Igniting the Poetry Flame

Andrea Louise Ambler

Illustrator Christine J. Curry

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Igniting the Poetry Flame is the first book in a three-volume series. Other books in the series are as follows: Book Two, Stoking the Poetry Flame and Book Three, Keeping the Poetry Flame Alive. The series seeks to ignite and invigorate the creative poet within each student. Each book in the series can be used as a stand-alone but best used in conjunction with the other books.

 

Book One introduces and encourages the love of poetry, including strategies for teaching it and suggestions for making poetry a meaningful part of the student’s life. It is an easy-to-follow, field-tested guide for teachers and home-school parents to use at all grade levels and for all abilities.

 

Purposes, biographical information, specific poetic structures, and classroom student tasks are included in each chapter. Examples of original student poems illustrate each lesson. A Resource List and Bibliography are found at the end of each chapter, and a Glossary of Literary Terms is at the end of the book.  A meaningful project includes directions for creating an anthology of the student’s poems.

 

Following this project is a poetry reading for invited family members, teachers, administrators, and outside guests. A culminating activity included students' reflections on what reading, writing, and poetry meant to them.

 

The subjects, lessons, and activities in Book One offer opportunities for students to experiment with words, to see life in new ways, and to express freely their thoughts and feelings. The students are introduced to different literary strategies and techniques to describe chocolate fantasies, dogs and cats and furry things, and hobbies, sports, games, and dance.