Introducing Poetry with Inquiry

I don't know if you know this, but students either seem to love the idea of studying poetry or they hate the thought.

I realized that students do not necessarily know how to read poetry. So, I tell them, "I am going to teach you poetry like you've never seen poetry before. Any notions or ideas you have, I am going to ask you to set them aside and embark on this new journey with me." I usually get a few sighs of disgust or the students that gaze at one another, both confirming that the teacher must be absolutely off of his rocker.

Before class, I prepare a selection of six to eighth poems, including a range of forms and structures, difficult to simple. I tell them that in their envelope (where I have cut and placed the poems) or digitally (I have had is uploaded as a bundle OR PowerPoint) they will find poems. Yes, every single one is a poem.

I introduce the lesson with three inquiry questions:
1. What, based on your investigation and analysis of these poems, is poetry?
2. How do these poems differ from prose?
3. What do poems have in common?

I require that students work collaboratively to:
1. Read the poems out loud
2. Write their observations on the Promethean Board OR as Post-Its

I circulate and ask some probing questions, but students invariably always have frustrations with certain poems and ease with understanding others. Sometimes, particularly when reading something by E.E. Cummings or William Carlos Williams, I get the question, "Is this even poetry?" I also go back to my board and look at what students are adding, sorting through all of the ideas and making sure to weed out any that are completely off the mark. Usually, I immediately address "poems rhyme" because it is a particularly basic approach to poetry.

After students have plenty of time to discuss, I ask them to independently address the original three inquiry questions. The students get an opportunity to share and dialogue afterwards. I usually ask a student to share a particularly insightful observation made by a peer, and add it to my growing chart at the front of the room.

I always find this to be such an interesting way to introduce poetry because students get a chance to work with poetry before someone else tells them what poetry "is." Poetry is so varied stylistically and without a doubt, students will not always connect with all poems. 

I have a particular approach to teaching students how to read poetry, but for me, it is all about engaging them and teaching them that poetry is not the scary monster under the bed; poetry is one of the most wondrous and challenging content to read, and students' critical thinking skills can be sharpened through the reading thereof.