By the Rubric of Rhythm, They’ll Read, offers poetry as an alternative approach for teaching children reading below basic to succeed. It opens doors and new horizons for students placed at risk, while tapping into their multiple intelligences, that standardized tests may have missed. The book discusses the history of public schooling and the reading literacy paradigm, addressing the problem while presenting solutions that stimulate and liberate students’ minds. It is the examination into real-world social and interactional contexts while promoting individual agency through oral, written, visual, and the arts while fusing technology at its best. Presenting poetry as the spark that will encourage students to learn as they have fun, dance, and sing, the book takes into account their prior knowledge and the cultural capital they bring. The author introduces her original lesson plans and programs, Lumumba’s Playground and Laughing and Learning with Language as vehicles to renegotiate texts for diverse learners to engage, educate and entertain.
