Schenley Heights Community Development Program

Writing Down their Inspiration

Introducing Children to Poetry: A New Way of Creative Expression

          This summer, the children continued their exploration of African American literature, including poetry. David Jones, lawyer by day and dedicated poetry teacher by night with SHCDP's programs, led the students in poetry tutorial and history lessons all wrapped in one.

            An introduction to key grammatical parts of speech and history using poetry as the vehicle was a key curriculum piece of this summer's enrichment activities.  Participants reviewed similes, metaphors, and alliteration commonly heard in everyday speech and songs over the radio.  During the second half of the summer program, the class recited the poetry of important African American Poets of the past and present and recorded their poems over musical tracks. They also explored the meanings of each poem written. A three (3) track CD was the final product.  The ultimate goal is that each student would listen several times to the CD, memorize, and become familiar with the eloquence of the body of African American poetry.

 

 

 

"I appreciate A-STEP/SEP because I have somewhere safe and fun to go after school. I can also make new friends and meet new teachers. I think if kids go to an after-school program, it should be A-STEP."

                                    - Marjani Yannotti, A-STEP/SEP student