Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 156
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-4758-3535-9 • Hardback • September 2017 • $69.00 • (£53.00)
978-1-4758-3536-6 • Paperback • September 2017 • $36.00 • (£30.00)
978-1-4758-3537-3 • eBook • September 2017 • $34.00 • (£25.00)
Sharon Discorfano has been a writer and educator for more than 20 years, with a M.A. in Literature from Georgetown University and years spent teaching at prestigious schools in Austin, Houston, and New York. She currently resides in New York with her husband and their dog Galileo, where she continues to engage with students ranging from elementary school to university level, in the context of humane education and animal advocacy.
PrefaceIntroductionPoetry and A Few Hot TopicsPart I: Reading PoemsA Creative Environment: What It Means and How To Get ItAn Initial Classroom Activity: The Appointment BookLesson 1: Becoming an Active ReaderLesson 2: Understanding the Central MetaphorLesson 3: Literary Terms and Devices- Irony
- Tone
A Classroom TestLesson 4: Personification- Personification
- More on Personification
Lesson 5: Standardized TestingLesson 6: Two Poems, Side By SideLesson 7: Other PoemsLesson 8: One More Favorite…Building Confidence: Homework and FeedbackWriting Assignments and Poet ProjectTechnology, Multimedia, and TeamworkMore on Student AssessmentsPart II: Writing PoemsA Creative Environment for WritingWriting Poems: An Initial ExerciseWeek 1: HaikuWeek 2: CinquainWeek 3: TankaWeek 4: Event PoemWeek 5: List PoemWeek 6: Pastoral PoemWeek 7: Blues PoemWeek 8: SestinaWeek 9 and 10: Free VerseFinal Poetry Project, Class Anthology… and a Coffee House!Other Considerations for TeachersConclusionSelections LicensedAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author
A great read if you are looking to engage young minds in developing their abilities for respect and appreciation of the world in which they live and as a way to teach compassion and kindness to all sentient beings. I highly recommend this as a resource for any humane educator out there looking to add thoughtful and kind material to their curriculums.
— Gail Frydkowski, United Federation of Teachers, Humane Education Committee Chair
Learning to embrace diversity through exposure to various art forms, including poetry, assists in greater understanding of different cultures and human experiences and helps to educate and expose the listener/reader to a new and greater understanding of the world around them. This can tremendously help in lessening bullying and judgmental behaviors in our community.
— Sheri A. Lunn, The Trevor Project, Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Engagement
This easy-to-implement guide for middle and high school teachers demonstrates that poetry is an effective tool to promote perspective-taking. Sharon Discorfano shows how teaching poetry can enhance students’ ability to engage in respectful discourse as they recognize the value of diverse viewpoints and interpretations.
— Meena Alagappan Esq., Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART), Executive Director