When was the last time you truly felt satisfied with a unit that you taught? For me, it was the poetry unit that I just finished teaching in my friend’s classroom. Student feedback reminded me of the why I teach – sparking student love of learning and belief in themselves. Students shared with me how much they enjoyed writing poetry and were surprised as they never saw themselves as poets.

Students published their poems and bound them into a booklet including the following self reflection:

Poetry Self-Assessment (Grades2/3)

Name:_______________________              Date:_______________________

	Smile	Neutral Face	Frown
I enjoyed learning about poetry.
I enjoyed writing poetry.
Poetry can be a source of creativity and joy.
Playing with language in poetry helped me discover how language works.
In group lessons I shared my ideas.
I reviewed my writing and edited for word choice.

Which is your favourite form of poetry and why?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What did you learn about poetry? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple of responses to “What did you learn about poetry?” made my heart melt:

“I learned that it is a beautiful way of speaking about something or someone.”

“I learned that its not just about drawing and writing its about putting your love and care in it and expressing yourself too.”

When was the last time you were reminded of the why you teach? Please share.