Notes a dearth of quality poetry for young readers. Looks at the work of three poets for young people who have turned to the urban experience for inspiration--Richard Margolis, Paul Janeczko, and Gary Soto. Suggests that the city is a "grand and colorful chorus of humanity with voices mingling sorrow and joy." (RS)

Discusses "January Morning," a poem of William Carlos Williams, wherein the 15 sections come in no apparent order and are "unparallel" (varied in content, tone, length, etc.). Finds the language colloquial and conversational, with casual notation. States the poem, with its free format, can be used successfully in college poetry…

Describes activities of college students in a "Poets in Schools" program that brings college students together with students in elementary and secondary schools. Describes how the students devised poetry teaching exercises, and describes three of those exercises (a multimedia approach, using photos and postcards, and poems like trees).…

Offers brief annotations of six original collections of poetry and seven poetry anthologies that make poetry come alive and that teachers will want on their bookshelves. (SR)

Presents an interview with Dave Johnson. Considers how to handle classes with students who have not only differing levels of English language fluency, but also speak many different languages. Discusses particular kinds of poems or themes that work especially well for English as a Second Language instruction. (SG)

Presents a discussion of teaching May Swenson poems. Notes that what students receive from May Swenson's work is a "consciousness of looking at writing in a physical way." (SG)

Presents six stories illustrating literature's importance to young adults. Concludes that if literature is to remain alive, then it is the teachers who must sustain that life force by testifying to its power and by offering young people those stories, those young adult novels and poems that reflect and embrace life. (SG)

Borrows a rhetorical device from Isocrates, imitation, then combines it with the descriptive structure of Liva Polanyi and the referential (rather than expressive) aim of discourse from James Kinneavy to improve student narratives and prepare them for academic discourse. Describes how students imitate the structure of a brief poem, and they use…

Points out the rich variety of poetry for teenagers available today, and suggests reasons why teenagers might have a difficult time finding it. Appends a list of more than 120 collections of poetry, arranged in categories. (SR)

Discusses the importance of providing opportunities for ongoing oral language development for all students, the particular needs of children learning English as a second language, and the unique appropriateness of poetry as a vehicle for providing practice and pleasure in oral language skill development. Notes that poetry provides a relaxed and…

Presents three short articles from elementary teachers with classroom ideas: hosting a poetry spectacular; parents, buddy journals, and reader response; and a format for class sharing that incorporates practice of letter/sound correspondence. (SR)

Describes an assignment in which students sharpen their punctuation skills by arranging poems without punctuation in a prose form with appropriate punctuation. Suggests using the poetry of a fictional character from Don Marqui's "archy and mehitabel." (TB)

Offers a series of related approaches to teaching poetry and helping students to overcome their phobia of it. Suggests that students gain from discussion of vocabulary, the poem's speaker and his or her perspective, and word choices in the poem. (TB)

Offers several of the author's (a pediatric oncologist) poems and reflections on his poetry in relation to his work with dying children. (SR)

Describes how a teacher and her grades one through three children made poetry come alive and serve as an authentic part of their lives. Describes the factors underlying authentic classroom instruction, and notes how poetry moved out from lessons and even school time to become something that will continue to be with many of these children…