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Social Studies is not my area of expertise, so last week I found a way to let poetry come in the door. I pull a group of gifted students for their Social Studies class. I needed to teach these kids about the Civil Rights Movement. Equipped with website links, videos, and articles, we explored three major events: Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, March on Washington, and the Montgomery bus boycott. As a way to synthesize the information, we wrote poems together. Our discussion about these events included what important information to include and how to make it into a poem.
In the Woolworth’s store,
four brave students,
as brave as can be
sat at the lunch counter
and would not leave.Several more the next day
sat with those brave boys
they took Mr. Woolworth’s
breath away.News spread, far and wide.
Three hundred more stood by their side.To get their minds straight
and stop segregation,
they worked hard, stood strong.
It’s not time to have fun.
There is still work to be done.–Mrs. Simon’s class
Dear Rosa Parks,
You are a hero for all of America.
I really appreciate
that everyone can ride together.
You refused to give up your seat.
You inspire us to fight
for what we believe in.
Because of you,
segregation on buses ended.
You befriended yourself in my eyes
through your bravery in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
sewing together minds for integration.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Simon’s Sea
Another group of my kiddos was featured on Today’s Little Ditty with their dinosaur poems.
If you would like to participate in a round up of poetry about photos, join the photo/poem exchange on my blog, More than Meets the Eye.
Reflections on the Teche 
I love this! History and poetry are the perfect weave, in my opinion.
I agree w/ Linda. Poetry can and does teach history and respond to it. Your kiddos did a wonderful job w/ their poems, and I bet they feel good about their learning and writing.
This made me think of a Robert Frost quote, “Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.” Yes! I agree! Poetry is a great way to synthesize information. To me, it is a lovely way to take notes. I don’t think we have realized its potential in that regard in our classrooms.
I agree. We should be writing poems in every genre in every class.
What I am really coming to appreciate as you weave poetry into the various subjects is just how much it asks us to distill and prioritize our experiences. It’s inspiring me to consider possibilities in high school. Could I teach poetry early & then use it as a review activity? Could I ask them to bring in their work from other classes and find the poetry in it? I find that poetry sticks in my head sometimes when I least expect it: I suspect that your students are creating their own sticky knowledge as they write.
Thanks for your comment. I’m all for introducing poetry early in the year. Keep thinking.
This is such a cool idea! I can imagine the economy of words offered by a poetic narrative helps to make learning and responding to historical events take on a whole new dynamic for your students. These poems are really wonderful!
It is so clear that poetry deepens children’s learning and their overall experience of learning. It makes new learning more accessible, and not a one-size-fits-all essay or a 20 question quiz to test comprehension. Yeah, poetry!
Rich and powerful poems Margaret, love the poster like image too! Wonderful way to weave poetry into this subject, a natural fit.
Your class is moving beyond poetry for literacy sake, Margaret. The integration of tech, poetry, and social studies benefits your students and proves that knowledge can be transferred from one content to another. I am going to share tyour students’ work with teachers I am working with this month.