Monday, September 9, 2013

Poetry

My kids REALLY love poetry. They feel so confident reading their poems and they are always so excited to take their notebooks home and share their new poem(s) with their moms and dads.
I usually do one poem a week, but occasionally I will have two.  I hang the poem on my front board and we usually practice reading it after calendar math when we have a few minutes of down time.  The first day I usually read the poem a couple times to the class. I point out sight words, punctuation, etc. Then I have them practice the poem with me.
 The next couple of days, I call students up to the board to lead the class in practicing our poem. I will also let them choose if they want to read it by themselves, have only the girls read, only the boys, read it in a whisper voice, etc.
I also call students to the board to practice writing the sight word that we are focusing on. I try to choose one word in each poem as our focus word. 
 On Fridays the students glue the poem into their poetry notebook. 
 They illustrate the poem and highlight the focus word. I add a little 'sign and return' sticker and then I let the kids put their notebook in their backpacks to take home for the weekend. I love giving them the opportunity to share their poems with their family!
 The second week of school we did the 'Red' poem which is by Frog Street Press. Occasionally I will give them little graphics to color in and glue into their journals instead of having them illustrate a picture.
And last week, the third week, we did the 'Blue' poem which is also by Frog Street Press. This week I had them draw their own scenery, but I gave them little ocean images to use :)
This week we are actually doing two poems. We are learning the 'Yellow' poem and a super cute poem called 'I Am Me' that focuses on the sight word 'I'. 
I would love to hear how you teach poetry in your class!

20 comments:

  1. Do you sell the poems in your store?
    Eileen Boyle
    Eileen2002@msn.com

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  2. I would love to see the I Am Me poem. That is our unit for the week.

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  3. Alicia, I will add it here tomorrow! But, it just goes "I am me. I am not a crocodile. I am not a bee. I am not a monkey. I am ME!"

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  4. I love teaching poems too!! Thanks for sharing how you use them!

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  5. You have one of my former students I believe! I used to teach at a preschool in Weston, FL. And I saw his name tag and had a student by that exact name! I hope he is doing well!

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  6. We love poems too. My students have become so much better with their sight words. I sell seasonal poems in my store. Www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/mrs-paulsons-class

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  7. Thanks for sharing, that is one of my next goals, introducing poetry to my students!!!

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

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  8. No where near as well as you. Thanks for inspiring some poetry fun.
    Julie
    Mrs Stowe's Kinder Cottage

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  9. Great ideas! We do poetry, too, but I'm not thrilled with it. I like your method much better. Where do you find all your poems?

    Lisa
    Always an Adventure in Kindergarten

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  10. Thanks so much! Very cute! I might try to work that in this week!

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  11. I love your poetry ideas! I would love a listing of your poems and where to find them.
    Thanks so much for all your hard work and enthusiasm!

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  12. I love class poetry as a vehicle for reading practice. Children who struggle with reading can ALWAYS feel like successful readers using their class poetry books.

    Thanks for sharing
    Cindy
    Granny Goes to School

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  13. love using poetry journals! We always start with nursery rhymes... :)
    jeannie
    A Kindergarten Lifestyle

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  14. I love how you have the poems on your board. I do many of the ones you have shown. Each child has a "song and poem" book and take it hoem each Tuesday and return on Thursday so they have time to practice. One question-how large are your charts and do you keep them out on display for a while?
    Thanks,
    Maryann
    brennemm@carlisleschools.org

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  15. My students love poetry. We end the unit with a poetry reading for parents!

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  16. Love your poetry...can you share where you got those wonderful ten frame number posters, beneath the board???? Thank you !

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  17. The number posters are in my TpT store :) You can find them here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-Posters-With-Ten-Frames-1142276

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  18. Would love to buy everything you use for your poetry journals for the year at TPT! Is is available?

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  19. Thanks for sharing the fun & innovative techniques using poetry. We can utilize this technique to introduce new words to children and they can easily learn to practice new words in real life.

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