Teaching Poetry in High School [Paperback]

Albert B. Somers (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: National Council of Teachers of English (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814152899
• ISBN-13: 978-0814152898
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #612,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource for teachers, August 24, 2001

By 

Sven "Sven" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teaching Poetry in High School (Paperback)

Are you nervous about teaching a high school poetry unit? So was I, until I found this book by chance on Amazon. It is filled with ideas that really work in high school. I appreciated the lesson plans and the written-out scenerios of class discussions that helped me understand how to better guide my own students After reading this book, I increased my classroom poetry collection and bought a number of the recommended poetry books listed by author Albert Somers. (I even sent for eight "Poetry in Motion" subway and bus poetry cards from New York City, thanks to the address in the book, to hang in my classroom.) I incorporated poetry in several other units during the course of the year. The students became accustomed to writing and posting their poetry in the classroom and enjoyed reading others' work. Poetry, instead of being worrisome or intimidating for me, became a joy. This book helped make it so.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry's Sake, October 19, 2010

By 

starsurfer ""angstlos"" (Chicago, Il USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teaching Poetry in High School (Paperback)

It's about time high school teachers received a wake up call that the techniques they have employed for decades have slaughtered 96%+ of the masses, leaving only a few as adults in this country to appreciate and carry on this art form. Of course, canon should still be taught, but unlike the other reviewer who missed the point of the book, Somers makes the point that the way they have been taught has too often made passive, non-democratic voices of the students in lit. classes. There is no need to make students read 435 pages of a given script of canon just to find that on page 17 a certain device was used for the first time in history. There is also no need for a pedagogy that prescribes a top-down approach to literary criticism. In this text, the most important lesson to take away is the idea of how to provide choice to students while still covering content. Somers presents this well, sending his readers to anthologies, authentic sources, websites, etc. Though Somers should have included a chapter on the tools poets use, this text firmly exposes the problems of poetry pedagogy in secondary curriculum while providing some viable suggestions to solve them.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not helpful at all- there is nothing wrong with "classics"!, January 31, 2005

By 

T. Santiago (New England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teaching Poetry in High School (Paperback)

While I was originally intrigued by Mr. Somers' myriad of poetry selections, I became extremely disappointed in the virtual lack of fundamental terms and techniques. Thus, while the contemporary poems were entertaining, I was looking for a more inclusive introduction to poetry. I believe students need to be exposed to the classics in order to appreciate the contemporary-- one needs to know the rules in order to break them.

Furthermore, I do not think this book is well suited to upper-level English classes.