The aim of this study is to review research on poetry reading pedagogy in secondary education from 1990 to 2015. Today there is little research on poetry teaching in Sweden and thus little guidance for secondary teachers. Therefore, this study thematically analyses peer-reviewed articles from English language international journals. Articles were…

Describes two "found poetry" projects that provide a bridge between verse and prose, and which help students focus on a particular poet or literary character. (MM)

Describes a method of teaching poetry in which students are handed random volumes of poetry and instructed to browse through them, starting with the first poem and not stopping until they find one that engages them. Reports that on average students browse through 22 poems before finding one they like. Gives excerpts from five student responses to…

Claims that capturing an adolescent novel in shaped, found, or structured poetry gives students ways to tell others what the novel meant to them. Discusses five poetic forms (riddle poem, found poem, character poem, poem for two voices, and repeat poster poem) and presents student poems. (RS)

Presents the third part of a six-part series in which the authors respond to a ninth grader's first impressions of "Reel One," a poem by Adrien Stoutenburg. Urges readers to participate by reading the student's impressions and reflecting on the student's interpretations. (MM)

Aims to help teachers find a way to help students enjoy Shakespeare through the process of performance. Provides guidelines gained from personal experience for teachers presenting the plays with secondary students that include the following: (1) audience consideration, (2) actor-ownership of the performance, (3) staging limitations, and (4)…

A 3-year project used a responsive teaching strategy, which begins with students' responses, to influence 6 adolescent readers' responses to poetry. Although not poetry enthusiasts initially, students developed intellectual keenness for the subject. (SK)

Reports on a study that examined the responses of young people to a new poem. Covers the background, procedures, processes, conclusions, and implications of the study. (EL)

Recounts the effective use of unusual teaching methods for poetry: (1) allowing students to read and write about Wordsworth outside on a warm spring day, and (2) asking students to keep a journal while reading the poetry of Hughes. Suggests that these approaches allow students to "bring their own experiences" to the poetry text. (NH)

Defines four kinds of poetry readers: paraphrasers, thematizers, allegorizers, and problem solvers. Recommends an approach to reading a poem that treats the poem as an expansive space in which to romp and play, to explore and travel. Illustrates problem making and lists questions for students. Discusses how to respond by questioning. (PRA)

Discusses ways to teach modern plays and poetry, using a reader response approach that makes the works more accessible to students. (HTH)

States that psychological models help shape students' responses to literature. Explains how a Freudian model can be used to explore the meanings inherent in Emily Dickinson's "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass." (MM)

Explains how teachers can use written compilations of student-generated questions and comments as a basis for discussions of novels and poems. Shows that student brainstorming ideas can be used effectively as the basis for writing assignments. (TB)

To encourage creative thinking, high school teacher Kelly Courtney-Smith asked her students for creative responses to Hesse's novel, using a technique she learned from coauthor Michael Angelotti. Students painted or wrote poems interpreting their reading, then responded to the creations of their classmates. The students found that these…

Probes William Wordsworth's relationship to the young reader. Concludes that although many young people today cannot have the direct, immediate experience of nature that overawed Wordsworth, they can, in a room where they sit down together and read a poem, "learn a contemplative solitude--and respond to [a] poem in their individual…