Week Long Poetry

soo....

I'm a HUGE fan of using poetry in the room.

I use poetry....

 all. week. long.

I use a variety of poems, from different sources, for all kinds of different skills and such.

But in the beginning of the year, I use poems from this book


Last week, was long a (a_e) skill.

So, I retyped one of the poems (actually, this one my teammate did -ha!)

The reason we retype it, is so they kids have to LOOK for the words that follow the skill...also, I like to NOT have a picture on the page, because I want them to illustrate what they visualize when they read the poem...that's Thursday's activity.

Monday I read it out loud to them, then we do a choral read (usually, this one is awful since they've never seen it- ha)


Tuesday, I read it out loud again and then we go through the poem and underline all the words that follow the skill...and then we choral read it again.
(sorry this is so blurry - I thought it was a better picture than this)

Wednesday, they do side partner reading...

they have to turn to each other and touch knees to knees




and then we come back together and read it out loud together - again...

And on Thursday, they read it out loud again and this time it's usually PHENOMENAL...with LOTS of expression and they're in unison...

and after that, they illustrate in the blank space what they visualize while they are reading.




I don't do phonics poems all year - sometimes I'll use them for grammar - or to match the theme for the week...it really just depends. But I usually stick with phonics for about the first 5-6 weeks or so.

This is one of their favorite activities to do.

It helps them with so many skills - phonics (or grammar, or whatever the focus is), fluency, and a big one of learning to read together...not rushing ahead or speed reading...to have intonation with the rhyme and repetition. I just love poetry.

How do you use poetry in your room??


4 comments

Down Under Teacher said...

I do something very similar! We also make a chart of long a words (for example) which they record on the other side of the page. On Friday, they try and use those words to write their own poem. Some turn out really hilarious, particularly when they try and write rhyming poems!

The Colorful Apple said...

Thanks for the ideas Jen! I'm going to have to check out that book too. I have my students create a poetry book for their bookbags and they can read it when they want. I like your ideas of choral reading multiple times during the week.

Sara :)
Smiling In Second Grade

Amy said...

Great ideas Jen! I love poetry too!! My students read it during center time to practice fluency. And I also have a bunch of poem books with comprehension questions that I use occasionally.

Amy
Krazy About Kiddos

Suzy Q said...

We do a poem a week, too. Our focus is on reading it naturally...which is killing me now since they insist on accenting the last word in each line! But we'll get past that soon.

They take it home on the weekend to read to family and fill out a response. (stanzas, rhyming pattern, visualization and their rating)

I choose primarily funny poems (since I want them to like poetry!) that link with the season or our studies.

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