Teaching Poetry & Prose

The Methods & Menu Directory

The important point to consider in teaching poetry is your approach to this subject as it relates to each child. It is not always true that the teacher must love the subject they are teaching to create an interest in Poetry. Some children are naturally gifted. Many are born with the interest in reading Poetry, writing Poetry or both. However, the teacher may help or hinder the student's interest or otherwise provoke an unknown, hidden interest. If the student is very much interested in Poetry but yet receives too much teaching and focus on the mechanics, without allowing the student to try their own hand at writing, the student may become disinterested. If the teacher's approach is from the creative aspect, not addressing enough mechanical teaching the student could very well become bored and disinterested or lose an unknown or hidden interest. A child not interested in Poetry or creative writing would become bored with anything more than the mechanical teaching. A child may be interested or enjoy reading and analysis but nothing more.

A Prose of Love

One day a boy and girl were walking on the beach. And as they walked they were holding hands, actually clasping hands. They were just leisurely walking not talking to each other but their bodies were moving in perfect rhythm, their steps in single cadence and their hands swayed in harmony, their eyes and minds in a dreamland. They continued walking on the seemingly endless stretch of sands unmindful of the heat of the sun and the pounding surging tides and the shouts and the laughter and the chatters of the crowds and the bays of the beasts and the chirps of the birds and the whatever and the whichever around and along the beach. they continued walking without talking; they were dreaming the day.

Prose vs Poetry

NOTES: Prose and poetry writing have different characteristics and approaches.

1. Prose has sentences arranged in paragraphs. The information presented is more pragmatic, many times, than in poetry. Sentences in paragraphs of prose follow each other, one after the other. The first word of each sentence is capitalized. Punctuation for both prose and poetry is the same. The first line of each paragraph is indented. The language of prose is straight forward, with less figurative language than poetry.