April is National Poetry Month! If you’ve been reading our work for any length of time, you know we’re big fans of poetry, both reading it and using it as a teaching tool.
Here are some of our favorite articles on using poetry in the classroom that have appeared in Rethinking Schools magazine. We hope you will find some time during your classes this month to read and write poetry with your students.
These articles are available free to all friends of Rethinking Schools:
Aquí y Allá/Here and There: Exploring Our Lives Through Poetry, by Elizabeth Schlessman
An elementary teacher uses the poetry of Jorge Argueta to help students express their feelings about leaving one country for another.
Talking Back to the World: Turning Poetic Lines into Visual Poetry, by Renée Watson
Student poetry about “what raised me” is woven into graphic art.
Remembering Mahmoud Darwish, by Naomi Shihab Nye
The Palestinian poet’s richly descriptive style resonated with displaced peoples everywhere
Poetry in a Time of Crisis, by Linda Christensen
In the wake of 9/11, high school educators call on the power of poetry to help students critique injustice and develop empathy.
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Knock Knock: Turning Pain into Power, by Linda Christensen
When poet and Obie-winning playwright Daniel Beaty speaks, people listen, learn, and are inspired
Pain and Poetry: Facing Our Fears, by Tom McKenna
Poetry becomes the vehicle for students to strengthen the classroom community, think critically about their collective experience, and push their teacher to push them.
Quaking Conversation, by Lenelle Moise/Teaching ideas by Linda Christensen
A poem about the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Raised by Women, by Linda Christensen
Building Relationships Through Poetry
Related Resources
Reading, Writing, And Rising Up and Teaching for Joy and Justice. Poetry is a central piece of Rethinking Schools editor Linda Christensen’s curriculum, and these books provide a wealth of ideas to link poetry and social justice teaching.