Poetry is one of those areas of content that students either love or hate, right?  What if students had the flexibility and creative license to apply and interpret classic and contemporary poetry using modern forms of artistic expression?  The ability to turn a classic poem into a rap lyric or soulful ballad?  Using a contemporary poem as the foundation for a movie script or television series?

Poetry Is Fun will enable students to use their own creativity and build a community with fellow learners where they will actually anticipate and enjoy the interpretations each will bring to class.  Class will be comprised of 3 parts: 1) my "teaching" of the poem and traditional poetry, poet background, literary elements, etc. (about 15-20 minutes),  2) Student discussion and questions about traditional teaching of the assigned poems (about 10 minutes), and 3) Student sharing of their creative interpretation of the assigned poems (remainder of class, about 20-25 minutes).


Discussion and interaction are required elements of this class and students are STRONGLY urged to use their cameras and microphones in order to receive the full benefits of this class. 

**********PLEASE READ*************
Outschool has recently changed its policy regarding class cancellations. We know how disappointing canceled classes can be for learners, so we too are amending our policy.  In the past we have waited for late enrollees, of which we have had MANY!  Unfortunately we can no longer do that. 

IF enrollment falls below 3 students, we will push the class back a week.  When other sections are available students will have the option to transfer to another class.  Full refunds will be provided for learners who cannot attend the newly scheduled class time. Partial refunds for missed classes are NOT available. If a student must miss class, the recording is available to view at their convenience. All other refunds will be provided as per the Outschool Limited Refund policy (see below).  If for any reason the class does not meet your expectation, you have the confidence of knowing that Outschool has a Happiness Guarantee and will provide a refund upon request via their Customer Support. 

Transfer requests within 24 hours of a scheduled class will NOT be approved.  At that point it is too late to reschedule the class, and it is unfair to other families who may have enrolled thinking there were multiple learners enrolled. Instead students will be encouraged to watch the video of the class.

 
Thank you for understanding, and for your loyalty.

Week 1:  Introduction to the class, Icebreakers, Vocabulary that will be used, types of poems, expectations, and a conversation, analysis and dissection of Tupac's "The Rose That Grew From Concrete".
Week 2 - Dorothea Lasky's "Monsters", Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias" and Walt Whitman's "Oh Captain, My Captain"
Week 3 - Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" and "A Dream Within A Dream"
Week 4 - Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken", "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and "Mending Wall"
Week 5 - Langston Hughes' "I, Too" and "Mother to Son"
Week 6 - Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" and " Caged Bird"
Week 7 - Nikki Giovanni's "Rosa Parks", Dylan Thomas's "Do not go Gentle into That Good Night", and Billy Collins' "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Fun in the House"
Week 8 - Student presentations of their poems, review and recap of the class.

Students should be familiar with fundamental knowledge of poetry that is taught in grades K-5, and able to engage in a conversation and analysis of classic and contemporary poems.