Teaching Poetry in the Elementary Classroom

Moore Public Schools

Why should poetry be taught in the elementary classroom?– Poetry awakens our senses, helps us make connections to others, and leads us

to think in synthesizing ways, as required by the use of metaphor.

– Paying attention to the language and rhythms of poetry helps build oral language skills.

– Children with well-developed oral language skills are more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing.

– Creative applications of new media that build on the literacies students have already developed outside of school can help teachers tap into the literacy-enhancing power of poetry.

Poetry is important in the elementary classroom because– Our definition of literacy extends to fluency in reading and creating electronic

media.

– It is important for students to be able to read and write or construct texts in multiple genres.

– The use of new media adds multiple layers of meaning and interpretation of a poem in ways that are not available with a conventional textual format.

– By involving students in performances and discussions, as well as the reading and writing of poetry, teachers can support the multiple goals of literacy development.

Poetry can improve literacy by

– acknowledging that sound is meaning. When we hear the sound of the words in a poem read aloud, we gain a better understanding of the meaning of the writing. We can involve students in the dramatic exploration of poems in a variety of ways, including choral reading, readers’ theatre, dance drama, shared reading, or role play. Such approaches provide opportunities for students to play with the words of a poem and to experience it lifted from the page.

– This kind of attention to the language and rhythms of a poem serves to expand oral and written vocabulary. Research tells us that children with well-developed oral skills are more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing as well. It also helps evoke a sensorial response to the poem. Students should be encouraged to express the kinds of connections to feelings and senses that they experience, ideally in small or large groups where they can discuss these responses among themselves.

What are some of the reading standards and practices that can be taught through poetry?

– By involving their students in performances and discussions, as well as in the reading and writing of poetry, teachers can support the multiple goals of literacy development, including making inferences, identifying the main idea, making judgments and drawing conclusions, clarifying and developing points of view, and making connections.

Frames 2-5 information from What Works? Research into Practice by Dr. Jeanette Hughes, 2007, Poetry: A Powerful Medium for Literacy and Technology Development

How to teach poetry in the 1st – 3rd grade classroom:– One of the easiest ways to teach poetry in the early childhood up to 3rd grade

classroom is to provide many opportunities for students to hear poetry. Bring books, videos, and songs into the classroom for students to enjoy during their independent reading time.

– Be sure to include books that include poetry when you do your teacher read aloud time.

– Do a poem of the week where students read, analyze, and perhaps memorize a poem. They can also keep a written record of the poems by keeping a poetry book where they copy poems into their own poetry notebook.

Teaching poetry (cont)

– After the students have been exposed to poetry throughout the school year, pick a time (week or a month) where you will introduce different poetry types.

– Start with a poetry form and teach it to the class. Show examples of this particular type of poem. Then have the students use the form to write their own poem. Share the poems with the class if the student would like to share. Don’t force students to share if they are uncomfortable performing in front of the class.

– For students who are not comfortable sharing in front of the class, ask them if they would like for you to read their poem to the rest of the class.

– Have the students keep a book of poems that they are writing so that at the end of the poetry writing unit, they will have a collection of the poem that they have written.

Acrostics: An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message.

Diamante: A diamante poem is a poem that makes the shape of a diamond. The poem can be used in two ways, either comparing and contrasting two different subjects, or naming synonyms at the beginning of the poem and then antonyms for the second half for a subject.

Couplets: two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Cinquain: A cinquain is a five-line poem that describes a person, place, or thing.

Riddle: A Riddle is a type of poem that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. A Riddle is a light hearted type of poetry which involves the reader. Riddles can be about anything, from Riddles about animals to Riddles about objects. There are no rules on how to structure a Riddle poem, a Riddle can be funny or it can rhyme, it depends on the person writing the Riddle.

Shape Poem: A Shape Poem is a type of poetry that describes an object and is shaped the same as the object the poem is describing. You could write your shape poem on anything.

Diamante: When a diamante poem is written it takes on the shape of a diamond.

A diamante poem is made up of 7 lines using a set structure:

Line 1: Beginning subjectLine 2: Two describing words about line 1Line 3: Three doing words about line 1Line 4: A short phrase about line 1, a short phrase about line 7Line 5: Three doing words about line 7Line 6: Two describing words about line 7Line 7: End subject

Limerick: A limerick is often a funny poem with a strong beat. Limericks are very light hearted poems and can sometimes be utter nonsense. They are great for kids to both read and write as they are short and funny.

There was an old man with a beardWho said, 'It is just as I feared,Two owls and a henA lark and a wrenHave all built their nests in my beard!'

Didactic Poem: a form of poetry intended for instruction such as for knowledge or to describe something.

ReadYour books every day.Do Whatever you are told.ActAs a friend to everyone.Then You will never be old.

My mother

I have a great and wonderful mom,Never mad and always calm,Being there when I need her most,The best is definitely what she knows.

She is my biggest role model ever,She's very smart and very clever,Makes life enjoyable to live in,With her big, loving, and wide grin.

She fills up a big space in my heart,I loved her from the very start,I could not wish for another,For she is my true loving mother.

Monorhyme: a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme.

Night Storm It came in a winter’s night,a fierce cold with quite a bite.Frosted wind with all its mightsent ice and snow an inviteto layer earth in pure whiteand glisten with morning light.

Dogs

They are furry and sweet,They like to lick your feet.Little ones will take your seat,Big ones need lots to eat.They do not know how to make their own meat,But they will love you with every heartbeat.

Standing ovation AppreciationAdorationCommendationCongratulations

Color Poem: Free verse that is about a particular color.

GreenGreen is apples, markers, and cool.Green is the taste of vegetables.Green smells like grass and rain.Green makes me feel envious.Green is the sound of a lawnmower and a sigh.Green is a garden, forest, and a swamp.Green is renewal.Green is beginning again.Green is spring.

List 1: What things LOOK green? Grass, apples, markersList 2: What things SOUND green? Lawnmower, music, sighList 3: What things SMELL green? Grass, rain, crayons,List 4: How does green FEEL? Warm, cool, soft, velvetyList 5: What makes YOU FEEL green? Envy, illness, springList 6: What things TASTE green? Candy, vegetables, pestoList 7: What EXPERIENCES or IDEAS seem green?Renewal, beginning, envyList 8: Can you think of green PLACES? Garden, forest, swamp

Autobiographical poems, as the name suggests, is all about you. This is not a story however, so length must be taken into consideration and there are other rules that apply too. Take some time, follow the rules and create a poem all about you!

Below is the structure on how to write an autobiographical poem and the words to include.

Line 1. Your first name.Or your first and second name – just not your last name.

Line 2. I am ____, ____, ____ and ____.Four adjectives that describe you. Could be generous, could be selfish, hungry, tall or even short.

Line 3. Son/daughter of _____. Brother/sister of ____. Include all siblings here.

Line 4. I love ____, ____ and ____. Include three things you love.

Line 5. I feel ____, ____ and ____. Include three emotions you feel right now or often.

Line 6. I am most happy when ____, ____ and ____. Include three things you are happy doing.

Line 7. I most need ____, ____ and ____. Include three things you cannot live without.

Line 8. I give ____, ____, and ____. These three things you give could be anything from time dedicated, money to charity right down to your sister or brother..

Line 9. I fear ____, ____ and ____ the most. Three things might be from the principal's office to the clown from your birthday party – anything that you fear now.

Line 10. I would love to see ____, ____ and ____. Anything you would love to see. It could be dolphins in the water or the Great Wall of China. Name your dreams.

Line 11. I really enjoy ____, ____ and ____. What exactly do you enjoy to do? You might like riding your bike, running in the park or fishing with Dad.

Line 12. I like to wear ____, ____ and ____.Remember wearing can mean funny things too. It doesn’t have to be skirts, stockings and shoes. It could be perfume, lipgloss, a beret or even mom's make up!

Line 13. Add something personal.This line could be a favorite quote from a book or it could be your dream for the future. Anything you like.

Line 14. Your last name.

There are many more forms you can choose…you might be surprised at your students who are really good at writing poems when they have freedom to be expressive. Give a poetry unit a try!

Don’t Forget April is National Poetry Month!https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month