Are you a true lover of poetry? Are you an avid and exceptional teacher of poetry in the classroom? If so… then this article is not for you.

This article is for the rest of us teachers who know that poetry has value… but with limited time and so much to cover… poetry needs to prove its case.

Poetry for Teachers Who Prefer Math and Science

Some have felt they were missing the point… or the value of teaching children to write poetry. It just wasn’t their style… and they thought they sounded kind of funny when they tried to explain the profoundness of poetry in being able to uniquely express the human condition.

These teachers understood that poetry could be fun, interesting, artistic, and beautiful. Great! But they wanted more than fun, interesting, artistic, and beautiful. There had to be some kind of “academic” reason for teaching poetry that students would understand and apply… beyond poetry.

Like many teachers, I myself suspected that poetry had the power to communicate to children what ordinary essay and report writing could not. I suspected poetry could be harnessed for academic gains and not just artistic revelry.

The goal for me with poetry was not to simply transform children into “poets” but also to transform them into “skilled and observant communicators.” I believed and dreamed… that poetry had the potential to help transform students writing… across the curriculum!

Here is what I discovered along the way…

Six Traits, Poetry, Patterns, and Communication

I’ve long felt that being a skilled communicator is among the most valuable assets that a person can possess. Even if a person ends up in a science or math oriented profession, being able to effectively communicate one’s ideas will likely have a larger impact on a career than the ideas themselves. A truly skilled communicator has complete mastery over the words they use and the meaning those words convey.

The “Six Traits of Writing” along with “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” has transformed my teaching of poetry in the classroom. When teaching poetry I now achieve many goals that transfer over to all of the writing that my students do… across the curriculum.

Out of the six traits found in the “Six Traits of Writing” model it seems that there are three traits that are inherently intertwined with the teaching of poetry writing to children. They stand out for me because I find that I am able to communicate their concepts very effectively when teaching poetry… and the concepts learned transfer over into all the writing my students do. This makes teaching poetry fun… and a good use of time!

Three Traits of Poetry Writing Which Improve Student Writing… Across the Curriculum

1. Organization and structure - The most popular forms of poetry that children are taught all seem to have a very definite pattern and structure. They are powerful and compact patterns that create powerful rhythm and meaning. By putting focus on the structure and the pattern in these rather simple poems you can help children to see the organization and structure in much of what they will both read and write… across the curriculum. (If you have used “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” with your students, you will find that these poems and the patterns found within them are almost a natural extension of the Pattern Based Writing program. Be sure to go to the “PatternBasedWriting.com” home page and see what I mean…)

2. Word choice and usage – The major poetry patterns have descriptive use of language built right into the pattern. Each word in student created poetry is carefully chosen and each word has a specific intent within the poem. Students often consider many choices for that one valuable word in that one specific position. When you have only 17 syllables for an entire poem… you have to be very picky and consider many different word choices… until you find the one that is just right! I’ve found it’s pretty easy to transfer this skill over to students’ essay and report writing.

3. Voice – Often a complete and unique voice is both started and completed in as little as 17 syllables! The most popular poems children are taught to write are powerfully condensed units of expression. It is easy to compare these short poems and clearly hear a unique voice in each one of them. When you compare a Limerick to a Haiku the shift in voice is… an easy teaching moment.

Getting the Most Out of Poetry

Poetry has a lot to offer in helping students to become artistic poets as well as successful students. Using a combination of “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” and the “Six Traits of Writing” model will transform your teaching of poetry writing into both an artistic and academic endeavor!

Be sure to read “Popular Forms of Poetry to Teach Children” and discover over 15 different types and aspects of poetry that children just love!

• Do Use Passive Voice - You the author stay hidden. Focus on the facts and issues of the subject you are writing about. What do you think about those facts and issues? Not important. However, the facts and issues are important. The cause and effect of those facts and issues are important. You show others what you think is important by the facts and issues you include, as well as the topics you choose to write about. However, in your report writing… try to keep yourself hidden.

• Don’t Use Personal Pronouns – Rarely if ever, use “I, we, my, mine, our, ours, you, yours.”

• Do Use Third Person – He, she, his, hers, it, its, them, their

• Do Use Correct Academic and Technical Language – When you take notes and when you paraphrase, keep the correct technical words. You may want to define these technical words for your reader, but don’t substitute a lot of simple words for the correct academic and technical language. 

• Don’t Use Casual Language – Casual language includes both the words you use and the way you talk to your reader. Above in “Passive Voice” it says, “What do you think about those facts and issues? Not important.” That is casual. Casual can be fun and can be used to create and maintain interest, however use it very sparingly in report writing.

• Avoid Emotional Power Verbs. Be objective. Be Neutral.
Famous Quote: The Facts, just the facts, ma’am. (Dragnet)

Example:
Objective: The government acted quickly in order to remedy the situation.
Emotional Power Verbs: The government sprang into action in order to save-the-day.

The term “voice” is used in the “Six Traits of Effective Writing” model. We want students to know that they are learning to write with voice and not that we are taking away their voice. Students who love to write sometimes feel they are losing their voice when they learn that they must use formal language in report writing.

Some Get It… Some Don’t Want To! 

Many students naturally understand the correct voice, tone, and style for report writing. They have read a lot of this kind of writing and they understand the style. They more easily see the difference between styles of writing and can easily imitate them. For some, it is the writing voice they naturally hear in their head when they write.

Other students hear a different voice in their head when they write. It’s a more colloquial voice and they don’t want to change it.  They don’t want to write in “that boring style.” Some of these students don’t really understand “formal voice” and some seem to rebel against “formal voice.”

Direct Instruction in Formal Voice for Report Writing: Three is the Magic Number for Comparison

Teaching report writing voice with a comparison of two is a mistake. There is not just:

There is a range to formality and three is the magic number for comparison. We can take a lesson from storytelling (and character development) that when you want to show comparison, three is the magic number.

Notice in these three fairy tales, comparison is a prominent theme:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• The Three Little Pigs
• Three Billy Goats Gruff

The list goes on and on…

Ideas for Teaching Formal Voice through Comparison and Using the Rule of Three

It’s becoming easier and easier to find three different samples on a particular subject designed for three different audiences and which contain three different voices. It is a little bit of work, but well worth it when teaching “voice” in writing. (Many of the ideas below are kid created and you don’t have to do a thing.)

• Have students write about an experience or describe something from three different age perspectives. This works even if they just write a sentence or a paragraph from these three different age perspectives. It doesn’t have to be a long piece of writing for students to engage in using different voices.

• Read about a historical figure or event from three different sources designed for three different audiences. (Ex. Encyclopedia, text book, student generated from the internet.)

• Show three different news sources reporting the same news story. These days there are quite a few news sources to choose from and they range from stoic to downright wacky at times.

• Use three different video learning sources with different styles and/or designed for different audiences. Examples: 
          1. A documentary.
          2. A kid’s educational video series (Standard Deviants etc.)
          3. A cartoon type or one of those nutty science guys. (Beckman’s World etc.)

More Ideas for Teaching Formal Voice in Report Writing

Have students:

• Find a model (or models) for a voice they want to communicate in their report writing. (A television news anchorperson etc.) Have them write a paragraph describing what they observe in the voice, tone, and style of that person. Have them read their paragraph in their newfound voice.

• Role play in small groups reading samples of writing using a voice they want to have in their report writing.

• Have an imaginary panel of advisors hanging over their shoulder advising them as they write and edit. This panel of advisors will all have British accents and encourage writing in the utmost formal manner.

• Teachers, can you do a proper British accent? If so, kids identify with this as being formal and fun!