Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom

During the holidays, advertisers ramp up their advertising, luring buyers to their stores. They'll use colorful, vivid words to snag new customers, which actually works in YOUR favor, English teachers! You can use their ads to teach a number of lessons.

1. CHANCE (or DADA) POEMS: Cut up the words and use them for an impromptu poetry writing session. I like to store the words in little plastic baggies and use them when we have time left at the end of the period. I'll have students work in groups and prompt them to create a poem based on the lesson we just practiced (or the book/story/character we are reading). Or if there is a fun event coming up (a holiday, a dance, etc.), have them create a poem related to the event. Give them a limited time to create a poem, then have each group share with the class.

2. PARTS OF SPEECH REVIEW: Have students cut out the words themselves*, only with a twist--require students to find an example of each part of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection). You can make it a contest and see who can come up with the most (and the most interesting). *If the words are already cut out, they can just each take a baggie full and sort them by part of speech.

3. REVIEW IDIOMS AND CLICHÉS: Ads are perfect for containing overused idioms and clichés. Introduce and/or review the figurative phrases with your students. Have them find their own in the ads, old magazines, or in newspaper headlines.

4. ANALYZE THE MERIT OF MARKETING: Have students look over the ads, analyzing the marketing techniques used, including the word choices and design/aesthetics (colors, font, and placement of words and products on the page). Which phrases stood out to them? Which did they pay little attention to? Were others more effective? Why?

5. ANALYZE TARGET AUDIENCES: As students look over the ads, ask them to evaluate who might the target audience be for the ad. How did they come to that conclusion? Which words and/or phrases did they use as clues? Do the ads stereotype?

I've been using ads and newspapers in my classroom for years. If you do not have access to a newspaper or magazines, check with your media specialist to see if she/he has older copies that can be saved for you. Also, your school may be eligible for Newspapers in Education. It's a wonderful program that supplies classrooms with copies of newspapers, which are paid for by donations from local businesses.

My Magnetic Poetry Kit is also an option for activities #1 and #2 if you don't have access to newspapers or magazines.

You can keep collecting the ads through the spring: Valentine's Day ads are perfect for love-inspired poems; there's also President's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and so on... Each holiday will offer different flavors of language to suit the occasion.

COMING SOON: Handouts for each of these activities, which will be included in my POETRY BUNDLE (a bundle of ALL of my poetry-related resources...past, present, and future!)

8 Ways to Incorporate Poetry into Your Day {Poem in Your Pocket Day is Thursday!}

Poem in Your Pocket Day is Thursday, April 18th.

Thursday (April 18th) is National Poem in Your Pocket Day, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets (Poets.org) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). UPDATED: 2014 "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is Thursday, April 24th. 

It's a day to celebrate poetry and share it with others. But you can celebrate poetry any time. Here are ways to incorporate poetry into your day:

1. As "Poem in Your Pocket" suggests, carry your favorite poem (or poems) with you any day and share it with others. Ask them to share their favorites, as well.

2. Write a poem! If you need help or inspiration, using formula poems can help. Here's a packet that helps you with over 40 formulas: Poetry 9-1-1: First Aid for Writing Poetry.

3. Are you reading a novel in class right now? Which poems do you think would be the characters' favorites? Why? For The Hunger Games fans, check out my post on my Hunger Games Lessons blog that asks  this same question.

4. Not reading a novel? Perhaps you are studying someone famous in history class? If so, ask the same question for historical figures: which poem would be Julius Caesar's favorite? How about Benjamin Franklin or Winston Churchill? Give reasons for why you chose this poem for that particular person.

5. Read a poem. It can be a short poem or long poem...it can be any poem. Don't know where to look? Some of my favorite websites for poetry include:
  -Poets.org
  -Modern American Poetry
  -Poetry Foundation
  -Poetry Archive

6. Discuss it! Poetry means different things to different people; this is one of the beautiful things about poems. Two people can have completely different interpretations of a poem, but both are right. Poems even have the power to take on new meanings when we read them at different times in our lives. Choose a poem or two and read with your friends. Then talk about what it means to each of you. When we discuss how a poem makes us feel, it may help someone else relate to it. It's OK if the poem does not speak to you...keep reading and you will find one that does.

7. Listen to others read their favorite poems. On YouTube, you can watch and listen both famous people and people like you and me share their favorite poems by reading them and telling us why it is their favorite.

8. Record a reading of YOUR favorite poem. You can do a video recording (learn more from the Favorite Poem Project website) or you can do an audio recording and upload it to LibriVox.org.

Teachers: You can find resources for teaching poetry here. Also, read more about incorporating poetry into your classroom here on this blog, or on my other blog.

And don't forget to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day this Thursday!

Brighten Up the Winter Blues with a Poetry Cafe

Host a poetry cafe this winter!

For me, January through March seems to be the hardest part of the school year to get through. The students are either restless (or just plain tired), the weather is always cruddy (I live in the Midwest), and there's really no holiday breaks to look forward to. (Not that I don't love my job, but you know what I mean...)

To break up the monotonous routine and get students excited for literature, my colleagues and I have put on "poetry cafes." The students all gather during their English class period in the media center and take turns sharing their favorite poems, songs, and other literature. Some of them share their own original poems, others read old favorites. The Foods classes make coffee, cocoa, and treats to sell and our librarian put together packages of books, writing journals, candy, and gift cards to give away toward the end of each class period. Every student who reads aloud is given a raffle ticket. Each class period we drew several tickets for the prizes. It has always been a favorite event of students in English classes.

It is important to give students time BEFORE the cafe to actually write some original poems. I like to use my Write Like Poets activities with my students because every single student in my class ends up with an entire book of poems they have written. Yes, it gets even the most stubborn "I hate writing and I'm never going to write a poem" students to actually write poems. Guaranteed!

You can easily host a poetry cafe in your own classroom before doing a school-wide event. We tend to do the school-wide cafe every-other year or once every three years. During those off-years I host my own in my English classes. We move all the desks out of the way and have pillows and beanbags so students can relax on the floor (I do have carpet). Then I put up holiday lights. Students sign-up ahead of time to bring goodies and bring their own beverage. I usually pick up small gifts of pens and journals/notebooks from Target's $1 spot.

Find clearance items in the school supplies section for door or raffle prizes.

This past fall I found some great magnetic poetry kits at WalMart for 50¢ each. They were 75% off from their back-to-school sale. I also picked up some locker white-board kits, cute post-it notes, and locker fresheners. It's so much easier to find things the girls would like, but the boys seem to like anything they could use in their car. Of course, candy always works for them, too. (I teach high school, so if you have any suggestions for other things that boys would like, please share!).

Do you host a poetry cafe? Share your ideas or a link in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!

For more information on my Write Like Poets, click below: