10 Mar A Daily Dose of Poetry
The Golden Triangle English program developed by the CRDG English Section is based on the concept of small daily doses of learning over many years. Students in the program do journal writing, dictation sentence study, and oral reading every day. Over many years these small doses add up to consistently high scores on standardized tests and a high level of competence in writing once students go on to college or work. This year, program developers are experimenting with the same concept for teaching poetry. Cheryl Harstad’s eighth graders and Bill Teter’s twelfth graders have been getting small daily doses of poetry over much of the school year, rather than the traditional unit wherein exposure to poetry comes in blocks of the full class period, but for just a few days or weeks. As with the other components of the Performance English program, the English faculty believe this will result in a stronger long-term knowledge and appreciation of poetry by all students.