Written from the perspective of a Grade 5/6 French Immersion teacher, this paper examines the role of music, poetry, and the visual arts in enhancing learner identity, in the context of the elementary school classroom. It begins with a focus on artistic metaphors that represent cultural and linguistic hyphenation. It then addresses practical…

Instructors are responsible for making teaching come to life. This article seeks to energize the classroom through an exploration of the tacit synergies between the language of poetry and the language of management. In the process, the authors delve into both the opportunities and the obstacles in bringing together two disparate discourses. As an…

When poetry is approached as merely a type of literary expression--as words arranged in an unusual way, designed to confuse and baffle both teachers and students--the results are inevitable: confusion, feelings of ignorance, resentment. Poetry is not just a kind of literary expression but is and has always been a celebration, an actively shared…

In this article, the author relates her teaching experience with seventh and eighth graders using poetry activities, and she describes how she teaches poetry by using "published" poems and by engaging the students in classroom activities. Though students in seventh grade usually have knowledge of poetic conventions, the author takes time to review…

Discusses using comics in high school and college writing and English classes to teach figurative language and other literary terms and techniques such as style and descriptive writing. Describes several activities and notes benefits of using comics in this way. (SR)

Aims for students to explore spontaneous ways of finding material for their poems by suppressing control over their subject matter and letting their unconscious minds do the work. Uses a poem of William Carlos Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow," both with K-2 students and adults in a poetry workshop. Illustrates class procedures and activities…

This easy-to-use book addresses the needs of the teacher who has always wanted to do more with poetry in the classroom. It presents a sequence of activities that allows young children to listen to, learn, read, and write poetry--these activities have been used in dozens of classrooms and proven to be successful in a wide range of settings. Topics…

This booklet, building on the premise that humans have a natural affinity with poetry and from an early age associate rhyme and rhythms with the joys of learning language, develops activities that enhance appreciation, engagement, response, and discrimination. The ideas presented in the booklet have been tried by practicing teachers in their…

The principle of empathic learning (involving activities that help students feel what it is to be like someone else) can be used to teach poetry, a material about which students have strong prejudices, and an activity they cannot imagine themselves ever doing or being interested in. First, students are presented with the conception that people…

This collection of 180 poems was assembled with classroom needs in mind. Intended to delight students every day, the collection's poems span the school year from September to summertime. Its introduction gives teachers before-, during-, and after-reading ideas. Sections in the collection include: Me and My World, Primary Concepts, Seasons and…

The guide provides teachers of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with classroom instructional activities that reinforce vocabulary or teach specific language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) while demonstrating that communicating in English can be fun. The activities are brief and self-contained, and an audiotape cassette (not…

Designed with junior high school students in mind, the activities in this booklet are offered as ways to stimulate interest in writing using as little as ten minutes of class time. The activities are arranged in six sections: (1) developing observation skills and paying attention to details; (2) word play, descriptive words, and word collections…

Over the past ten years, language teachers have become adept at using new techniques for teaching culture. Folklore is one resource that has not been fully exploited, but that can lead students to a deeper understanding of culture and, at the same time, involve them in rich language experiences. Use of folklore in the foreign language classroom,…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…