How Do I Use These Poems?
- I often introduce 1-3 poems per week depending on their length. I use Google Slides as I introduce them.
- I Introduce the poems in various ways:
- I read/sing it in it's entirety as I point to words. OR
- I ask students, "What do yo notice about this poem?" They will come up and point out words they know, punctuation marks, rhyming words, etc. This method works well because by the time my kids tell me what they know, they've been exposed to all the words. If using this method, I often incorporate mini-lessons. EXAMPLE: Someone noticed three words next to each other start with "BR". I would introduce ALLITERATION. Not that they are required to know/use it. But exposure sticks with many kids.) THEN: I'll read a sentence, they repeat. For the whole poem. OR
- I simply go straight to the CHORAL READING and DO NOT Teach from the poem.
- I strongly urge you to mix it up. If you "teach" poems all the time, they will look at poetry as a chore or something to be disected. Tedious. Many of the poems we simply read for enjoyment. They still end up, naturally, noticing all sorts of things. But MY goal, is to simply let the poems entertain us and often, "tickle our ears."
- Pass out the poem and it goes in POETRY BINDERS.
- Many times throughout week, they read from their binders independently or via Buddy Reading.
- On Wednesdays, once November rolls around, I send home on Wednesdays for homework. I call it "Fluency practice." Kids really enjoy sharing the poems with their families.
- My struggling students, by November, can read many independently and they really help those students learn sight words.
- I print out some poems (in color) and hang up in various places around the room. A print-rich environment is essential to reading successes!
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Have a great day!
