Poetic Connections: Creating “Metaphorical Spaces” in a Language Arts Classroom

This paper describes a collaborative relationship between a community member and an eighth grade English teacher that was documented through an ethnographic study during an entire school year. The community member taught a weekly poetry workshop where students are encouraged to take risks in their writing and also take a critical stance towards various topics with their writing. The supportive environment and critical engagement led to what I refer to as a “metaphorical space” where students could use creative language to envision possibilities and communicate their knowledge while developing their knowledge of language and literacy.