As a teenager in the 90’s, I admit that I still revel in of memories of Blockbuster Video, Doc Martens, and any and every Friends character. I also have a soft spot for Tupac Shakur. While he is no longer with us, his poetry is. I use his most popular piece, which is also the title for his published collection of poetry, “The Rose That Grew from Concrete” as a kickoff to Song Week, usually my third week of National Poetry Month.

Using Brett’s Poem of the Day routine, students enter with the poem projected (without the author) and the task to turn to a table partner and try to identify the underlying theme. While discussion can vary, many often find motifs of the diamond in the rough or the feeling of being dismissed. I then ask to identify a possible author, not necessarily a specific name, but rather consider those in our society who feel underrepresented and/or underappreciated. I have found this part extremely valuable discussion in a school that lives in a world of white privilege -- but that is a different conversation.

This leads to the eventual reveal of Tupac as the poet and our gameshow version of Tupac: Poem or Song? Students who are already grouped in tables compete by trying to identify whether some of my favorite lines are lifted from poems or songs, all PG rated of course. We use an interactive notepad (to click and drag) and rewards of candy to further motivate… though it’s really always about bragging rights.





This bit of silliness leads to the assignment for students to choose one of their favorite artists and select one verse of a favorite song to share and analyze for poetic devices/rhyme schemes that we have previously covered.

After the sharing the devices and schemes, I ask them to type up the verses and bring them to class for the following day. We take a minute or two for students to each cut their verses into lines. This creates anywhere from 20-30 different lines that we throw into a pile at our tables. Student groups are then tasked with fusing the various lines into a unique poem. While some end up being far from poet laureate worthy, you can only imagine the combinations we see when someone brings in “Strawberry Fields Forever” that gets paired with “Party in the USA” while a third partner has the lyrics to “She Thinks My Tractor is Sexy”.




The activity is obviously intended to further blur the line between poetry and music, especially for this still hesitant to embrace the head first dive. Admittedly, I was that student, and I know many are still out there who haven’t embraced the symbiotic relationship between the two genres.

Further Reading:

by Brett Vogelsinger

If you live in a region that gets the occasional snow day, you know how exciting they can be for students and teachers alike. Snow days offer an unexpected period of found time, the opportunity to slow down, push back a deadline, and catch your breath.

Billy Collins' poem "Snow Day" captures how it feels to be a "willing prisoner" to the snow. I love to share this poem with my students when we return from a snow day.  After our first reading, I ask students to keep an eye on something during our second read.

Collins mentions "a revolution of snow" in his poem.  Where do we see the language of revolution threaded through this poem?  How does he subtly build on this idea elsewhere with his imagery and diction?  Like tracking animal footprints into the woods, students enjoy the challenge of following the words that suggest revolution: white flag, government buildings smothered, anarchic cause, a riot afoot, a queen about to fall.

I should mention here that Billy Collins' exceptional Poetry 180 project advocates sharing poetry without much commentary or analysis at all, and this poem is ideal to share in that way as well.  It is the perfect invitation back to school after the welcome but unexpected interruption of a snowstorm.  And everyone loves that list of nursery school names at the end!


Further Reading:





Brett Vogelsinger is a ninth-grade English teacher at Holicong Middle School in Bucks County, PA.  He has been starting class with a poem each day for the past six years and is the creator of the Go Poems blog to share poetry reading and writing ideas with teachers around the world. Find him on Twitter @theVogelman.

by Kate Baker

Jehanne Dubrow’s “Penelope Considers a New Do,” published in her compilation Stateside, is one of my favorite poems to read with students who are studying Homer’s Odyssey as it puts a modern and alternative perspective on the mythology of circumspect Penelope, Odysseus’ long enduring wife. Dubrow’s poem is rich in symbolism and allusion as she channels Penelope’s tale, weaving it into her own story of being a military wife who is home while the husband is deployed overseas. There is even an audio version available, read by the poet.

Students can begin by close reading the poem, identifying the modern and mythical allusions, enjambed and end-stopped lines, and examples of alliteration as they discuss the implications of trying to change one’s hairstyle in attempt to better one’s life: how does one’s appearances dictate one’s mindset and perspective on life? Can cutting one’s hair really result in an improved outlook? Will magazines and hairstylists realistically offer solutions to one’s plights in life? Students can consider how Penelope has coped with Odysseus’ absence and compare/contrast her coping strategies to their own understandings of waiting and identity.

by Allison Marchetti

by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

I collect words.  And I keep lists of these collections in my notebooks. When I listen to people speak, read books, or think, I pause to consider the sounds and meanings of lovable and interesting words.  Just this week I've been enchanted by Albuquerque and resonant.  Last week I fell in love with seagull and periwinkle.  

We are changed when we pay attention to words, and while collecting words focuses our attention on language-music, word collections also offer writing ideas. 

Begin a list of favorite words in your own notebook.  Think about words you loved as a little child, words that call up fabric names and kitchen words.  Consider nature words or magical words.  Write these down. 

A sample favorite word list with connections.

Once you have a list, consider connecting pairs of words in surprising ways by drawing random lines between them.  If you desire, share your list with friends or colleagues, each of you saving each other's favorite words as you wish. Or simply choose one word, place it atop a page, and write from it.  You may find that the lines you have drawn will invite a curious connection that brings you somewhere new, as I did in the poem "Word Collection." 

"Word Collection" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Allow yourself to be surprised.

Collect words always.  Words are the bricks of writing. 

I am grateful to Rebecca Kai Dotlich for teaching me to make and share my favorite word lists as she learned from Myra Cohn Livingston.  Pass it on.  Pass it on. 




Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is author of books including FOREST HAS A SONG, EVERY DAY BIRDS, READ! READ! READ!, DREAMING OF YOU, WITH MY HANDS, and POEMS ARE TEACHERS.  Amy lives in Holland, NY with her family, blogs for young writers at The Poem Farm and Sharing Our Notebooks and posts on Twitter and Instagram as @amylvpoemfarm. 

Enter our giveaway to win a free copy of Amy's book Read! Read! Read! by leaving a comment on any 2018 Go Poems post by 8:30AM on Saturday, April 6.  Many thanks to Boyds Mills Press for sponsoring this giveaway.  

by Brett Vogelsinger

An abecedary is an inscription of the letters of the alphabet, often in order, and often used as a practice exercise, so technically every student who has studied the English language has completed an abecedary at some point early on in their education in order to learn the alphabet.  In fact, there is even a related word to describe people learning the alphabet: abecedarians.  That sounds so much more accomplished than "kindergarteners," does it not?

Gabriel Fried's poem, "Abecedary," is somewhat more challenging.  Each word begins with a consecutive letter of the alphabet, yet it makes fantastic, whimsical sense as a series of commands or instructions for debonair elves and mighty newish otters.

Here is the poem:

Abecedary
by Gabriel Fried

Apple-
Bodied
Child,
Debonair
Elf,
Forage
Gently
Here
In
Jasmine
Keeled
Latitudes.
Mighty
Newish
Otter,
Pray
Quietly.
Retrieve
Sapphires.
Trundle
Under
Violets
Within
Xanadu,
Young
Zodiac.


The poem looks like it must have been easy to write at first, much like some abstract paintings in a museum may make some visitors feel like, "Well I can do that!"  So challenge students to create an abecedary that makes some sense, maybe even as a set of instructions like this poem.  In five minutes, they will discover the challenge.

The goal here is not for every student to complete a perfect Abecedary, but rather to grapple in their writer's notebooks with this structure and see how an excellent poet can make a challenge look deceptively simple.

Further Reading:




Brett Vogelsinger is a ninth-grade English teacher at Holicong Middle School in Bucks County, PA.  He is the faculty adviser for the school literary magazine, Sevenatenine.  Besides his annual blogging adventure on this site, he has published work on Nerdy Book Club, The New York Times Learning Network, and Edutopia and you can follow him on Twitter (@theVogelman).