Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas

'Each subject in school is built upon words that bring forth meaning to students and our communities. At the center is vocabulary – language used to make communication possible. Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas promotes the power of language in poetic forms to formatively and summatively assess content knowledge within the classroom. Through mentor texts and models across a variety of poetic genres (acrostics, pantoums, free-verse, sevenlings, hy(na)kus, etc.), Donovan and her team demonstrate that poetry encourages young people to think, to rationalize, and to reason. Each chapter honors student voice, creativity, and agency, while showcasing the ways poetry can be used to enhance discourse communities. The authors provide pathways for bridging interdisciplinary and content-focused possibilities through questions, inquiry, content-specific vocabulary, and critical thinking. I can’t wait to bring these humanizing practices to the teacher institutes I lead, the courses I teach, and the youth programs I host.'

- Bryan Ripley Crandall, Director of the Connecticut Writing Project and Professor of English Education at Fairfield University

'Assessing Students with Poetry WritingAcross Content Areas not only provides a plethora of lessons and assessment guides (which can be modified) for all secondary content areas, the authors, all veteran teachers from a variety of disciplines, share real experiences of transitioning to humanized assessment practices - yes, even in math! Acknowledging that teachers are in fact content area experts and the most significant determinant of learning in the classroom, the authors provide ways to bring the joy of learning into content assessment for both teachers and students. Additionally, this text offers a means to push back against the ever-growing GAI movement by engaging students through authentic reading, writing, and thinking processes that build needed skills and background knowledge all while retaining their voice. I highly encourage teachers and teacher educators to play with the assessment practices in this book. I know I will be using it in my pre-service teaching courses.'

- Michele McConnell, Ph.D., 17-year veteran high school teacher and Assistant Professor of English Studies at CSU Fresno.

'There are so many critical elements to assessment and teaching in the content areas that the authors of Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas: Humanizing Formative Assessment for Grades 6-12 include in their text. I greatly appreciate the re-calibration on how formative assessment should be viewed and can be utilized in secondary classrooms. Using poetry as a means of formative assessment and to promote engagement is powerful, for both striving and advanced readers. Using poetry and encouraging writing across the content areas promotes deep learning and culturally responsive teaching.

As an instructor at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of content area literacy courses, I value the different lenses through which each of the chapter authors discuss writing, content area learning, and formative assessment to provide a fit for classrooms 6-12 across a wealth of subjects. The sample poems and suggestions for what and how to write poetry are helpful, as is the wealth of poetry included throughout the text. This is a resource that teachers can take into their classroom tomorrow to start teaching authentically and critically, to prepare students for successful thinking and composition at any academic level.'

- Aileen Hower, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Literacy Content Area Literacy Instructor, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Co-Author, Centering ELLs in the Science of Reading (Quick Reference Guide), ASCD

'This book takes an asset-based and humanizing approach to assessment. The authors consider the aim of assessment to determine what students know and can do and also as a tool for teachers to determine next instructional steps. In an age where data-informed decisions are highly valued, the approach in this book helps readers broaden their understanding of what counts as data and of how students can demonstrate learning in creative and culturally sustaining ways. Specifically, the authors showcase field-tested lessons using poetry for formative and summative assessment in their secondary content area classrooms. This book is a great resource for content teachers looking to support their students’ critical and creative thinking through writing and looking for ways to enhance their use of assessment to inform instruction.'

- Shea Kerkhoff, Associate Professor of Literacy and Secondary Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis