Poetry in the High
School (EDU 497.01) Dr.
Andrew Smyth
Spring 2006 EN D272
MW 3:25-4:40 392-6895
EN B210 smytha2@southernct.edu
Office Hours: M 5-6; T 2-3; W 12-1 and 5-6; R 2-3
Course
Prerequisite: Acceptance into SOE (Gate 1 of our program).
Course Description and Objectives
Poetry in the High Schools will prepare you to teach poetry—as well as other literary genres—in secondary schools. An important part of the learning experience is the fine-tuning of your own understanding of and appreciation for poetry from a variety of perspectives: formalist, historicist, reader-response, feminist, multicultural, and creative. Thus, you will find regular features of class are reading, responding to, interpreting, and writing poetry. An anthology project will gather drafts and refined versions of your poetic efforts in these areas.
The primary focus of the class will be on learning how to teach poetry to a diverse audience of students in our public schools. Fieldwork is required for this class, including observations, volunteer work, sample lessons, and a group project. This means that you have to commit to a significant amount of educational work outside of our regular meeting times. If you have any disabilities that might hinder your ability to fulfill the commitment, please contact me immediately after the first class so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
Through the course of this semester, we will achieve the following objectives:
· Learn and practice methods of teaching poetry to diverse audiences in secondary schools
o Assessment: Modeled lessons; readings & discussions; observations; sample lessons; reflective practice
· Develop lesson and unit plans for teaching poetry
o Assessment: Evaluated lesson and unit plans; teacher feedback on sample lesson; peer feedback on in-class, team lessons
· Observe and assist professional teachers in local secondary classrooms
o Assessment: Four targeted observations and reports
· Refine a strong, working knowledge of poetry and its function in the lives of our students
o Assessment: Midterm exam; in-class activities; regular reflections on teaching poetry
· Read a broad range of poetry—traditional, young adult, student, etc.—often encountered in secondary school settings
o Assessment: Selected readings from Beowulf to the present, both professional and student-generated; team lesson plans; sample lesson; unit plan
· Read and respond to a young-adult novel, The House of the Scorpion, to recognize the carry-over of literary techniques, themes, and pedagogy across genres
o Assessment: Literature Circles; class discussion; found poetry
· Write, workshop, revise, and polish your own collection of poetry, along with responses to the poetry of others
o Assessment: Anthology project and final readings
· Review critical approaches to poetry applicable to secondary teaching
o Assessment: Readings; class discussions; midterm exam; journal reflections
· Engage in reflective writing and discussions about the teaching profession in English
o Assessment: Journals; threaded online discussions; in-class discussions; literacy narrative
Required Texts and Materials
· Brewbaker, James, and Dawnelle J. Hyland, eds. Poems by Adolescents and Adults: A Thematic Collection for Middle School and High School. Urbana: NCTE, 2002.
· Carlson, Lori M., ed. Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. New York: Fawcett Books, 1994.
· Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Atheneum, 2002.
· Wormser, Baron, and David Capella. A Surge of Language: Teaching Poetry Day by Day. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004.
· Numerous handouts
· Materials for your poetry anthologies
· Reflective Journal
· Access to reliable e-mail and the internet, including my.SCSU
Recommended Texts
· A handbook of literary terms (often available in poetry anthologies, as well as online)
· Blau, Sheridan. The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and their Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003.
· Christensen, Linda. Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching about Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools, 2000.
· Cisneros, Sandra. Loose Woman. New York: Vintage, 1994.
· ---. My Wicked, Wicked Ways. New York: Knopf, 1992.
· Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Books Clubs & Reading Groups. 2nd Ed. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2002.
· Michaels, Judith Rowe. Risking Intensity: Reading and Writing Poetry with High School Students. Urbana: NCTE, 1999.
· Smagorinsky, Peter. Standards in Practice Grades 9-12. Urbana: NCTE, 1996.
· Somers, Albert B. Teaching Poetry in High School. Urbana: NCTE, 1999.
· Soto, Gary. A Fire in My Hands. Scholastic, 1990.
· ---. New and Selected Poems. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
· Stafford, William. Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises. Urbana: NCTE, 1992.
·
---. Even in Quiet Places
·
Thiel, Diane.
Open Roads: Exercises in Writing
Poetry. New York: Pearson, 2005.
Some Recommended Web Sites
· http://teenwriting.about.com: Creative Writing for Teens.
· www.poets.org: Academy of American Poets—an outstanding resource for poems.
· www.ala.org: American Library Association—very useful info on YA lit and censorship.
· http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Language_Arts: Educator’s Reference Desk—lesson plans and ideas.
· www.mla.org: Modern Language Association.
· www.ncte.org: National Council of Teachers of English. All of you should join our professional organization now—it’s much cheaper for students, and it’s essential for keeping up in the profession.
· www.poetryslam.com: Poetry Slam.
· http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/log.html: Syllaweb—lesson plans and teaching ideas.
· http://dilute.net/sestinas/: Sestina Generator—neat device.
· www.twc.org: Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
· http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/YoungAdult/: Vandergift’s YA Literature Page.
· http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/yalit.htm: Young Adult Literature.
· http://yahelp.suffolk.lib.ny.us/yalit.html: Young Adult Librarians’ Homepage.
· www.state.ct.us/sde/: Connecticut State Dept. of Education—lots of links to certification, jobs, and more.
· www.englishcompanion.com/index.html: Jim Burke’s site for English Teachers.
· www.teachers.net: Teachers’ Net offers lesson plans and more.
· www.rethinkingschools.org: Progressive articles, often on urban education.
· http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php: Rubistar—web-based rubrics.
Grade Breakdown
Fieldwork 25%
Unit Plan 20%
Anthology 15%
Team Lesson Plan (in class) 10%
Literacy Narrative 10%
Midterm Examination 10%
Reflective Journals, Exercises, & Quizzes 10%
Assignments (full assignment sheets will be given at appropriate times during the semester)
Fieldwork: This is a major part of the course, and one that must take place outside of class time. If you are already teaching or working a fulltime job at a secondary school, you can do your fieldwork at your school. Just consult with me early in the semester to work out individual details. For everyone else, we will be working in two or three groups to build mini-units on teaching poetry in local, urban high schools. Your experience will include four formal, targeted observations; planning a series of lessons with the supervision of both me and the secondary language arts teacher at your school; implementation of the lessons in teams; and individual written reflections. You will be evaluated on your written observations, plans, teaching, and reflection.
Unit Plan: You will learn how to craft a unit plan in which you teach poetry, along with other skills, over a two- to four-week period. This is a plan of classes that you should be able to use in your student teaching. It will include a researched introduction/rationale, carefully explicated goals and objectives, all materials necessary for the unit, a full outline of classes and assignments, five fully developed lesson plans that follow the SCSU format, and assignment sheets accompanied by assessment instruments.
Poetry Anthology: Throughout the semester, you will be building a personal poetry anthology. It will include a general introduction, selection of poems with individual introductions and biographies, a number of your own poems, a final reflective statement on teaching poetry, and a works cited page. These anthologies should look nice—something presentable as evidence of your love and understanding of poetry.
Team Lesson Plan: Working with a partner, you will teach a poem or a feature of poetry to our class. I will make available a list of poems and features, but I encourage you to experiment—after consulting with me. You will need to turn in a complete lesson plan one week in advance, and your lesson will be followed by class reflection and critique.
Literacy Narrative: Early in the semester, you will write a short paper (3-5 pages) about your history as a learner—paying close attention to your history as a reader and producer of poetry and other genres of literature.
Midterm Examination: This test will give you a chance to demonstrate your mastery of the formal elements of poetry, theoretical approaches to poetry, and their use in analyzing and teaching poems.
Reflective Journals, Exercises, and Quizzes: Set aside a notebook or binder for reflective journals, writings, and other exercises in and out of class. You should bring these to class every day. I will collect and check these sporadically, so keep them up to date. You will have to endure occasional quizzes on the readings for class.
Policies
Attendance: Teachers cannot afford to miss classes. I keep a very strict attendance policy for education classes: If you miss more than two classes, for any reason, you automatically fail the course. You are still welcome to attend after that point, but such participation will not mitigate your failing grade. This policy extends to your fieldwork: once you make an appointment for a visit, you need to show up. In case of emergency, it is your responsibility to call the teacher you are working with, apologize profusely, and ask permission to make up the appointment at her or his convenience. Do not assume that fieldwork can be made up easily.
Tardiness is disruptive to the class and to your learning. Make a point to be in class early and be prepared to start work immediately. If I notice any excessive tardiness on your part (i.e., more than two), I will count you absent the next time.
Late Work: I do not read assignments that are turned in late. If you are having trouble with an assignment, it is your responsibility to contact me early to get help and, if necessary, an extension. Otherwise, assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned date. Please do not ask if you can email them to me after class. You need to have the work available for in-class discussion.
My.SCSU: We will be using the university’s portal, My.SCSU, for threaded discussions, and other features of the university computer system throughout the semester. It is your responsibility to make sure, during the first week of class, that you have proper access to your account, both on campus and from home. If you are having trouble logging on, go to Buley 312 or Jennings 130, where you will find people trained to help you in this area.
Participation: This category should be obvious—you can’t teach poetry unless you have a zeal for reading, discussing, writing, and writing about poetry. I expect all students to participate fully in each class. Class time is extremely valuable, and there are times when I have to cut off discussion to move on to another subject, but you are always encouraged to continue a literary conversation after class, during my office hours, or through the bulletin board on my.SCSU. To greatly reduce distractions, turn off all cell phone ringers and pagers when you enter the class.
Plagiarism: We share materials and ideas in every class, but you must take care always in your assignments to attribute ideas, plans, materials, quotations, paraphrases, etc. to your benefactors in proper MLA or APA style. Lack of attribution will result in an immediate “F” for the assignment and automatic referral to the Dean’s office.
Tentative Schedule
Note Well: This schedule is subject to almost certain change, with due notice given to the class. The homework assignments in particular may vary based upon class progress, so be sure to note updates on a class-by-class basis. I also want to keep some flexibility in our discussion topics. If there are areas that you want to raise as subjects for discussion, write them down at the end of class and submit them to me (or email me after class). I cannot guarantee that we will be able to address every suggested issue, but I will try.
Each class starts with a public reading of a short lyric poem. I will model this on the first two days; for the rest of the semester, each student in the class must volunteer at least once to read a poem of her or his choosing. Selected poems should be prepared well, read dramatically, and appropriate for a secondary school audience.
January
23 Introduction; Literacy Narrative assigned; Selecting poetry for diverse classrooms.
Homework: Read Intro. and pp. 1-19 of Surge of Language (hereafter SL); Read Intro (pp. 1-22) of Poems for Adolescents and Adults (PAA); Write Journal.
25 Bring SL, PAA, and Cool Salsa to class (and your journals). Why English?
Homework: Participate in threaded discussion on My.SCSU: What are we supposed to teach when we teach poetry? Work on Literacy Narratives.
30 Poetry Workshop.
Homework: Read Intro. and pp. 3-18 of Cool Salsa.
February
1 How to write a lesson plan. Sign-ups for in-class sample lessons.
Homework: Finish a complete draft your Literacy Narrative. Read Cool Salsa 19-58.
6 First Draft of Literacy Narrative due. Workshop. Lesson plan practice: voice, tone, and mood.
Homework: Read SL 19-27 and Cool Salsa 59-82. Write a sample lesson plan.
8 Lesson plan demonstration (Attitude) and workshop.
Homework: Polish your Literacy Narrative. Read Cool Salsa 83-126. Journal: What have you learned from this collection of poems?
13 Literacy Narrative (to be graded) due.
Homework: Read SL 27-36, handout on rhythm and meter, and selected poems.
15 Team Lesson Plan. Rhythm & Meter. Sonnets.
Homework: Read SL 37-65 and write a poem.
20 PRESIDENTS’ DAY—NO CLASS MEETING
22 Writing poetry to learn poetry. Unit Plans introduced and assigned.
Homework: Revise your poem and begin planning your unit.
27 Team Lesson Plan. Unit planning.
Homework: Read PAA selections and post a response on My.SCSU.
March
1 Student Poems. Creating Rubrics.
Homework: Read handouts on assessment and revise a poem.
6 Team Lesson Plan. Assessment.
Homework: Write a response to a sample student draft.
8 Grading. Writing Tests.
13 Midterm Exam
Homework: Read selected poems from PAA.
15 Last Day for Literacy Narrative Revisions. Introduction to Lit. Circles.
March 18-26: Spring Break—Read Farmer’s House of the Scorpion over the break and complete role sheets. Work on Unit Plans.
27 Small- and whole-group discussion of House of the Scorpion.
Homework: Work on Unit Plans.
29 Team Lesson Plan. Found Poetry.
Homework: Work on Unit Plans and read SL 172-183.
April
3 Part I of Unit Plans due. Workshop. Conferences scheduled.
Homework: Read SL 65-83 and write a persona poem. Selected poems from PAA.
5 Team Lesson Plan. Classroom Management.
Homework: Read handouts on classroom management and post response to My.SCSU.
10 Team Lesson Plan. Classroom Management.
Homework: Read SL 84-105.
12 Team Lesson Plan.
Homework: Prepare for Group Teaching in the Schools.
17 Tentative Group Teaching in the Schools.
Homework: Work on your Unit Plan.
19 Tentative Group Teaching in the Schools.
Homework: Work on your Unit Plan and read PAA chapter 9.
24 Final Draft of Unit Plan due. Slam Video.
Homework: Read PAA chapter 10 and work on your anthology.
26 Slam Video.
Homework: Work on your anthology and post a reflection to Slam Video.
May
1 PowerPoint Poetry.
Homework: Work on your anthology.
3 PowerPoint Poetry.
Homework: Work on your anthology and choose a personal poem for the Slam.
8 Poetry Anthology due. Poetry Slam!
10 All writing on your fieldwork must reach me by this date.