Commission on the Teaching of Poetry

Co-Chairs: Danny Wade, Moore Public Schools, Oklahoma
                 Bonner Slayton, Alcott Middle School, Oklahoma
Liaison:     Michael Moore, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro

Mission:

1. To promote the teaching of poetry across all curriculums.
2. To examine, suggest, and promote innovative ways of teaching and responding to poetry.
3. To establish a culture and community for the reading, writing, and teaching of poetry.

Current Projects:

1. Develop a proposal for a round table session at the 2008 NCTE Annual Convention in San Antonio.
        The theme for the 2008 NCTE Annual Convention in San Antonio is Because Shift Happens: Teaching in the 21st Century. In New York, roundtable leaders presented interactive lessons as means of promoting poetry as a relevant mode of expression in the 21st century.  Based on the NCTE San Antonio proposal description and the ideas generated at the 2007 NCTE Poetry Commission Meeting, the commission will now develop a proposal on how poetry has evolved or is expressed in different contexts/or New Literacies.  By late December or early January, a proposal describing this in more detail will be provided to members for review.
2. Continue compiling poetry lesson plans to recommend to teachers fearful of teaching poetry. 
        The Poetry Commission is compiling lessons for teachers who are fearful of teaching poetry. Interested persons, regardless of membership in the Poetry Commission, should email lessons to Danny Wade at . Please send as a Word document.  There is no required format. 
3. Develop a journal article or book proposal about Poetry and the New Literacies.
4. Book Project - Seek and develop engaging lesson plans for the book project, Exploring Poetry: Conversations with Contemporary American Poets.  Those interested in submitting lesson plans should contact Hood Frazier at and refer to the following document http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Related_Groups/CEE/exploringpoetry-conversations.pdf