More often than not, these reactions happen because a student gets overwhelmed and doesn't know where to start. That's why I devote lots of time breaking down the steps of poetry analysis, so my kids feel less afraid of the whole process.
Here are five strategies I use to remove the fear and mystery associated with poetry:
One of the best ways to help kids understand poetry is to get them to experiment with writing some first. When students play around with their own words, they will be more likely to recognize when and how another poet is doing the same.
Before I start any poetry unit, I make sure my students are very familiar with the ways that language can create meaning. We do figurative language challenges and word choice lessons to ensure that students understand the power of their own language. Then I give them free reign to express themselves through poetry. We have many conversations about using words to create meaning, and students explain their craft and purpose to each other. These conversations will help them later, when they do poetry analysis, because they can connect the techniques they used in their writing to the ones that they will explore in our poetry unit.
I certainly want to give my kids challenging poetry that stretches their brains, but I don't do it on the first day. If I break out the Romantic and Victorian poets in the beginning, barriers will go up that I'll never climb over. My poetry unit will be dead on arrival. Instead, I prefer to create some interest and buzz with poems that teens can relate to, as well as ones they can "get" pretty easily. I want to build my students' confidence and interest first and then work toward more challenging poems. My favourite way to start is with Billy Collins' Introduction to Poetry, a poem that addresses the purpose of poetry analysis and that always leads to a great discussion with my students. Then, we spend a class or two exploring some other high interest poems before we get too deep into analysis.
I've compiled a list of some engaging and accessible poems (with some recommendations from my friends at the Coffee Shop). You can grab it here.
One of the best ways to get your kids on board with analysis is to show them how you do it. This helps them see that it does take work. Despite what they may think, we English teachers didn't come out of the womb clutching the secrets to poetry analysis. However, somewhere along the way we learned how to approach the process, so we don't shut down as soon as it gets hard.
Give your students a peek into your brain by projecting a poem on the screen, or enlarging one and putting it on a piece of chart paper. Read the poem with students and then speak your process out loud. Start with your first impression of the poem. Then, talk about the things you don't understand: I'm not sure what the poet means here... she could be suggesting that...or it could be... Annotate as you speak. Write ideas in the margins, including unanswered questions. Continue on until you've come up with some conclusions about the poet's purpose. Then, ask the kids what they think. If you're really brave, the best way to do this is with a poem you have never seen before. Ask the kids to find a poem for you to analyze. They can email it to you or bring a copy to class, but you need to make it clear to them that you've never seen it before. It may seem like a terrifying prospect, but it's a very effective strategy to show your students that we don't always know what we're doing, but when we're stumped, we have strategies to help us get over the wall.
You will need to choose a poem that has multiple elements that you want students to look at (diction, imagery, sound and rhythm, figurative language, etc.). Each group will look at one of these, and after discussion, will create a poster that explains their conclusions about the poet's use of their assigned element. Groups will hang all of their posters on a wall of the classroom. Next, they do a gallery walk so each student can examine every group's work. Finally, the class will have a big discussion about the effect that each element has on the poem -- and how they all work together to create meaning. This exercise works really well because students get a chance to see how each part works to create the whole.
Eventually my students need to do a poetry analysis on their own. However, I still provide them with the opportunity to focus on the steps of poetry analysis, so they don't get overwhelmed when faced with a challenging poem.
We use learning stations, and at each stop, the student is reminded of the elements they should consider in their poem, like structure, sound and figurative language. Since I've started using these stations, I'm grading papers that are so much better than the old days, when I assigned a poem without giving my students any scaffolding.
I hope I've given you a few ideas that you can use in your own classroom. If you'd like more information about focusing on process with literary analysis, you can head on over to this blog post. Also, my friends here at the Secondary English Coffee Shop have some amazing resources for poetry too. Check them out!
Presto Plans: Poetry Annotation
Nouvelle ELA: Poetry Escape Room
Secondary Sara: Digital Poetry Slam
The Daring English Teacher: Poetry Analysis with Sticky Notes
Addie Education: Poetry Activity Pack
