A Surge of Language: Teaching Poetry Day by Day

by David Cappella and Baron Wormser

Book Overview

Poetry is part of the 7-12 English curriculum, but many students, and teachers too, are afraid of it. They think of poetry as esoteric, insular, even elitist. Baron Wormser and David Cappella prove... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0325006067
• ISBN13: 9780325006062
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Book for Poets and Nonpoets Both

As a fiction writer, poetry has always seemed somehow mystical to me. This wonderful book makes it as accessible and understandable as my own stories. Bless the authors for so wonderful a resource!

Must-Reading for All English Teachers

In this highly readable text, Wormser and Cappella pose as "Mr. P.," a veteran English teacher who puts poetry at the center of his teaching. The text itself poses as Mr. P.'s journal and is reminiscent of Thoreau's Walden Pond. Taking us through a single school year, Mr. P. records in an engaging, unprofessorial manner both a philosophy of teaching and a rationale for making poetry an integral and daily part of the English curriculum. In separate entries, he describes his interactions with poems and with students. Woven throughout these entries are poems, teaching strategies, poetry prompts, and tips on guiding students through analysis of poems--their own and others'. Teachers who are already committed to poetry will find much here to re-energize their teaching; teachers who are not fully comfortable with poetry will gain confidence and may well find their teaching of poetry revolutionized.