Hello everyone! I am here again, this time to talk about this “awful” word poetry that we often relate to high school, hidden meanings and lists of names and more names to remember about famous authors of our literature.
On Monday during the middle group we have been working with poetry in class. I am not going to disclose so much information about it considering that the other half group has not taken this lesson yet. However, I decided to highlight some of the main ideas which seem to me that could be very useful if we take them into account when deciding to use poetry with our students.
Let me start with my feelings just after the lesson as I left the class with the general idea of poetry as a great resource for children learning. What is more, it was an idea that I have never thought about before when designing my own extracurricular classes for primary. Later I will tell you a recent experience I had with my pupils this week during the extracurricular lesson when trying to include poetry in it. One thing I discovered was that poetry can be applied in many different situations and it can involve different subjects.
Regarding my students way of learning I was trying to find different resources in order to help them with social and natural sciences. In particular, two of my students from 5th grade had several problems to study these subjects. Week by week they were discovering different ways to studying such as drawings, schemas, tables or microteachings. So I thought why not to introduce poetry in their way of learning? I do not lose anything just for trying, so I did it.
This day they were learning the different types of economic activities (primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors). When they arrived to the class they did not know the differences between them so I ask them to read the first sector and to create a stanza with the most important information both together. I was amazed of their creativity. And afterwards they had to do the same with the other two sectors but they have to do it one each and then put them in common.
Both girls were really happy with the activity, not only because they had learnt the contents easily, but also they had created poetry. And what is more, they went out of the class telling their mums they were poetess. However, there is one curious thing when they told that to their mums, I had to explain them the reason why they were creating poems in science class because I noticed their little confused eyes looking at me. But I think it was a great discover! Don’t you think so?
Hi Susi! First of all Congrats for your post! I have to confess that I began to read it due to the fact that its title was really catchy for me, and after having read the whole of it I can say that it is even better than what I expected
It was really interesting for me, at the same time that a little bit sad, to discover that I was not the only one who hasn’t got many good memories about poetry, but quite a few that are not so good. It was a pity that the first thing which came to my mind when I thought about poetry at school or high-school was just memorise (long poems in the first case, and as you said never-ending list of authors in the second one). However, I have to admit that I also have good memories about it (mainly thanks to my mother), linked with Gloria Fuertes and Gustavo Adolfo Becquer.
I can’t resist to add one of my favorites.
—¿Qué es poesía? —dices, mientras clavas
en mi pupila tu pupila azul—;
¿Qué es poesía…? ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
¡Poesía… eres tú!
On the other hand, I’m glad that both of us shared the experience of changing our minds about poetry after Raquel’s lesson. Actually I strongly agree with you, because as you mentioned, now I’m also able to positively appreciate the huge potential that poetry can have in Primary lessons.
I really liked what you pointed out, that part of its potential is due to the fact that poetry allows teachers to work through a cross-curricular methodology. In addition, other reasons that can be consider good ones are those shared by Miguel on his entry, who explained that it can be treated as a funny and motivating tool for pupils, as well as for the reason that poems can develop pupils’ creativity and imagination.
Finally I would like to tell you that I found fantastic the experience you carried out with your pupils. They don’t know how lucky they are for having you as their teacher. I consider it was a wonderful idea to give them the chance of creating their own poems (real poetess), with a great aim: to learn difficult contents in a different and attractive way.
P.D: One tip that I gathered from our classmate entry, which could be useful for you in case you want to repeat that experience (which I think it would be terrific) is based on adding dramatization to poetry. I didn’t think about it before the lesson with Raquel, and based on my experience, I think it is something really helpful to interiorise and remember poems.
Thanks a million for your post
Hi Susana!
Maybe the thing that makes me choose this post was the “horrible” title haha! (I’m just joking) and after reading a little bit I start laughing a lot because I was remembering myself when I was little trying to memorize poems, and I remember my mum crying (literally) in the sofa because I couldn’t memorize it (I think that was “Las golondrinas”…)
I have written a post related with poetry too and I think that we have similar ideas, so I invite you to visit it and compare ideas
One of the ideas is that we never think work poetry with our students isn’t it? Because we think in difficult and older things like sonnets, Shakespeare, and memorizing memorizing and memorizing, things that are really difficult to work with our students.
I have finished Reading this post smiling, because I’m really happy to see that the things that we do in class are really useful, and this feeling is the best feeling in the world
I have been searching on internet some strategies or activities to use poetry and how to help students to use it, but I couldn’t imagine use it in science!
Great post Susi!