1 . How to Read a Poem

You’ve selected the poem you want to read — congratulations! Now it’s time for the business of reading it.

Examine the title and the shape

    1     — how does it make you feel? How does the title fit the shape of the poem? If the title is sad, let the shape of the poem inform the small difference of the emotion — if it’s short and sparse (稀疏的), maybe it’s coming from a place of desolation or desperation.     2    .

Read the poem as you normally read anything

Reading poetry doesn’t require a clever approach; you can read as you’d read anything else. On the first pass through, absorb whatever it is that arises upon first impression.     3    , maybe your stomach churns (恶心) at a particular phrase, or you hold your breath at a certain line. Explore the feelings that come up as you read.

    4    

Next, try reading the poem out loud or search for readings of the poem online. This is where the music of a poem emerges, and you can feel the shape of each word and line as you move through it.

Add context to paint a full picture

Finally, return to the poem context.     5    ; look at the publication date and consider the world around the poem when it was first released. Consider where the poem lives: Was it released as part of the author’s poetry book, or was it published in a literary magazine? From these details and materials you will get a deeper understanding of the poem.

2 . Time Flies for Ms. Wiz tells the story of Lorraine Boyce and the students of Wyndclifle Junior High School, Birmingham. With this novel, the reader will experience the adventure towards the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth I ruled the Britain, and the 19th century when the Crimean War happened.

Jack — the naughty boy in the third grade, Nabia — Jack’s classmate, and Ms. Wiz — the famous witch(巫师)who often failed in her spell, are the main characters in this story.

Mr. Bailey, who was giving a history class, was cheated to go to the principal’s office. Shortly after Mr. Bailey left the classroom, Ms. Wiz appeared with a time machine. When Ms. Wiz chatted with the students, Jack — who was seized by curiosity, was messing with Ms. Wiz’s time machine. As a result, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. To bring Jack back to the present, Nabia and Ms. Wiz went to the past with the time machine.

Nabia and Ms. Wiz faced various problems when they were looking for Jack, starting from pretending as Queen Elizabeth to rescue a 16-years-old girl and almost been caught by the villagers, until became prisoners in the arena(竞技场)of the Crimean War. When they were trying to escape from the war, Nabia managed to find Jack, who was also caught by soldiers of the war. Having managed to escape together, the three of them — Nabia, Jack, and Ms. Wiz could go back to the present safely.

The usage of language and words in this novel are easy to understand. Besides, the story tells us that we have to keep our behavior or do not be naughty, so that we won’t bring troubles to others. The other message of the story is do not underestimate others if we cannot do something important like helping others when they have problems.

3 . Born in Ryazan, Russia, the hometown of Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, Anastasia Podareva seems to be destined for a similar career.

Podareva, 28, has loved poetry since she was a girl, when her father would introduce her to works by great Russian poets such as Alexander Pushkin and, of course, Yesenin. Growing up, she wrote many poems in both Russian and English. After she came to China to study in 2013, the world of Chinese poetry opened up before her.

She soon gave herself a poetic Chinese name, Tang Xilan, with “tang” referring to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when Chinese poetry entered a golden age, and both “xi” and “lan” are characters taken from The Book of Songs, the earliest collection of Chinese poetry. Her name means an orchid (兰花) that blooms in the morning.

“One thing that strikes me in reading and writing Chinese poetry is the power of the language-it’s melodious (悦耳的) and rhythmic,” says Podareva in My China Surprise, a video series produced by 21^st Century.

Over the past decade, Podareva has won awards in multiple poetry writing competitions, published her own Chinese poetry collections, and participated in Chinese Poetry Conference, one of the leading poetry-themed TV programs in China. On top of that, her most unforgettable memory is that one of her poems was turned into a song. And even better: She sang it herself. The poem, titled If, was written in early of 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After witnessing China’s unity as it faced the pandemic, Podareva felt as one with the Chinese people. “I wanted to create something positive to help inspire and encourage people in times of difficulty,” she says. “Some people may praise China in a very straightforward way, but I prefer to express my feelings about the country through different styles of poems.”

6 . SF or sci-fi, short for science fiction, is a form of fiction that deals mainly with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals. It appeared in the West, where the social transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution first led writers and intellectuals (知识分子) to think of the future impact of technology, and was popularized in the 1920s by the American publisher Hugo Gernsback. The Hugo Awards, given annually since 1953 by the World Science Fiction Society, are named after him.

Science fiction writers, whose themes are around space travel, robots, alien beings, and time travel, etc., often seek out new scientific and technical developments in order to forecast freely the techno-social changes. Though writers in antiquity sometimes dealt with themes common to modern science fiction, their stories made no attempt at scientific and technological explanation, the feature that distinguishes (区分) science fiction from earlier imaginative writing, such as fantasies and horror works.

Science fiction itself comes in two main types: hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi. Hard science fiction is based on scientific accuracy and known facts, featuring “real” science. This approach can enhance the authenticity of the story and the idea that the plot’s event could, likely, happen. Examples of hard science fiction include Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Time Machine, etc. Soft science fiction places greater emphasis on the human aspects of the story, integrating sciences of human behaviour. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness are all soft science fiction novels.

The purpose of this genre (体裁) is to explore the possible about the unknown. It gives readers an idea of what might happen in the future if certain events—such as scientific breakthroughs or technological advances—come to pass and how humans might respond accordingly. Given its imaginative nature, science fiction inspires readers to forecast a more advanced, innovative, and adventurous future.

Science fiction is creative ground for filmmakers. Besides, there are plenty of science fiction themes of popular small-screen programmes on television, as well as in graphic novels and comic books.

7 . Freewater

—By Amina Luqman-Dawson, $8.7          Ages 10—14

Homer and his sister run away from a big farm, escaping a life of slavery (奴隶). After crossing dangerous swampland (沼泽地), they reach Freewater, a settlement for former slaves. But their mom is still at the farm. Homer sets out to rescue her. Will they all be together again?

Iveliz Explains It All

—By Andrea Beatriz Arango, illustrated (插图) by Alyssa Bermudez, $7.8       Ages 12 and up

In this story, Iveliz keeps a journal and writes about her mental health struggles. She is hoping that seventh grade will be better than the previous year. But she has difficulty getting on well with some people in her life. It is getting in the way of a fresh start.

The Last Mapmaker

—By Christina Soontornvat, $7.5       Ages 8—12

The main character in this fantasy adventure, Sai, can perfectly copy anyone’s handwriting. Her talent wins her a job on a boat that may be heading to a land. Sai holds secrets about her past, and she discovers that she’s not the only one hiding something. This story has a great ending.

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance

—By Lisa Yee, $9.8       Ages 8—12

The Golden Palace restaurant in Minnesota has been in Maizy’s family for years. When her grandfather gets sick, she and her mom travel from their home in Los Angeles to help at the restaurant. Maizy must adapt to the fact that she is the only child of color in the town. She also tries to solve family mysteries.

8 . How to Write a Poem

Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you. A poem can be about anything, from love to loss to the old gate at the old farm.     1    .

Do writing exercises. A poem might start as a snippet (片段) of a poem, a line or two that seems to come out of nowhere. You can find inspiration for your poem by doing writing exercises and using the world around you.     2    , you can then shape and model your thoughts into a poem.

Get inspired by your environment and those close to you.     3    , even if you don’t see it just yet. Think of every memory, situation and moment as a possible topic and you’ll start seeing poetry all around you!

Pick a specific theme. Picking a specific theme to focus on in the poem can give your poem a clear goal or objective.     4    . At the same time, you can more easily use the themes with images and descriptions in your poem.

    5    . There are many different poetic forms that you can use, from poem to rhyming couplet (对句). You may go for a poetic form that you find easy to use, such as free poem, or a form that you find more challenging, such as a sonnet.

9 . I adore poetry-I still remember early lessons on haikus back in my Grade Three classroom. Poetry can be amazing. Here's three ways to bring poetry into your classroom.

Combine poetry and art

Poems often use a few words to create pictures, so they're perfect to combine with art.     1     Students can write a poem inspired by a piece of art or create a piece of art inspired by a poem, which can be especially effective when you're looking at particular styles of art-abstract art or sculpture.

    2     They can look at how poetry can be a part of public art or how words, color and shapes can be combined to create something beautiful.

Create poetry displays

Due to their shorter size, poems make wonderful subject for displays. There are a few ways you can display poetry in the classroom. For instance, if you write or explore poems on a particular theme, you can use that to create a display. Autumn poetry can be displayed on colorful trees made out of paper.     3    

Students can also use a display board to create their own poetry.     4     They can also write lines of poetry to pin up on a board to continue a poem which is being written.

Explore poetry in song

Poetry and songs are two different forms of writing.     5     They both use rhyme, rhythm and highly effective word choice to make you feel something. Students can also think about how already written songs could be set to music.

Take a moment to share some poetry with your students and open up a whole world of different rhythms, rhymes and pictures made out of words.