I really liked the suggestions from Peterson around how to build the use of poetry into different subjects. The suggestion to have students write a poem about historical figures or early civilizations sounds like it would be an engaging activity for a history class. I could work in cross-curricular expectations, my students could practice their writing, I could assess their understanding of the material, and it would provide my students with a creative means of expression. This could also be applicable in say a Civics/Careers course to help make the lessons more interactive and engaging.
I also enjoyed the slam poetry video. I think it is very applicable to today's youth. It hits on a lot of points that will resonate with my students while giving them a creative outlet to express their passions, frustrations, and successes.
The Peterson reading on Narrative presented some other interesting ideas on how to present material to the students in creative alternative methods. During her class presentation, Karen shared an idea from her experience of how teachers can use historical fiction to engage students in cross-curricular expectations. In essence, she indicated that it would be possible to teach some of the historical material to the class without the implied perception that "history is boring" because it would not be plainly evident that history was being taught. I found this really interesting and envisioned giving my English students a historical fiction book which ties into the material they are studying in history. So for instance, if we were covering Early Modern Europe, I could assign a text by Philippa Gregory.
As a class, we could examine the book as a work of English, focusing on technique, style, content, and plot - but we could also examine the text in terms of historical accuracy: what is missing/inaccurate and why? What insights does this give us into life in this period? Which viewpoints are represented and which ones excluded? Using historical fiction presents a lot of opportunities for engaging the students in fun and creative new ways - while hopefully helping them to develop a further love for reading.
So glad you enjoyed our class on poetry and were able to gain so much from thinking about the power of Slam. You are playing with a range of rich ideas here and the use of historical fiction and poetry as a means of opening new ways for students to think about history is an important means of building critical literacy skills.
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