Poetry Reading at The TREE

See our Poetry Reading Night on YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPK53NnarOk

For our professional development we had planned to do a poetry reading event. Forces of nature within the univeristy's climate of intensely heated summer courses and GDOE paperwork issues forced me to put those plans in the back burner. But I knew this had to get done, among other equally important assignments. Thanks to Kim for always nudging me towards the right direction. Without her, I'd be the lost and short-termed memory Dory who just keeps swimming, swimming towards the abyss.


NOVEL WRITTEN AS A SERIES OF POEMS




We invited former students-seven in high school and two in middle school- to recite poems from a book. After they finished their meals Kim and I briefed them on the books we were going to read aloud. The author of the books is Ellen Hopkins, and what is notable about her writing style is that she has reinvented youth novels by using poetry to tell her story. Her books are currently on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Our selections were titled Crank, her debut book, and Identical. I took the book Identical while Kim Pangelinen studied “Crank”. Identical is a book full of poetic verses that explores the life of identical twins, one who is close to her father and the other who is not. The students who read Identical were immediately captivated by the bits and pieces of verses putting together a twisted story of emotional upheaval.

POEMS WITH TWO - FIVE VOICES

What caught our attention to her books was that it frequently used two voices. We had the students pair up and review which poem they wanted to read. After rehearsing they were given the floor to read aloud the poem. Since we explored poems for two voices for our class we wanted to focus our poetry reading using that style. It was a success.


As each student read their verses dramatically, there seemed to be a slow release of inhibitions as the book circled around the table to the next reader. Kim and I, including three female students read a poem for five voices. We also applied a post-reading strategy. We offered the students opportunities to reflect, share or comment about the poem that had just been read. They were able to relate to the story as the selections they chose addressed a certain phase or situation in a teenager’s life. Such topics were about bulimia, about depression, self-inflicted injuries, and doing drugs. Issues our students face everyday.

LESSON LEARNED
Overall, I realized how easy this event was to set up, and how willing the participants were once the activity was modeled to them. The interchange of ideas, and ways of expressive reading helped me to see that these types of discussions enhance not only the learning experience but the relationship between student and teacher. I can see how their trust level can be heightened by allowing for this type of discussion which serves a goal. The goal is multi-faceted. They learn what is discussed and the teacher learns not only about what the student knows, but more importantly about the students.

My biggest regret is letting time constraints limit my planning of a worth while event, and not opening this up to other classmates. But to end on a positive note, I now know this is so doable during character education classes, and lunch break for students. I thank the Tree Cafe for allowing us to hold our event there, and I'm sure they are just as thankful for all the food the students ordered. They can eat!