Poetry in America for Teachers: Earth, Sea, Sky

 

Poetry in America, led by Professor Elisa New in collaboration with Harvard University, is pleased to offer another course designed specifically for K-12 educators, Poetry in America for Teachers: Earth, Sea, Sky.

Like Poetry in America’s popular first course for teachers, The City from Whitman to Hip Hop, Poetry in America for Teachers: Earth, Sea, Sky is designed to support educators across a wide range of grade levels and disciplines. The course provides a rich survey of American cultural and environmental history, as well as opportunities to consider poetry among the visual and performing arts. Especially recommended for teachers of English Language Arts and the sciences, Earth, Sea, Sky offers a four-pillared approach to reading poetry—or any literary text: in addition, the course is aligned with national ELA standards and includes opportunities for pedagogical practice.

Poetry in America for Teachers: Earth, Sea, Sky includes archivally rich video lectures and tutorials, roundtable conversations, and one-on-one conversations with poets, scholars, scientists, activists, curators, designers, and performing artists. Featured guest interpreters include Vice President Al Gore, evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson, climate activist Tom Steyer, photographer Laura McPhee, composer and multimedia artist DJ Spooky, businessman Ray Dalio, and many more.

Poetry in America courses are filmed on location whenever possible. Course participants will make virtual visits to historic sites and natural habitats from Cape Cod to Oregon to California, and to classrooms across the country, observing teachers at public, independent, and charter schools in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, and California.

Poetry in America for Teachers: Earth, Sea, Sky will empower English Language Arts, Science, and History teachers nationwide to work across disciplines to address challenges confronting the natural world.

All Poetry in America participants can enroll via the Harvard Extension School for undergraduate and graduate credit (4 credits), or professional development hours (noncredit option; 90 PD hours). This course is entirely online, and allows participants to fit weekly coursework into their own schedules. There are no regularly scheduled class sessions.

Generous support for this project was provided by The Poetry Foundation, The Harvard University Center for the Environment, NextGen America, and the Favorite Poem Project.

Browse the DCE Course Catalog