Poetry can be intimidating, so what better way to integrate it in a classroom than through a class poem?
For the Class Poem strategy, students are encouraged to think about words that have to do with a topic they are studying. From there, the teacher facilitates a group discussion that leads into making a group poem.
One of the positives of this strategy is that it takes a lot of pressure off of writing. I think that students are often overwhelmed when they think about writing a poem; with this strategy, they can feel confident because the class is doing it together. Because the class is set up in a discussion-like format, the teacher can include all students. This allows each student to feel that they are a part of the final product.
This strategy also encourages a deeper study of language, but in an informal setting. The discussion can begin with descriptive words pertaining to a specific topic. After gathering the words, students can then organize them into categories. This will help them make associations between words and start thinking in a pre-writing manner. From the categories, students can start to build phrases. This strategy facilitates the practice of phrase-making which will help in creating both poems and essays.
I think this strategy is wonderful because it taps into the creative aspect of writing and encourages students to feel confident with poetry. It not only engages the entire class, but also scaffolds student learning for future creative assignments.