Voices from the Middle, Vol. 10, No. 2, December 2002

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Poetry: The Best Words in Their Best Order

• Talking about Poetry: Teaching Students How to Lead the Discussion

  Nancy Steineke

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Nancy discusses how she gets her students talking about poetry.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Poetry Doing Hard and Healthy Work: A Poetpourri of Ideas from the Maine Writing Project

  Jeffrey D. Wilhelm

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Every summer for four to five weeks, a corner of Corbett Hall at the University of Maine is more alive than an ant colony on a sugar buzz as teachers share their lives, teaching expertise, writing, struggles, laughter, and—I have to admit—lots of great food. Though some participants drive in for each day’s work, many of us come from across Maine and live together in a dormitory.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Poetry Preference Research: What Young Adults Tell Us They Enjoy

  Richard F. Abrahamson

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Like Janeczko and Dickey, I love poetry. Place me squarely in the ranks of teachers who want adolescents to enjoy poetry. Yes, I’d love for them to come to value poetry, to see how just a few words can break your heart, make you laugh out loud, or recognize that someone else has experienced your most private thoughts and feelings. I’d love teenagers to appreciate the way figures of speech cause us to see the world in different ways. But, truth be told, I’d settle for student enjoyment as a start.

• Marina's Poem

  Mel Glenn

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: So I am teaching my high school creative writing class—listening to a few "moon-June" poems; a response, perhaps to "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes; or a question about the next major project—when Marina, a girl not too far removed from the Ukraine, shyly reminds me this is "Presentation Day," and could she read her poem?

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Simon Says: A Case Study of Simon, Poetry, and Success

  Jeremy Dean

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: We have begun a poetry unit in the seventh-grade language arts classroom, and Simon’s journal entry displays his frustration. He is a recent Sudanese immigrant, and this is his first year in our school and only his second in the United States.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Masters as Mentors: The Role of Reading Poetry in Writing Poetry

  Proal Heartwell

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Emily Dickinson once wrote, "If I feel physically as if my head were taken off, I know that is poetry." Upon reading these words, Village School seventh grader Eleanor Unsworth replied, "If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I run around screaming, ‘Ahh! Where’s my head?!’"

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Handing Down Knowledge: A Poetic Apprenticeship

  Paul Corrigan

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: I’m a blue-collar poet. A down-home regular guy who finds poems hiding in the streets, mills, hills, and lakes around my home. I never miss a chance to remind my students of this simple fact. Telling them that I have one foot in the Maine milltown where I grew up, the other in the big north woods that surrounds the town, is how I convince my kids of the possibilities for poetry in their lives.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• Creating Joy: Adolescents Writing Poetry with Young Children

  Randi Dickson

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Randi discusses her seventh-graders writing poetry with young children.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• A HAND UP: In Defense of Bullies (But Not Bullying)

  Chris Crutcher

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Chris discusses bullying.

  Keywords: Middle

• THE LITERATURE CIRCLE: Rethinking Role Sheets

  Harvey Daniels

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: If you are doing literature circles in your classroom, chances are you have run across a set of tools called "role sheets." These handouts, adapted from standard collaborative-learning practice, assign students a set of jigsawed tasks to perform while reading and meeting in their book clubs.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Pedagogy

• WRITERS' WORKSHOP: Inviting Poetry In

  Linda Rief

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Several years ago, Lindsay confirmed for me what I knew instinctively from my other students, knew experientially from my own years as a student, and heard clearly from the many contemporary poets I now enjoyed reading: "Don’t teach poetry. Share it."

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Pedagogy

• RESPONDING TO READING: We Did Fourteen Lines . . .

  Robert E. Probst

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Some days are better than others. This had obviously been one of the others. When he dragged himself home from school that afternoon, it was obvious that the last thing he wanted to talk about was how his day had been. So, naturally, I had to ask . . .

  Keywords: Middle, Literature

• THE TEACHER'S TOOLBOX: Teaching by Design

  Jim Burke

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Good, effective, powerful teaching is no accident. It is the natural result of conscious, thoughtful planning that juggles the needs of the students, the school, and the state.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Pedagogy

• EDITOR'S MESSAGE: "Like who can grade a poem?" Thoughts on Poetry Instruction

  Kylene Beers

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• BOOK TALK: The Poetry of Language and the Language of Poetry

  Teri S. Lesesne, Editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• WORD MARKET: Painting Word Pictures: The Language of Poetry

  Janet Allen, editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• SPELLING LOGICS: Supporting Students Who Are Struggling with Spelling

  Shane Templeton, editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• SHADES OF LITERACY: Hip-hop as Authentic Poetry

  Kelly Quintero and Jamal Cooks, editors

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• TECH CONNECT: The Internet Continues the Poetic Tradition

  Nancy Patterson, editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWS: Poetry Possibilities: Some of the Best Words

  Leigh Van Horn, editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• FROM STUDENT TO STUDENT: Just the Right Book

  Kim Ford, editor

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Student reviewed books.

  Keywords: Middle

• MIDDLE LEVEL SECTION NEWS

  Kathie Ramsey, Chair

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.