Teaching Poetry, Embracing Perspectives: A Guide for Middle School Teachers

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Description

This book serves as a practical guide, for teachers of middle-school students as well as higher grade levels, that provides clear and fully-developed lesson plans and activities that use the teaching of poetry reading and writing as a vehicle for developing students own creativity and appreciation for diversity. The combination of theory and practice sets this book apart from other books, in addition to an original four-step method of making sense of poems. The book is divided into two parts: the first focuses on the critical reading of poems; the second focuses on the writing of poems, using different forms. Both work towards the bigger picture of developing students ability to engage in respectful discourse and to view multiple perspectives as enriching rather than competing.

Reviews

A great read if you are looking to engage young minds in developing their abilities for respect and appreciation of the world in which they live and as a way to teach compassion and kindness to all sentient beings. I highly recommend this as a resource for any humane educator out there looking to add thoughtful and kind material to their curriculums. -- Gail Frydkowski, United Federation of Teachers, Humane Education Committee Chair
Learning to embrace diversity through exposure to various art forms, including poetry, assists in greater understanding of different cultures and human experiences and helps to educate and expose the listener/reader to a new and greater understanding of the world around them.This can tremendously help in lessening bullying and judgmental behaviors in our community. -- Sheri A. Lunn, The Trevor Project, Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Engagement
This easy-to-implement guide for middle and high school teachers demonstrates that poetry is an effective tool to promote perspective-taking. Sharon Discorfano shows how teaching poetry can enhance students ability to engage in respectful discourse as they recognize the value of diverse viewpoints and interpretations. -- Meena Alagappan Esq., Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART), Executive Director

Author Bio

Sharon Discorfano has been a writer and educator for more than 20 years, with a M.A. in Literature from Georgetown University and years spent teaching at prestigious schools in Austin, Houston, and New York. She currently resides in New York with her husband and their dog Galileo, where she continues to engage with students ranging from elementary school to university level, in the context of humane education and animal advocacy.