I Hate Poetry: Engaging Ideas That Will Transform Your Junior High Classroom

Reignite your creative spark with award-winning teacher and poet Kiki May Healey to see how poetry can slip seamlessly into your lessons all year long in an engaging and heartfelt way. you'll discover: Fresh annotation strategies that get students talking, questioning, and connecting with texts in authentic ways. Creative twists like a March Madness-style poetry bracket to turn analysis into a game. Curated multimedia ideas (think short videos and personal connections) that spark deeper conversations and courage in writing. Whether you've always loved poetry, secretly dreaded it, or avoided it entirely, this session will leave you with the tools, the inspiration, and maybe even the joy to make poetry a lively, confidence-building part of your classroom. Session Objectives: 1. Share poetry orally and in writing, practicing fluency and presentation skills. 2. Experience various voices and cultures by working critically with diverse forms of poetry texts. 3. Respect and strengthen community using peer annotation and sharing to build mutual respect and empathy.