Here, Ross Burkhardt explains how to reach students through poetry and how to help them develop their own appreciation for it. Drawing on the author's rich experience as a middle school language arts teacher, Using Poetry in the Classroom presents a comprehensive approach that focuses on both the how and the why of teaching poetry. This book offers explicit descriptions on how to deliver specific poetry lessons that will develop academic skills such as reading, writing, and critical thinking. Divided into three sections, this book teaches all aspects of poetry--composing, memorizing, reciting, interpreting, listening, reading, and publishing. Includes: -A range of effective strategies for instruction -Classroom-tested examples -Descriptions of how to teach poetry -Suggestions on how to introduce, engage students in, and help students learn the essentials of poetry reading and writing -Reflections from former students This book is intended for teachers, teacher educators, and professors with an interest in language arts.