It was a wonderful start, but it could be better. I wanted them to make the words and images stronger, or take a totally different perspective to their poem, but I was unsure how to teach them to do it. Revision was something they focused little on, and it became a part of editing. However, revision and editing are two separate processes and need to be focused on individually. My students are so rush oriented, needing immediate feedback, but I want them to slow down and make improvements.
Poetry is a growth process, the same as in all forms of writing.
Without revision, there will be no growth. I never really thought about that. I realized that poetry is just another form of writing, so it should be approached the same as writing a piece of prose. The writing process still applies to poetry. In my class, my students prewrite, write a first draft and skip to publishing with little time spent on editing and even less on revision.