In their 1990 report “Developing Expertise in Reading Comprehension,” P. David Pearson and his colleagues defined comprehension strategies as “conscious and flexible plans” that readers use to understand what they read. (See reference 1, p. 14) A variety of comprehension strategies exist to help learners at all levels better understand texts; Raymond Philippot and Michael Graves’ book “Fostering Comprehension in English Classes: Beyond the Basics” identifies eight main strategies. (See reference 2, ch. 5) Those most applicable to poetry include summarizing, where students restate the storyline of a poem in their own words; visualization, where students describe the kinds of images that poetic language creates for them; questioning, where students either articulate questions that a poem raises or ask questions about a poem’s meaning; making connections, where students relate poetic themes to their own experience and to history; and the more advanced strategy of monitoring comprehension, where students reflect on what they don’t understand about a poem and think about what they can do to increase their understanding.
Much of Shel Silverstein’s poetry is appropriate for elementary-level learners, and its often wacky humor can engage even the youngest students. The poems “Someone Ate the Baby,” “Sick” and “How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes” all feature an ironic turn at the end. (see references 5 and 6) These poems work well for various comprehension strategies, especially visualization and making connections. Older students will enjoy “I Wave Good-bye When Butter Flies” by Jack Prelutsky, which plays with words that can be two different parts of speech. (see reference 3)
For middle school students, William Carlos Williams poems like “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This Is Just to Say” present snapshots of one moment in time that lend themselves particularly well to visualization and questioning exercises. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “The Kraken” provides more of a challenge, working well with questioning and making connections. (see reference 10) William Shakespeare’s poetry can introduce students to summarizing and interpreting the Bard’s language without the major investment of reading an entire play; Sonnets 18, 30, 60 and 130 are good ones to start with. (See resource 2) Lewis Carroll poems like “Brother and Sister” are also playful and accessible. (see resource 3)
High school students may be captivated by the stories that Langston Hughes’ poetry tells. Poems like “Wisdom and War” and “S-sss-ss-sh!” are wonderful for questioning, making connections, and monitoring comprehension. (See reference 4) Students at this level might also enjoy the poetry of William Butler Yeats, especially “A Coat,” “The Second Coming” and “Why Should Not Old Men Be Mad?” (see references 7, 8 and 9) For more advanced students, try the metaphysical poetry of John Donne, especially “The Flea.” (See resource 1)