Poetry of Place: Helping Students Write Their Worlds

by Terry Hermsen

This book is chockfull of student poetry samples and unique ideas, including field trips and a poetry night hike, to spark students' imaginations and inspire them to write poetry.

Poetry of Helping Students Write Their Worlds isn’t your typical book about teaching poetry. Sure, you’ll find plenty of information on helping students learn the fundamentals of writing poetry. But you’ll also find creative, innovative ways to engage students in poetry―even those students who may be initially resistant to poetry. Through his extensive work with students in grade school through high school, poet-in-residence Terry Hermsen has learned how to foster a love of poetry by taking the learning out of the classroom―and into students’ real lives. With numerous lessons and activities, Hermsen demonstrates how even the most mundane, everyday items―from “stuff” to food to photographs―can spark the imagination of student poets. Truly teacher-tested, Hermsen’s lessons draw on his extensive teaching career as well as a semester-long case study conducted in two high school English classes in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Activities include using literature and art to spark ideas for poems, transforming a routine field trip into a poetry-writing session, and exploring nature and students’ surroundings through a poetry night hike. Filled with student examples, this book illustrates that poetry doesn’t have to be boring. It can help students develop interpretive and creative thinking skills while helping them better understand the world around them, wherever they may live.

Genres: Nonfiction

217 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a self-aggrandizing wannabe memoir that masquerades as a guide for teaching poetry.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is great. The project ideas are good, described quickly, and the examples really fit. The second half of this book, however, slows down. Hermsen uses one semester with specific AP students to draw on the second half of the book. The explanations are longer and the project ideas seem to congeal into one concept reiterated over and over.

[Lori Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best professional book I've read about the art of teaching poetry and of writing poetry. It contains very applicable strategies and ideas for teachers of all levels, all grades, and all content areas. Yes, I recommend this book for L. Arts/English teachers, but with common core looming in the horizon, it would be good for all to read.