Writing and Understanding Poetry for Teachers and Students

Grounded in craft, this book was composed on three premises: That the study and modeling of great poems is integral to understanding poetry and learning to write poems, that scaffolded learning builds a writers and a readers confidence and knowledge base and increases learning, and that teachers and facilitators of poetry can and should build learning environments we call our hearts in a safe place. Each chapter contains an introduction to a main focus, new terms, a model poem, an explication, short prompts heuristic to each chapters focus, and a model exercise. Student poem samples are included in each chapter. The last chapter discusses syllabi, portfolios and alternate grading. A Hearts Craft differs from other poetry how to books because it combines art with pedagogy in a unique and effective fashion.