Poetry Share Session

On Friday, my students and I had a particularly wonderful day. It was the kind of day teachers dream about. The kind of day where great things happen--things that you could never predict. Wonderful things.

Each student had chosen a poem previously in the week. I asked them to find a poem they could connect with in some way. I told them I wanted them to practice it well enough to share it on Friday in front of the class. They headed to the library in their groups of 3 with iPod Touches in hand. They found the poetry section, pulled a book from the section, then and selected a poem. With the iPod Touch, they took a picture of the book cover. They copied the poem in their Writer's Notebook.

On Friday morning, each student took turns sitting in the chair in front of the room. With the beginning of each poem, I was always pleasantly surprised. The poems were all touching or funny or intriguing or suspenseful. Each reflected something about the person who shared it.

But that's not where the magic stopped. After each poem, students made really wonderful comments about the poems. Or they asked very thoughtful questions.
"A good message!" said one student.
"Where did you find that poem?" asked several.
"Poetry is awesome!" said another.

I let the discussion unfold naturally. I stepped in occasionally to move the session along or clear things up. But for the most part, my students were leading the way, taking turns, or asking and responding to questions. I was merely the facilitator. They were listening to one another, debating points politely back and forth, and having the kind of fruitful discussion adults might have themselves.

And the end of the session, one student said: "This has been a great day!"

There were many more comments like that, and many more questions that were so perfectly worded. I smiled with happiness at each moment, thinking to myself: This is just about the best moment of teaching a teacher could ask for.