Zoila M. Brown
Teachers' Bibliography
Cullinan, Bernice, et al.
Three Voices: An Invitation to Poetry Across the Curriculum
. Stenhouse, ME, 1995.In this book three teachers give practical approaches to the teaching of poetry. They show how students respond to their teaching methods and provide samples of the students' work. Each section contains a description of a strategy, a vignette, and a list of extensions giving more ways the strategies may be adapted.
Flynn, Nick and McPhillips, Shirley.
A Note Slipped Under the Door…
Stenhouse, ME, 2000. This gives an up-close look on how to provide inquiry around selected poems. The book includes mini-lessons from initiation to culmination. Samples of students' work at various stages of writing are included. The conversations that occur within the classroom make the lessons insightful.
Heard, Georgia.
For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry.
Heinemann, New Hampshire, 1989Georgia Heard offers a method of teaching poetry at all levels. Elementary teachers are given a glimpse into another teacher's world- her mistakes and her successes. The dialogue between teacher and students is insightful and invaluable.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett.
Pass the Poetry, Please!
Citation Press, New York, 1972This poet-teacher and anthologist offers several proven strategies for using poetry in every discipline in the elementary school.
Janeczko, Paul B.
Favorite Poetry Lessons: Scholastic
, 1998Writing from his personal experience and interaction with students, Janeczko compiles lessons that are thorough, but easy to use or adapt. In each section, he includes a full-page reproducible poem with suggestions for its use as a model poem.
Koch, Kenneth.
Rose, Where Did You Get That Red?
Teaching Great Poetry to Children. Random House, New York, 1973.This book gives an introductory essay describing Koch's teaching method with subsequent chapters explaining his approach in teaching children to read and enjoy poems. He gives insights into his students' work by including a large collection of the poems they produced from his instruction and interaction with them. He also includes an anthology of great poems to teach children and suggests methods to teach each of these poems.
Packard, William.
The Poet's Dictionary: A handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices
. Harper & Row, New York, 1989. This is a dictionary of poetic terms, examples, and explanation of how the terms are used.
Roethke, Theodore.
On Poetry & Craft.
Copper Canyon Press, WA, 2001. The Foreword by Carolyn Kizer gives insights into the methods that the author used in his own teaching. The book offers advice to young writers, and provides insights that will help teachers become passionate about teaching poetry composition as an integral part of writing.
Ryan, Margaret.
How To Write A Poem.
A Franklin Watts Library Edition, Danbury, CT, 1996.A step-by-step approach to composing poems. It is an easy to read book that gives clear instruction on working with rhythm and aural texture. The poetic elements and their uses are concisely discussed.
Students' Bibliography
Adoff, Arnold.
In for Winter, Out for Spring.
Harcourt Brace Jovanich, New York, 1991. Arnold presents a journal of free verses written from the perspective of a child. The poems show the child's interaction with her family, as the seasons change throughout the year. Jerry Pinkney has given bright and vivid illustrations.
Adoff, Arnold. Tornado! Poems. Delacorte Press, New York, 1977. This is a book of free verse poems describing a tornado and its aftermath. The black and white pictures show the gloom of the disaster.
Clinton, Catherine.
I, Too, Sing America.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA, 1998. The book begins with Langston Hughes' poem bearing its title. This collection of poetry presents brief biographies of the poets and notes about the poems. The pictorial interpretation of the poems are unusual and may be thought provoking.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett.
My America.
Simon & Schuster, NY, 2000. Fifty poems grouped by geographical regions give an insight of the character of America. Maps of the regions and facts about the states complement the textured artwork. The poems are a collection of works of renowned poets.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett.
Lives: Poems About Famous Americans.
Harper Collins,1999. Sixteen famous Americans with distinctive personalities are presented in this collection of poetic portraits. The book also features a short biographical sketch of each of these men and women.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett.
Spectacular Science
. Simon & Schuster, NY, 1999. This is a collection of science related poems selected by Hopkins. The works of several poets, including pieces by the author, are compiled and attractively illustrated.
Janeczko, Paul B.
The Place My Words Are Longing For.
Bradbury Press, NY, 1990. An anthology of poems written by several poets, this is a collection of poems about friends, neighbors, parents, love, and various objects. It also presents a short discussion about the poets written in the poets' own voices.
Kennedy, X.J. and Dorothy M.
Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry
. Little, Brown & Co. 1999. A great collection of poems for children categorized under headings that teachers could refer students to. It gives an explanation of pertinent literary devices as well as suggestions for teachers.
Livingston, Myra Cohn.
O Frabjous Day!
Atheneum, NY, 1977. This book is a collection of poetry for holidays and special occasions edited by Livingston. It includes poems from various countries and time periods- from Biblical times through the twentieth century.
Livingston, Myra Cohn.
Worlds I Know and Other Poems.
Atheneum, NY, 1985. These poems are a special collection of objects and imagery in a child's world. They appeal to and reflect the special moments of childhood.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth.
Paul Revere's Ride
. Dutton Children's Books, NY, 1990 This is a well-illustrated picture book presenting history in poetic form. It recreates the events in 1775 when Paul Revere rode at midnight to warn the people of the Boston countryside that the British were coming.
Merriam, Eve.
Independent Voices
. Atheneum, New York, 1968. Merriam presents a collection of verses in honor of distinguished Americans in history. The narrative poems relate the challenges they faced and their accomplishments.
Whipple, Laura.
Celebrating America.
Philomel Books, NY, 1994. This collection of poems and images of the American spirit integrates art work with a variety of the poetic styles of several poets. It presents the characteristics of the land and people as well as other aspects of the American life.
Other Resources
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
(HBJ). NY. Grade 5 Literature Cassettes:
- "Tornado Alert!"
- "Tornado! Poems"
- "Elizabeth Blackwell"
Photos and pictures from the Internet and art galleries.
http://gallery.yahoo.com/
http://www.fs.fed.us/npnht/gallery
http://www.zazzle.com/collections/products/gallery