Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons [Paperback]

Nancie Atwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0325007462 | ISBN-13: 978-0325007465

Harnessing the power of poetry, Nancie Atwell's Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons empowers adolescents to make sense of their personal place in the world while honing their critical reading and writing skills. Naming the World's 200+ poems and accompanying five-to-ten-minute lessons are used by Nancie every day to jumpstart her reading and writing workshops. Poetry is the foundation upon which her students build excellences as writers in every genre. This is your chance to make the first few minutes of your Language Arts class really count!

The 200+ Poems:

• are compiled from contemporary poets
• were nominated by Nancie's students as their favorites
• speak to adolescent interests and issues
• include poems by Nancie's kids to teach and inspire yours.

The 150 Lessons:

• are used daily by Nancie to jumpstart her reading-writing workshop
• apply a range of interactive and independent learning strategies
• present the language Nancie uses with her students.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancie Atwell is one of the most highly respected educators in the U.S. Her classic In the Middle has inspired generations of teachers, and her new DVDs Writing in the Middle and Reading in the Middle give us a seat in her writing and reading workshops so that we can see firsthand how she helps students become independent, sophisticated readers and writers. She is also the author of classroom materials through Firsthand. Lessons that Change Writers is a year's worth of instruction straight from Nancie's file cabinets, while Naming the World helps teachers jumpstart their literacy teaching each day the way Nancie does - with poetry, the mother genre. Nancie teaches seventh- and eighth-grade writing, reading, and history at the Center for Teaching and Learning, a K - 8 demonstration school she founded in Edgecomb, Maine, in 1990. Nancie was the first classroom teacher to receive the NCTE David H. Russell Award and the MLA Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize for distinguished research in the teaching of English. Nancie was recently named 2010 Teacher of the Year by River of Words; a California-based non-profit educational organization and also received an honorary degree from the University of New Hampshire during its 2011 commencement ceremony. Read Nancie's Education Week article in which she makes the case for literature in the core standards. To see and hear Nancie's response to the NY Times article on the place of student choice in reading, click here. Read the Article » Review Related Titles » Join the Discussion »

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: FirstHand (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0325007462
• ISBN-13: 978-0325007465
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Use Your Discretion, March 2, 2006

By 

amylorraine (NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons (Paperback)

This anthology is a valuable companion for any teacher who wants to incorporate poetry into their classroom. I love many of the selections, reading each poem either quietly to myself or out loud to my students; however, several poems are inappropriate for middle students.

Some poems contain curses and mention alcoholic beverages. Suicide was a topic in one or two, while a small unit seems to be devoted to an anti-American theme. (I believe a one-sided political agenda is unimaginative for young writers; they deserve a spectrum of viewpoints.) While every poem is well written, I feel uncomfortable saying the "n" word or imitating a speech impediment, for example, to a group of middle school students. (I can't think of a setting where I would feel comfortable doing this.) Use your discretion with this book.

Fortunately there are a few hundred poems. So, if daily poetry is something you'd like to add to your teaching repertoire, and I highly recommend it, this is a good start.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What A Great Find!, August 19, 2006

By 

Pamela B (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons (Paperback)

A GREAT RESOURCE!!!! I love using this in my gifted 7th and 8th grade language arts classes. They have become excited about poetry after only a week of working this in to my daily routine. It's amazing how many "state standards" I can just happen to cover while discussing these poems with my students. What a fun way (for students and teachers) to cover critical reading strategies and writing style/voice!

One word of caution...Not all poems in the book can be used for middle schoolers, so you will have to pre-read and plan ahead.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nancie--This is another winner!, February 8, 2007

By 

Arlene L. Gorman "poet head" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons (Paperback)

I've used Nancie Atwell's IN THE MIDDLE to set up reading and writing workshops in my 5th and 6th grade classrooms and when I saw NAMING THE WORLD and looked at the sample lessons I had to order it. I was not disappointed. The author has chosen poems that demonstrate the large range of poetry available and has given teachers ideas on how to introduce and get students talking about the poems. She also has included suggestions for the teacher to get students to use the poems as a model for their own poetry writing. I loved the poem choices. They were thought-provoking and most were new to me even though I read a lot of poetry. The included Guide to NAMING THE WORLD gives more insight into the process the author uses to hook students into the whole how to read a poem, what does it mean to me, and what does it give me ideas about for writing my own poetry. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who wishes to give the gift of poetry to their students. And for those who would like to know how to "unpack" a poem or get ideas for writing their own poetry, it is one of the best I've seen.