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Abstract

This article titled The Furious Flower Poetry Center: Teaching the Worlds of Black Poetry to High School Students features lesson plans that high school English graduate candidates wrote in a high school English methods course after participating in the decennial Furious Flower Poetry Conference in September of 2024 at James Madison University. High School poetry lessons featured are based on the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, Jericho Brown, Nikki Giovanni, Sophia Elhillo, DaMaris B. Hill, Darrel Alejandro Holnes, and Yalie Kamara. Poetic themes and craft taught and discussed in the lesson plans include identity, language, culture, hope, symbolism, tone, diction, and After Poems.

Author Biography

Mary Beth Cancienne, PhD, is a professor of English education at James Madison University in the Middle and Secondary Education Department in the College of Education. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Coaching, Curriculum, and Instruction for the Virginia New Teacher Support Program, a role she has held for five years. She leads evidence-based professional learning coaching sessions for teachers in the state as they mentor beginning teachers. In addition, she has taught high school English methods courses and accompanying high school practicum, student teaching, and seminars for over 20 years. She has also published in such journals as the Virginia English Journal, Qualitative Inquiry, Theory into Practice, the Journal of Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue and the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing. Additionally, she co-edited, with C. Bagley, a book and CD-ROM titled Dancing the Data (2002, Peter Lang). In 1999, she co-founded the AERA Arts & Inquiry in the Visual and Performing Arts SIG.

Hermione DeWitt, a recent graduate of James Madison University, earned both her BA and M.A.T. in English and Secondary Education. Now teaching 6th-grade English in Arlington Public Schools, she is dedicated to her professional growth and development, having recently attended notable conferences such as NCTE and ISTE. Her work is driven by a passion for helping students develop strong literacy skills and a love for reading.

Zoe McDowell recently graduated from JMU with her MAT in Secondary English. She will be starting her teaching career this August, teaching sixth-grade English at Montevideo Middle School in Rockingham County. Zoe is a social media co-chair for the Virginia Association of Teachers of English, and she is grateful for the opportunities both VATE and NCTE have given her to enhance her professional life!

Kaleigh Phelps recently graduated from JMU with her M.A.T. in Secondary English. She is currently deep in the throes of her first year, teaching 7th grade at Louise A. Benton Middle School in Prince William County. She is a social media co-chair for the Virginia Association of Teachers of English, and she is grateful for the opportunities to grow professionally.

Liz Shanks is a recent graduate of James Madison University. She teaches 7th-grade English Language Arts at Trailside Middle School in Loudoun County. Liz has contributed research articles to VATE, NCTE, and Hollywood Or History. She is excited to continue working with students and implementing effective strategies to better education for all.

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