This January, check out some poetry at the OISE Library to commemorate Robbie Burns Day! A Scottish poet, Robert Burns is known for his contributions to Romanticism and Lyric poetry. Born on January 25th, 1759, this date now marks Robbie Burns Day. For more information on Robbie Burns’ background, the biography Auld Lang Syne is on display in the OISE Library lobby.
The OISE Library contains a wide array of books about bringing poetry into the classroom. Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the Poetry Classroom addresses a wide variety of topics about reading and writing poetry in the classroom, and includes several case studies exploring how teachers have integrated poetry into their classrooms. Using Poetry in the Classroom: Engaging Students in Learning is another exploration of the role that poetry can play in the classroom and how teachers can go about bringing poetry into their classrooms.
For those interested in using poetry to enhance reading ans writing skills, both Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8 and 360 Degrees of Text: Using Poetry to Teach Close Reading and Powerful Writing both provide practical approaches, complete with reading and writing exercises and sample lesson plans. Teachers whose students find traditional poetry inaccessible may find Living Voices: Multicultural Poetry in the Middle School Classroom, which draws on the work of contemporary, multicultural poets as a bridge, a useful resource. Writing in Rhythm: Spoken Word Poetry in Urban Classrooms follows the experiences and methods of one Language Arts teacher’s after-school writing community and discusses how poetry can be used to expand literacy and foster community among students. Similarly, Youth Poets: Empowering Literacies In and Out of Schools explores how several urban youths have used a poetry program as a tool of empowerment, providing them with an uncensored medium to speak about their experiences.
Looking to read some poems? Poetry books from our children’s literature collection are on display. Readers familiar with the poem This Is Just To Say will enjoy Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems, a book of humorous poems written in a similar style. Dear Wandering Wildebeest and Other Poems from the Watering Hole and Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night are full of poems about animals, insects, and plants. Both books include sidebars teaching the reader about the creatures discussed in each poem. Sharing the Seasons: A Books of Poems is a beautifully-illustrated colleciton of 48 poems – 12 for each of the four seasons. For something with accompanying audio, Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat explores the blending of music and poetry in a collection of 51 poems and 30 audio performances. For younger children, check out Noisy Poems for a Busy Day, detailing the activities of one child’s day. Children will also enjoy picking up on familiar Toronto references such as the TTC and Cabbagetown in Melvis and Elvis, a book of poems sharing the friendship of Melvis the monster and Elvis the elf. Meanwhile, older readers might enjoy Brown Girl Dreaming, a novel-length memoir written entirely in verse!
Also on display are several activity kits. The Primary Poetry Box contains 100 printed cards with short poems and related activities to engage students in the poem. Interested in writing poetry in the classroom? The Writing Prompt Cubes and Rory’s Story Cubes kits both contain dice with writing prompts to spur creativity and provide students with a starting point for their poetic endeavours.
Stop by the book display in the OISE Library lobby to take a look at these books on poetry! All books on display are available to be checked out. Don’t hesitate to ask staff for assistance in accessing the display case.
