February Songs & Poems and FREEBIES!!!

Reading Poems and Songs is a great pathway to fluency for struggling readers.  Rereading the poems and having struggling readers' eyes on sight words again and again really helps them master the sight words at a faster rate and that, of course, leads to fluency.  No stopping to sound out words.  No robotic voice by the time they read the poems 3-5 times. 

I try to keep my poems fresh so I have monthly packets.  I just photocopied my February Songs and Poems for our Poetry Binders and when a student saw them on my desk, he did a little happy dance! 

⁣

• Themes in my February Songs and Poems packet include: Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Dental Health, Groundhog Day, 100th Day, Penguins, and Mardi Gras. 

⁣

• My main goal of my poetry packets? For the kids to enjoy and appreciate the fun language and word choices. Some poems “Tickle Our Ears” especially when using rhymes and alliteration. ⁣

⁣

• Many poems are read for enjoyment only. I don’t dissect and pick apart most of them. I may pick 1 out of 5 a week that I use for direct instruction such as identifying Proper Nouns, rhyming words, letter/sound combinations, etc.)  Really makes me sad when I hear teachers using every poem for instruction. (And books for that matter!) That's the quickest way to turn kids off to poetry and reading, don’t you think?  ⁣

⁣

•Want to grab two free poems in this packet right now?  Hope you enjoy them!  Click on pic:

• On Wednesdays, I send home the poetry binders with a simple fluency sheet.  Feel free to grab it.  Click on the pic.

Since February is quickly approaching, are you looking for a Valentine's Day Math Game that you can use to practice math facts and print-ready for your math centers or workstations?  Look no further!

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all you have to do in the next few weeks?  Let me help take a little something off your plate!  Be sure to check out THIS POST to see how you can save yourself precious time by sending HOME a FREE Editable letter to parents asking them to make a Valentine's Day Box at home and then bring it to school.  Trust me, the home made Valentine Boxes turn our adorable!