Poetry

Honesty is the best policy, right? Poetry, one of my least favorite genres. (Bet you didn't see that one coming) Well, it was until my Senior year in High School where we read Foster and Poe. Because of my early negative experiences with Poetry, I try to provide a positive one for my kids. As a bilingual teacher, naturally, I try to incorporate both Hispanic and Americans. Either be a Hispanic author, or and American author; or Hispanic subjects; or American Subjects. For this blog I chose a poetry anthology on Hispanic subjects by a Hispanic author and an American hero for my poetry picture book. 

BRAVO! 

by Margarita Engle

Poetry Anthology

This poetry collection is on famous Hispanic historical figures. Some of these subjects, my students know about and some, even I had never heard of them before. The collection is accompanied by pictures. The illustrations are colorful and appropriate for the cultural representation of the Latin Americas. Although, there is an underlining topic connecting the poems together, each can be read and understood separately. The poems themselves are not related to by plot and or not, necessarily, in sequential order. The poems are free versed for the most part sounding a lot like narratives. Although there are many poetic devices used, the poems are biographical meaning that the information is given straightforward. 

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Poem Picture Book

This is a book I am most excited to use in my class and share it with my students. This very famous, long, was broken down by stanzas. Each stanza is a page in the book. Each stanza has its corresponding image. As if the words were not visual already, the images just confirms your head images. The rhyme makes it easy to read, and the meter lends itself for some fun activities. I can see myselef using this book for a poetry, ELA, lesson, a history lesson, SS, an a lesson on meter and tempo, Music. Most of the word of the pom are overlapping the images, making the main focus the pictures.