The teaching of a poetry unit always begins the same. We talk about what is poetry, and then students will almost always give me their opinion on poetry writing as a genre. Some students love poetry. Some students immediately throw defenses up because they have notions about poetry that involve feelings, emotions, and talking about personal stuff. They aren’t wrong, but poetry is more than that perception. As teachers, we are charged with showing our students that it is okay to express feelings. It is okay to write about ourselves because it is a reflection of the safe environment we have created without our classrooms. While I have taught many different poetry assignments over the years, I have loved observing student reactions and seeing their faces when I play slam poems. It is like watching a show or attending a performance. There are tons of videos on Youtube, but this post will look at some of my favorites. Besides awesome examples you can use with kids today, I have given a few additional poems that teacher leaders could use when leading teacher training as well.

The McGinnis Reading Center and Third Coast Writing Project Camp for Young Writers have teamed up this year to put on a MEGA reading and writing camp! We had our first week this past week with Middle Schoolers focusing on WorldBuilding: Taking the Scenic Route. Students started to create the elements of their own worlds focusing on character, setting, plot, and conflict.