Perhaps unfairly, poetry has been dubbed the "Dead Genre."
And without doubt, most of our students hold a general disdain for it because the poetry that typically gets assigned in the classroom tends to elude their comprehension because it is dense, esoteric ... unwieldy and arcane.
But here's the kicker -- those ear buds they're always wearing ... they are pumping sheer poetry into the soul's rhythm all day long.
In my latest unit, we are looking at the poetry of hip hop and rap.
I compiled 25 poems/songs. The packet can be downloaded in the video's description.
And in today's writing workshop video, I illustrate for students how to "paint" an introductory paragraph while pulling the strings of my inverted thesis heuristic.
In my models, I use Kanye West's poem "Divorce, as well as Tupac's "The Rose that Grew From Concrete."
Approaching poetry from this angle has delivered a much needed spark to my classroom. Kids are engaged and eating this stuff up eagerly. Our discussions are enlivened, and the quality of the writing I am receiving is superb.
Here's the link to the entire unit and the writing workshop video
Feel free to reach out if you need anything else.
Happy teaching and happy writing!
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