by Brett Vogelsinger

Anna Grossnickle Hines is a poet who brings a beautiful blend of poetry and quilting expertise to her books for children.  Since I am a poetry enthusiast, and my wife is a professional embroidery artist, we were thrilled to discover her picture books this year!

Her 2011 picture book, Peaceful Pieces, contains a poem that will speak to younger and older writers alike.  It is called "Peace: A Recipe," and the picture under the poem shows how the quilting complements the words.


Peace: A Recipe

Open minds -- at least two.
Willing hearts -- the same.
Rinse well with compassion.
Stir in a fair amount of trust.
Season with forgiveness.
Simmer in a sauce of respect.
A dash of humor brightens the flavor.

Best served with hope.

Click to enlarge!

After reading the poem twice aloud in my classroom -- first a teacher reading, then a student read aloud -- I ask my students to think of someone that they need to make greater peace with in their own lives.  I invite them to ponder: which of the "ingredients" in this poem could help lead to greater peace.  In their Writer's Notebooks, write for a few minutes about what action they could take using this "ingredient" to create greater peace in their relationship.

This activity welcomes students to see poetry not just as literature or a collection of images or a weaving of words.  Of course, it is all these things.  But it can also be a motivator, a catalyst for change, an invitation to an epiphany.

As teachers, we cannot manufacture epiphanies.  But we can give students the chance to take a message from a poem and look for ways to apply it in their lives.  This deceptively simple poem may give them just such a chance.

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 Brett Vogelsinger

Former Poet Laureate of the United States, Juan Filipe Herrera, shares his memoir in the poem-as-a-picture-book entitled "Imagine."

The book is beautifully written and illustrated, weaving some Spanish words into the English poem as it follows Herrara's trajectory as a child of migrant workers to his first experiences learning English to his post as Poet Laureate.  It concludes with the words "Imagine what you could do."

I tell my ninth-grade students that for today's Poem of the Day we are going to have an elementary school library class experience, and I ask them to gather around.  Some of them choose to sit on the floor just like they did for "carpet time" back in elementary school.  Nostalgia for this kind of reading runs deep and strong.

I make sure every student gets to ponder each page, reading it slower than most poems, for the format breaks it up into illustrated pieces we want to savor.

The last line, "Imagine what you could do," has landscape illustration paired with it that hearkens back to Herrera's youth.

In their Writer's Notebooks, students might take that same line and illustrate it in a way that inspires them and relates to either their early life or to their future goals and what they would like to accomplish.


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 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.

In the world of spoken word poetry, it is hard to beat the work of Rudy Fancisco. His work is powerful, brilliant, and highly entertaining. While his videos are incredible -- and I suggest you use as many as you can -- his recently published anthology, Helium, presents a number of written texts that fit well as a warm-up in any class.

One text that I have used recently is a poem he first published via social media and later used in his book.

Find this poem in Rudy Fransisco's book, Helium, or in the original tweet.

This poem is simple and presents an abundance of opportunities to talk about language and narrative.

Before introducing this poem, I talk to students about some fears that I have, things like flying and heights. I ask students if they have any fears and discuss whether they are rational or not. I end the brief discussion with what seems to be a surprising statement for some students: that I am terrified of spiders. I then show them this poem on my screen. I read the poem aloud and ask for a student reading.

The discussion can go a number of ways. Focus on the first half: "How does the poet react when asked to kill a spider, a task we all have probably done without giving it much thought?” Or focus on the second half of the poem: “What profound statement is made about the refusal of a simple task, killing a spider”.

I start with these questions but also allow student to just talk about the poem and what they got out of it. I close the discussion with the fact that since reading this poem a year ago, I haven’t killed a spider. Because of the way Fancisco addresses the idea of being “caught in the wrong place/at the wrong time, just being alive” I have tried to treat all things with a greater sense of kindness and mercy. Poetry can change us.

A suggested pairing: Read this text alongside William Blake's "The Fly"  and allow students to analyze “How does poetry allow us to see large concepts in the smallest of creatures?”

Further Reading:




Zachary Sibel is a hip-hop fan and an eighth-grade English teacher at Tohickon Middle School in Bucks County, PA. 

by Elizabeth Howlett

Students read the poem "Demeter’s Prayer to Hades" by Rita Dove silently as it is projected on the screen. Every time I present a poem to my students I explain that poetry is written to be heard, that the ear may pick up on what the eyes do not. Therefore, the second read is my vocal interpretation of this poem’s tone and fervor. Whether you do or do not know the story of Demeter, how does the speaker’s tone strike you?

As a poem about mythology, the first quest is to ferret out all of the mythological allusions. Who are Demeter and Hades? What is the nature of their relationship? Consider presentation of the myth as a paired text.

What if we take the mythology out of it? Is this not a mortal scenario?

If someone has wronged us, don’t we wish that they could have “knowledge” of the impact they have had?

Still, the poem does speak of both gods and mortals. Being a deity in mythology does not mean you are without flaws, and worshipping the gods means believing in those who are subject to the
weaknesses of man.

What are the consequences for anyone who attempts to “play god?"

This poem invites rich discussion and deep thinking about our own lives and the power of allusion.


Elizabeth Howlett is a seventh grade ELA teacher in San Antonio, Texas.

by Brett Vogelsinger

I must confess, I am a little partial to the poem "Revenge" by Taha Muhammad Ali because I was present for its English-language debut at the Dodge Poetry Festival in 2006.  To hear a poem spoken first in Arabic, meaningless to a primarily English-speaking audience, reminded me first of the marvels of language; what is without meaning to one person is deeply, profoundly impactful to another.  And when I heard this poem repeated, the second time in English, the power of Ali's words brought the entire audience to our feet, for here was a poem entitled "Revenge," crafted in one of the most conflict-striken regions of the world, that is actually about the power of choosing peace.

If you choose to share this entire video of the poem with your students, it will take a little more time than some of our Go Poem activities, but I think you will find it to be worth it.  I share photocopies of the poem with my students, turned face-down until after the video has finished playing.



Part of what makes this poem so impactful is its structure.  What we may refer to as a "plot twist" in a novel or a movie we refer to as a "turn" in a poem.  Where does this poem take a surprising turn?  What is the nature of that turn?  By surprising us with these unforeseen turns, what do you think the poet wants us to leave the poem thinking about, wondering about, or believing?  (That last question digs at the question of theme, but isn't it so much more interesting than asking "What is the theme of this poem?")


Brett Vogelsinger teaches freshman English students at Holicong Middle School in Doylestown, PA where he starts class with a poem each day. Follow his work on Twitter @theVogelman.