Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School

by Georgia Heard, Naomi Shihab Nye (Foreword), William Varner (Editor)

Fans of the best-selling For the Good of the Earth and Sun will applaud this sequel by beloved author Georgia Heardan inspiring and practical handbook that celebrates the natural power of poetry to teach the essential tools of all writing. Awakening the Heart explores how to cultivate the poet in every elementary and middle school studentthrough well-drawn examples, detailed exercises, creative projects, and down-to-earth classroom teachings. Along the way, we learn how create environments that encourage children to express their innate sense of wonder; introduce poetry that will engage them; and help children make the transition from reading and talking to writing. Best of all, Awakening the Heart is filled with luminous poemsby children, famous poets, and Heard herself.

Genres: Poetry, Teaching, Education, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Writing, School

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 1904

About the author

Georgia Heard is the NCTE 2023 Excellence in Poetry for Children Award Winner which honors an American poet for their aggregate work for children. She is the author of many children’s books including her most recent Welcome to the Wonder House, (co-authored with Rebecca Kai Dotlich), My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness, and Boom! Bellow! Bleat!: Animal Poems for Two Or More Voices.
She received her M.F.A. in poetry writing from Columbia University. She is a founding member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York City. Currently, she visits schools in the United States and around the world teaching writing and poetry. She is the author of Heart Maps: Helping Students Create and Craft Authentic Writing and a new edition of Awakening the Heart.
-from georgiaheard.com

Reviews

[Relyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a teacher for 13 years with 2 1/2 years of education classes before that. I say that only to indicate that I have been reading "How to Teach" books for 15 years. None, and I do mean NONE have ever come close to this book in either quality or heart. None have impacted me so strongly.

If I had lots of money, I would buy a copy for all my teacher friends. Together we would start a poetry revolution in Missouri.

I have long been passionate about poetry. See my blog, here: http://www.comesitbymyfire.blogspot.c... for an example. This book gave me a clear blueprint and additional motivation to help me be intentional and excellent as I proceed to fill my students' hearts with a passion for poetry.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heel inspirerend boek over hoe je poëzielessen kunt geven aan basisschoolkinderen.

Ik ben altijd van mening geweest dat poëzie leren waarderen wél met ieder kind kan, maar dat poëzie leren schrijven een brug te ver is. Dit boek kon wel eens het boek zijn dat me er van overtuigd heeft dat poëzie schrijven wel met ieder kind kan, respectvol, zonder forceren én zonder met opgelegde rijmschema's te werken of in sinterklaas-rijmpjes-gebied af te dwalen. Even een tijdje laten bezinken en dan nogmaals lezen. De andere tips voor poëzie lezen, ga ik meteen gebruiken in mijn dagelijkse lessen.

(Dit boek werd aangeraden in Nancie Atwell's In the Middle - A Lifetime of Learning About Writing, Reading, and Adolescents.)

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book for all ages, especially those of us who were given vocabulary to "dissect" poetry but not to "experience" it.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book as a text to any classroom teacher. It brims with passionate reasons to write poetry and should resonant with all poets, budding and seasoned.
Best to share this book in its own words:
p. 2 "When we are told in dozens of ways that our lives don't matter, a poetry workshop may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters."
p. 9 "An important part of writing poetry is being able to "crack-open" overused and abstract words and sentences such as "It was a nice day" or "She was very nice" and find the image inside."
p. 19 "W read poetry from this deep hunger to know ourselves and the world."
p. 39 "Reading poetry is a social activity--a way of helping us hold hands with strangers who have more in common with us than we know. Poetry can give our students company and make them feel like they're not so alone."
p.116 "It's the work of knowing ourselves from the inside--rather than from the outside--sharpening our inner vision that lies at the heart of writing poetry."
p.118 "Poetry has the power to change us, by helping us sift through the layers of our lives in search of our own truths and our own poems."

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Awakening the Heart, Heard proposes a specific model for reading and writing poetry, one that leans heavily on the workshop model. I was surprised by how little Heard drew on or acknowledged other researchers and writers in her field. She never mentioned Nancie Atwell, although her ideas about keeping notebooks and mapping one’s heart seem to me to be pure Atwell. Many of Heard’s ideas felt familiar to me – they were not new, but rather, re-presentations.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An AMAZING book on teaching poetry, respecting children's voices, and opening your own heart to a more poetic way of seeing the world. I loved Georgia's ideas for hooking children into poetry and used her book as inspiration this year to great success. I met Georgia at a conference this past winter and couldn't hear enough of her. She's inspiring in print and in person.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaching children (and yourself) to love and appreciate real poetry. Make a heart-map, and have kids do it too. This is definitely great for teachers or students who are intimidated by reading and writing good poetry.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book supported work I was doing for my writing class. Although it was aimed at teaching young writers, much of it was inspiring and applicable to any age group. It provided insights to poetry that I had not considered, as well as practical and useful lessons.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good ideas here for sharing/teaching poetry in the elementary classroom. Not one I would buy necessarily, but I did take notes for the things that I would like to implement next year.

[Mercy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for making poetry meaningful and bringing it to life in the classroom. Teachers at my school and I created an entire poetry unit for middle school students based on the ideas in this book.

[Mercedes]

Good ideas for making poetry meaningful and bringing it to life in the classroom. Teachers at my school were able to use ideas from this book to write an entire poetry unit for middle school students.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text read for my Teaching Poetry course I am taking. Easy to read with lots of great practical ideas that can be used in the classroom. Loved the student examples of all grades throughout the book.

[Joy]

In the follow up book to For the Good of the Earth and Sun, Georgia Heard gives specific lesson ideas for teaching poetry in the classroom. While her first book was more of an overview, this book launches into specifics like poetry centers.

[becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic look at sharing poetry in the classroom

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Language Arts / English teachers should read this book before teaching poetry. It is FULL of wonderful ideas to try in your classroom!

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read this book it makes me want to write poetry!

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful activities for teaching writing. Georgia Heard really understands how to inspire students.

[Angie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most amazing book about how to teach poetry/writing I have ever read! This is definitely a must read for any teacher of any subject and any grade level from preschool to college and beyond.

[abbylee Oqueli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas. I saw her speak at ncte this year and am obsessed with filling my students lives with poetry now :)

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for getting kids to believe in the heart of poetry, not how many stanzas their poems need to be.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great teaching ideas, which can even be adapted for the high school classroom. Glad I read this.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was healing.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspiring and useful. I can’t wait to teach poetry this year!

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a mistake in this book. Indeed, it is about awakening and using the innate observations of the heart to explore poetry. But it is not a book strictly for K-8 classrooms. While Heard aims for that and all the included student poems are written by poets younger than 12, the main tenets of the book are highly useful for all learners of poetry, from the reluctant kids who think poetry is obscure or weak to the enchanted writers who unabashedly thirst for metaphor. (It is important to note this brief, accessible, and delightful exploration of poetry is also gently geared towards teachers who may struggle with poetic task design, assessment, and purpose – though do not expect ready-to-xerox worksheets or rubrics; Heard explains early on that the heartwork of poetry defies such formulaic approaches). The book does, however, offer tangible suggestions to implement a poetry-focused atmosphere where students are able to write poems from the urgency of their heart, rather than trying to jam awkward or inert terms/forms/techniques/vocabulary into flowing encapsulations of entire worlds. Heard also shares her successes in exploring the use of heart mapping, figurative language and line breaks to shape poems. Peppered with observations from a range of prominent poets, this book ignites the reader to let go of their preconceived notions of poetry and pedagogy, to embrace the heart as an exploratory device and truly understand that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.

[Katie Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for all literacy teachers! It highlights best practices for reading & writing poetry, as well as how to create a poetry environment in your classroom. It provides immediate take-aways for any grade level teacher, called a Poetry Toolbox. Every teacher will set this book down with a fresh perspective on poetry, plus tons of engaging ideas that can be implemented right away!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed my whole view of poetry and teaching poetry. Well-written, concise, and filled with helpful ideas which I am so excited to implement in my homeschool classroom.

[Aerin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on the exploration of writing poetry, not the study of poems or poets

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a great text to teach poetry!

[Carol Frego · Rating 5 out of 5]

An author who walks the talk and encourages you to find your shoes for the walk of teacing.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent ideas for teaching poetry authentically.