Poematics: Exploring Math Through Poetry. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

The article "Poematics: Exploring Math through Poetry" details a lesson in which fifth and seventh graders write their own poems about math topics. First, teachers explained two types of poems, haikus and limericks, and showed examples of these two types of poems. Then, students created their own poetry, choosing any mathematical concept they found interesting to write about in the format of either a haiku or a limerick. Some students had difficulty thinking of topics to write on or getting started writing; however, in the end all students were engaged in writing. The authors suggested having students peer edit each others' poetry to improve the level of accuracy in the future. Using writing, especially poetry, in math class allows students to use their creativity to express their ideas more freely.

I thought that this article provided a very new and innovative idea that could be relatively easily implemented in mathematics classes of a variety of levels. This activity does not require any special materials or supplies, or any extensive preparation, which makes it easy to implement. Also, the activity could be done at a range of grade levels, because it does not focus on any one particular mathematics topic. The activity does not take up a large amount of time, and can be incorporated into any mathematics unit. I think that students could benefit from this lesson as soon as they have a basic understanding of poetry and can write poetry on their own. Finally, this lesson is beneficial because it forces students to reflect on what they have learned and think creatively and conceptually.