.  Students are not required to present, but as time passes and courage grows the reader eventually hears the voices of all of the very different characters.  Though every chapter is from the point of view of varying students, each chapter begins with a stream of conscious that reveals a lot about the life of the teen and ends with the poem that the student reads at open mike that Friday.  Tyrone serves as a constant voice, giving his reaction to every poem in his own short chapters between the chapters of the other characters.  Creatively written, it is easy for the reader to identify with the different characters and sympathize with their struggles not only as teens, but as teens in an urban setting with limited role models.  The stream of conscious that comes before each poem will help even struggling readers to pull meaning from the poem when they get to it; making connections and drawing conclusions.  Bronx Masquerade moves along quickly, motivating, inspiring, and thought-provoking to the reader. 

Because students are required to be working on independent reading at all times during the year, the time during the poetry unit is no different.  Instead of choosing any book to read during this unit, I will provide students with a list of preapproved books that will expose students to poetry in fictional literature.  In addition to Bronx Masquerade, other novels such as CrashBoomLove, Locomotion, Out of the Dust, Stop Pretending, and Jinx will also be on the preapproved independent reading list.  With a limited list, multiple students will be reading the same books, allowing for small-group discussions surrounding the reading that students are doing at home or in free-time.  I will make recommendations to students based on what books and hobbies interest them in hopes of finding a book to suit each student.  Students will not have to choose the book/books that I recommend, but they are suggestions to be considered when choosing from the preapproved list.  Bronx Masquerade will be recommended to students who show an interest in Harlem, rap music, or urban settings, and the book’s readability makes it appropriate and accessible for most of my students.

Teen Ink

TeenInk.com is the website portion of a national magazine and book series for teens.  The website and magazine are designed to provide a place for students to publish their creative work, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and art.  Not only submitted in writing, some teens choose to post video performances of their poetry.  In addition to publishing the work of teens, teenink.com also provides information on young adult literature and an opportunity for students to comment on the writing of peers and professionals.   

During the poetry unit in my eighth grade English class, I will use TeenInk.com in a couple of ways.  The teen-submitted video performances of original poetry will be used as a part of daily warm-up activities to get students thinking about poetry as they come into class.  Each day of the unit, a teen’s video from the site will be shown and students will be asked to respond to one or two questions depending on the day, content covered, and video.  I will also allow students to use poems posted to this website as part of the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt” discussed in the section covering A Kick in the Head, to represent different poetic forms.  If students find themselves with extra time in my class after finishing assignments, TeenInk.com will be an approved site for them to visit during the poetry unit.

Merlyn’s Pen

 Merlyn’s Pen is a website for a magazine, by the same name, that showcases the writing of middle and high school students.  The website offers access to young adult writing that is highlighted in collections, and that can be filtered by title, author, genre, topic, author’s grade level, author’s state, and author’s region.  In addition to reading the best work of peers for inspiration, enjoyment, or motivation, teens can submit their own work to the editors of the site.  Every entry to Merlyn's Pen receives personalized feedback and words of encouragement that attempts to build “positive associations with the writing process.”  This feedback encourages revision and sets high standards for student work to be published in the magazine or on the site, and the site provides an audience for young authors.

 During my poetry unit I will use Merlyn’s Pen in a variety of ways.  When looking at poetic forms, I will choose some of the best teen-submitted work to my class as examples, the class will be allowed to use the website during the “Poetry Scavenger Hunt,” students will be able to look at the website for motivation, and I will use selections from the site to inspire students to explore their own lives for content to write about in their own poetry.  Though it will not be required, I will also give students who are brave enough to submit their original poetry to the website a small amount of extra credit.  I think that it is incredibly important for students to see that the work that they create as teens can still be powerful, important, and relevant even though they are young.

References:

Appelt, K. (2002).  Poems from homeroom:  A writer’s place to start.  New York, NY:  Henry
Holt and Company, LLC.
Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 5.9

Grimes, N. (2002).  Bronx Masquerade.  New York, NY:  Dial Books.

Lexile 670 ~ 4^th Grade

Janeczko, P.B. (2005).  A kick in the head:  An everyday guide to poetic forms.  Somerville, MA:  Candlewick Press.

Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 6.4

 Merlyn’s pen: Fiction, essays, and poems by America’s teens.  Retrieved from:  http://www.merlynspen.org/us/

Merlynspen.com is appropriate an accessible for the average eighth grade English student because it is designed for their use.  Simple headings are used to allow students to sort content, such as “You Write,” “You Read,” You Succeed.”

 Teen ink:  Magazine, website, and books written by teens since 1989.  Retrieved from:  http://www.teenink.com/

TeenInk.com is appropriate and accessible for the average eighth grade English student because it is designed for teens with logical links, visuals, and work by and for teens.