Strategies
Reading Aloud
I feel the best way to teach voice in poetry is to select poems that have a strong sense of voice and read them aloud. Reading aloud a poem, placing special emphasis on sounds and words, is a strategy to use to teach voice in poetry. When I read an unfamiliar poem aloud to the students, I view the poem to make decisions on where I will use my voice to give special effects. Encourage the students to close their eyes, as you read aloud the poem. The students can discover the meaning of the poem just by listening to the voice of the poem and imagining the situation described in the poem. After reading the poem aloud to the students, give them an opportunity to share their feelings and thoughts. I would also give students an opportunity to read poems aloud without modeling where to place special emphasis on sounds and words. This will allow them an opportunity to express their own voices as they read the poems. When your students read familiar poems aloud, they will read and recite with expression.
Response to Questions
Responding to questions for class or group discussions is another strategy to use to engage students in identifying voice in poetry. Your students will make judgments and inferences about the characters or events in the poem. They will be able to summarize the poem. After reading the poem aloud, allow time for the students to read the poem silently. I feel the students need an opportunity to reflect on what was read aloud to them. You should write reflection questions on the board before the poems are read. This allows an opportunity for the students to preview the questions before you read the poem. After you read the poem, I would have the student respond to the questions individually or in groups. They should write their responses to the questions in their reading journals. The students can share their feelings and thoughts by responding to the following questions: Who is the speaker? Who is the speaker talking to? What is the situation? How does the speaker feel? What is the speaker saying to the one who's listening? What words or phrases did the poet use to make the poem interesting?
Choral Reading
Choral reading can be used to help your students read with expression. Your students will learn how to emphasize particular lines, words, and phrases in poems. They can use a range of voices as they read the poems. Your student will enjoy varying the pace, voice, and volume as they read. You should assign lines of the poems to different speakers or divide the class in groups to present poems.
Text Rendering
Text rendering is a strategy to use to help your students think critically about the poem. Your students will analyze the poem and find evidence to support their answers. Text rendering will also help your students identify the elements of poetry and determine the meaning of unknown words. After reading the poem, ask your students to highlight an important word or phrase in the poem. Tell them to write the phrase or word in their reading journal. Suggest that your students describe what it means to them and why it is important.
Sentence Starters
Using first-person sentence starters is a good way to encourage your students to express their own voices in writing. They will be able to write poems about people, places, and objects. You should brainstorm ideas for an "I" poem during the prewriting process. The sentence starters could include: I am, I wonder, I see, I feel, I want, or I have. When students write "I" poems, they become the narrator, expressing their thoughts and feelings about a topic. They speak directly to the reader. Writing "I" poems provide opportunities for students to practice using rhythm, rhyme, and poetic devices.
Response to Literature
Response to literature will allow students to summarize the poem in their own words. They make connections between the poem and their personal experiences. You can use specific verbs to elicit a response that you want in their writing. You can use: define, express, describe, summarize, tell about, or analyze. The students will analyze the poem as they respond to the various writing prompts. Responding to literature will help students develop their ideas in writing.
Freewriting
Freewriting allows your students to write for a brief period in the classroom. I like freewriting because it is writing that helps the writer. Your students can write about a topic without worrying about making mistakes. This type of writing will help your students write for longer periods during the drafting stage of the writing process. It avoids the inhibitions, which normally influence writing. Freewriting is an opportunity for your students to express their voices in writing. They enjoy expressing their feelings in whatever voice they want to come out. Your students will develop voice and characters through action and dialogue, while engaged in freewriting.
Rewriting
Rewriting is an appropriate style strategy for teaching voice in poetry. Rewriting a phrase from a poem several ways will encourage your students to use their own voices in writing. You should stress that they make the phrase engaging to the reader. This will be an opportunity for your students to include poetic devices in their writing. Your students will express their personal feelings about a topic as they rewrite phrases.
Journal Writing
Journal writing is a strategy to use in Writer's workshop. I tell my students to use the journals to take notes on craft elements of writing and definitions of poetic devices. I encourage my students to give examples of the terminology or important points. When my students write notes from the lesson in their journals, they are expressing themselves freely. They are not worrying about complete sentences and punctuation. They refer to their journals when it is time to write in a variety of genres.
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