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Getting Started The lessons in this issue introduce students to the rhythms of poetry. The focus in on two poetic forms that originated as forms of song: the BALLAD stanza, found throughout British and American literature, and the BLUES stanzas of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. The exercises take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space, and, finally, music. This is the first Smithsonian in Your Classroom with a soundtrack. At a special web page, Smithsonian Folkways - Soundscapes, students can listen to musical ballads and blues from the catalog of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Download the Lesson Plan Student Examples Some examples of classes that completed the exercises in this lesson plan are: Blues Poems by North Kansas City High School Sophomores North Kansas City, Missouri Blues Poems by Milwee Middle School Longwood, Florida Blues Poems by Hillside School Second Graders Hillside, Illinois We welcome student poems at learning@si.edu. We'll post as many as we can here at this site. Required Materials Download the PDF Smithsonian in Your Classroom is produced by the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. Teachers may duplicate the materials for educational purposes.