Interpreting Poetry in Elementary School Classrooms ― Writing and Performance

Though there are numerous practitioner books about teaching poetry in schools, there are few which take a scholarly approach to writing and performing poetry at the elementary school level. This volume demonstrates how the social and instructional worlds that children inhabit influence their poetry writing and performances. Drawing on rich vignettes of students from different racial, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, it describes and analyzes the work of eight to ten year-old U.S. students involved in a month-long poetry unit. It outlines the value of a ‘poetic-functional’ approach to help children convey a poem’s meaning and mood through form, and expresses the need for educators to scaffold children’s oral readings and performances over time.

Researchers, higher education faculty, and graduate students in elementary education, literacy, and language will find this book essential reading.

Janine L. Certo is Associate Professor of Language and Literacy at Michigan State University, USA. Her work has been funded by The Spencer Foundation, and her writings appear in publications including English Education, Journal of Aesthetic Education, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, The Handbook of Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature, Literacy Research and Instruction, and The Reading Teacher.