Abstract
Academic engagement is a multi-layered construct that has behavioral, affective, and cognitive components. Behaviorally, students are engaged in learning by showing sustained effort to understand the text and participate in different classroom activities. On an affective level, students have a positive attitude toward learning, and they are committed to finishing the assigned academic tasks. Cognitively, engaged students develop short- and long-term plans to accomplish the task, self-regulate their thought to effectively and efficiently implement the plans, and exert mental effort to understand the concepts and master skills. In this chapter, the author situates academic engagement within the context of critical thinking when reading poetry. Poetry is an underrated literary genre in the teaching of language arts, and the road that is seldom taken in literacy instruction to develop reading and writing skills. The author provides teaching and learning strategies that develop students’ literacy skills and foster poetry appreciation.