Assess students' ideas about poetry. What
do they already know--or think they know-- about poetry? Does their
background include exposure to nursery rhymes, jump-rope chants, and
simple songs? These are natural pathways to poetry.
Introduce questions such as:
What is a poem? How are poems different from other things we read?
Why do people write poems? Why do people read poems? Do you know any poems?
Complete an activity that gets students thinking about the vast array of poetry choices.Assemble
a large collection of poetry books for them to examine in small groups.
Rubber-band “like” books together (books of poems by one author,
anthologies, thematic poetry books, etc.) and challenge students to
discover why they are banded together. How are they alike? How is one
bundle different from another?
Embrace poetry and look for ways to incorporate more of it into your program.
For example, poetry can provide mini-breaks during the day as you
transition from one thing to another, or experience “wait” time before
an event or activity. Anthologies of poetry for children usually include
poems with topics such as friendship, seasonal experiences, the
weather, food, holidays, etc. so it is easy to find themed poetry to
share—at Morning Meeting, calendar time, science, just before or after
lunch. Assemble a collection of favorites over time that can be typed,
bound, and added to your classroom library, or framed and hung in spots
around the room. You could even create a few poetry slides to show as
the “standby” screen on your projector or interactive whiteboard before
you start a new lesson or as students enter the room from recess.
Collect a few class favorites that can reappear like visits from an old
friend. Return to these periodically and discuss why they have become
class favorites.
Provide lots of poetry in your classroom library.
In the same way that you have shifted your instruction to include more
informational text, be deliberate in your plans to purchase more poetry
anthologies, picture story books set in rhyme, and poetry works by
single authors. Scour children’s magazines for single pages of poetry
that you can laminate and include in a poetry tub. You will want to be
sure to have a variety of poetry types and poetic forms. (Students who
only know the humorous work of poets like Jack Prelutsky or Shel
Silverstein will need to broaden their scope.)
Find poems about items in your classroom and post them near the item as a way of calling attention to them. Poets take ordinary things and look at them in fresh, new ways. Use books like Valerie Worth's All the Small Poems and Fourteen More and Jane Yolen's Least Things: Poems about Small Naturesto expand the way we think about everyday objects, living things, and occurrences.
Experience the joy of poetry using different modalities. Singing, creative movement, drawing and painting can all be ways for students to connect with a poem.
Be sure to provide ways for students to share their thoughts and to make their thinking about poems visible. Remember that students will “dig deeper” in a social context as
they discuss interpretations with peers, an important speaking and
listening skill. Model for students how to hold meaningful discussions
with partners, giving open prompts such as “It made me think of,” “It
made me feel,” “I didn't understand,” etc. Provide older students with poetry response journals in
which they collect words and phrases that stood out for them. Encourage
them to “lift a line” and free-write about it, to ask questions about
confusing parts, to express feelings and personal connections, perhaps
to try writing their own poem. Younger students might draw in the
margins of poem copies, create mind pictures of what a poem helps them
to visualize, and share sticky notes of portions that demonstrate
sensory words or feeling words. Thoughts can be shared on T-charts, Venn
diagrams, and graphic organizers.
often to find new content posted daily.
