Tech Talk Shelley Martin-Young
The Importance of Poetry: Making the Tech Connection Poetry! Just saying the word poetry aloud may elicit a wide range of emotions from both students and teachers alike. Take a minute to reflect on the word poetry. Say it aloud, revel in the word. What emotions bubbled to the surface when you thought of the word poetry? Inevitably, when I tell my preservice teachers that we are going to write poetry I hear moans and groans, but by the end of the semester, poetry is one of their favorite genres. We need poetry in our lives. Beginning your school year with poetry helps build community and allows you to learn about your students while they learn about you and each other. Poetry is rhythm and rhyme, and it speaks to the soul. According to Elena Aguilar (2013) a blogger for Edutopia, poetry is “the most kinesthetic of all literature, it’s physical and full-bodied which activates your heart and soul and sometimes bypasses the traps of our minds, and the outcome is that poetry moves us.” Reading poetry builds vocabulary and enhances creativity. Reading poetry aloud builds fluency and listening skills. Poetry is also a great way to explore and play with language: similes, metaphors, rhyme, imagery. You can even use poetry to teach grammar. Below I will introduce you to two of my favorite poetry + technology approaches. Ethical ELA – Choice and Voice Literacy For all things ELA, Ethical ELA (Donovan, 2022) is a must-have resource. Dr. Sarah Donovan, Assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, began this blog in 2015 as a place to share resources and connect with teachers. In this blog, Dr. Donovan shares her thoughts about and resources for assessments and grading practices, reading, writing and poetry. The blog also hosts educators from across the country to share what is on their hearts. Here you can read my blog post about the Tulsa Race Massacre, hear from a survivor, and listen to some authors who have written about the Tulsa Race Massacre. On this blog, Dr. Donovan hosts a monthly Open Write for educators to share their voice and their poetry. The Open Write takes place over a fiveday period. For each of the five days a “host” provides a poetry inspiration, writing tips, and a mentor poem. Teachers are then encouraged to write a poem on the Ethical ELA blog and respond to other authors. Teachers are also encouraged to share the prompts with their students. There are even suggestions on how to respond to each other. In April each year, the site hosts a month-long poetry writing challenge known as #VerseLove. #VerseLove operates the same as the open write, except that there will be inspirations for 30 days instead of just five. Dr. Donovan writes on her blog, “Write because you can. Write because it helps you see your world anew. Write because this will be a place to
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