The Uses of Poetry in the Classroom

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 05.01.12

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Strategies and Key Elements
  3. Sample Lessons
  4. Annotated Bibliography for Teachers
  5. Annotated Bibliography for Students
  6. Appendix
  7. Notes

The Inspired Voice: Invoking Poetry through Music

Kimberlee Presswood

Published September 2005

Tools for this Unit:

Annotated Bibliography for Teachers

Charters, A. (Ed). (1992). The portable Beat reader. New York: Penguin Group. This is

an excellent anthology of Beat literature and history.

Collom, J. & Noethe, S. (2000). Poetry everywhere. New York: Teachers & Writers

Collaborative. This book is full of short, inspiring creative writing exercises.

Eleveld, M. (2003). The spoken word revolution. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc. The

work of contemporary slam poets is interspersed with essays that comment on the

history of poetry. As a bonus, a CD of spoken word comes with the book.

Gates, H. L. Jr. & McKay, N.Y. (Eds.). (2004). The Norton anthology of African

American literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Everything

anyone ever wanted to know about African American literature is contained in this book.

Jensen, E. (2000). Brain-based learning. San Diego, CA: The Brain Store. This is a great

resource for teachers who want to know more about the brain.

Jess, T. (2004, March/April). The word/the blues. A meditation: Investigating blues

poetry, an old tradition [Electronic version]. Black Issues Book Review, 6 (2), 19-21. This article shows how the blues influence poetry.

Lewis, D. L. (Ed). (1994). The portable Harlem Renaissance reader. New York: Penguin

Group. The book presents an excellent overview of the Harlem Renaissance.

McCarthy, B. (1996). About learning. Buffalo, NY: Excel, Inc. McCarthy introduces

learning styles based on her research. This book provides an excellent

introduction to teaching within a framework that reaches all styles of learning.

McCarthy, B. (2000). About teaching: 4Mat in the classroom. Wauconda, IL: About

Learning, Incorporated. This book is an extension of About Learning. It provides

useful assessment tools.

Medina, T. & Rivera, L.R. (2001). Bum rush the page. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Voices of poets of all ages and experiences come together in this comprehensive

anthology. While it is an excellent source for contemporary poets, it also includes

classics such as the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks and Margaret Walker.

Raymond, G.L. (1909). Rhythm and harmony in poetry and music. New York: The

Knickerbocker press. Although the book is practically ancient, the author expresses some interesting thoughts on the technical connections between music and poetry.

Reed, I. (Ed). (2003). From totems to hip-hop. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. This

anthology features poems from the past 100 years that approach issues from

nature to family to politics to mythology.

Simmons, D. (Ed). (2005). Russell Simmons def poetry on Broadway… and more. New

York: Atria Books. Slam poets collaborated to turn poetry into theatre. This book

prints the poetry "script" along with other poems by the nine poets.

Sitomer, A. & Cirelli, M. (2004). Hip-hop poetry and the classics for the classroom.

Beverly Hills, CA: Milk Mug Publishing. Hip-hop poetry is paired with classic poetry to provide lessons on metaphor, onomatopoeia, and other core literary elements. It comes with ready-to-use handouts and a guide for teachers.

Sousa, D. A. (2001). How the brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. This

is a good resource for applying specific teaching methods to help learners in the

classroom.

Taylor, C. (2004, Winter). Hip-Hop and youth culture: Contemplations of an emerging

    cultural phenomenon [Electronic version]. Reclaiming Children & Youth. 12 (4),

    251-253. This article explores the attraction hip-hop has for youth. It also lists key

    elements of hip-hop.

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