In an article called "Importance of Poetry in Middle and High School," it's explained that throughout history, poets have used language to express their thoughts, feelings, ideas and perspectives. By using rhyme, meter and line breaks, poets have addressed everything from nature of love or beauty of a spring day complex social issues. According to Dr. Jeanette Hughes research report for the Literacy and Numeracy of Ontario, poetry can increase students' literacy and linguistic awareness because it is important for students to be able to read and write or construct texts in multiple genres. Moving beyond pen and paper and using a variety of representing strategies (including visual arts or drama, for example) provide students opportunities to express themselves and demonstrate their understanding in alternate ways. A focus on oral language development through the reading and performing of poetry acknowledges that sound is meaning. When we hear the sound of the words in a poem read aloud, we gain a better understanding of the meaning of the writing. We can involve students in the dramatic exploration of poems in a variety of ways, including choral reading, readers' theatre, dance drama, shared reading, or role-play.
This stylistic flexibility can be freeing for unsure writers as it makes them more aware of the various ways language can be used and combined to create stories, images, and rhythms. Even if students don't understand each word or the meaning of a poem, exposure to new words, word combinations, and sounds is still healthy for the mind and inspires students to experiment with their own variations. Poetry is meant to be lifted from the printed page and explored in multimodal ways (visually, gutturally, and aurally). The use of new digital media for reading, writing, and representing poetry encourages an exploration of the relationship between text and image and how images sound might be used to mediate meaning-making. New med...