Saturday, October 25, 2025

How I Taught One Teacher to Love Poetry

About 10 years ago, a new teacher walked into my room and looked at the poem up on my projector. She rolled her eyes.  "I HATE poetry!" 

😖Hate poetry?  Eek!

Then she explained. "My Second Grade teacher made us memorize about 30 poems a year."

Ohhhhhh. Now I got it.

I’d probably hate poetry too if I’d been forced to memorize poem after poem!

Over the next few months, I started sharing my poems, philosophy, and favorite poetry activities with her. Little by little, something changed. She began using poems to support her readers and connect to other parts of the curriculum. And soon, she loved the poetry binders her students couldn’t get enough of.

And the best part? I learned from her, too. Her feedback and fresh perspective gave me new ideas I hadn’t thought of before.

A New Way to See Poetry

In my classroom, we use poems almost every day but not in the drill-and-kill kind of way. Here’s what I learned early on:

Don’t dissect every poem or turn every poem into a lesson.

When poetry becomes “work, work, work,” students lose the joy.
Instead, we read poems for many reasons but mostly to enjoy them.
To soak in the rhythm, rhyme, wordplay, and imagery.

Sometimes I teach from a poem, but usually it’s because of what students notice and wonder about on their own. And believe me, there are soooo many noticings that happen in a first grade classroom!

Why I Make Time for Poetry (Even When There’s No Time)

Like you, I have limited minutes in my day.

So I’m always looking for lessons that can double, triple, or even quadruple dip into other curriculum areas and poetry is it!

Poems can build:

  • Fluency

  • Phonics and vocabulary

  • Comprehension

  • Writing inspiration

  • Social-emotional connections

And best of all, they invite students to play with language. That's something every young learner needs more of.


Here are a few examples of the students' "noticings" that led to a short mini-lesson.

What do students notice about the poem? Let them dictate the mini-lesson need.
By the end of the year, about 90% of my students say their Poetry Binders were their favorite part of first grade.

I think it’s because they get to Buddy Read the poems, revisit old favorites, and enjoy them anytime throughout the day.

Those binders build reading confidence. That’s why, year after year, my little ones name our poems as one of their favorite memories and classroom activities.



Every teacher uses poems in different ways.  Here are all the ways I have used them throughout the year.  Some of these I use all of the time. Others? Maybe it just fit my needs once or twice.

Using Poems in the primary classroom for Literacy Centers Poetry center – reread, illustrate, and highlight sight words. Word hunt – find rhyming words, blends, digraphs, or contractions. High-frequency word review – highlight weekly sight words within poems. Punctuation practice – identify commas, periods, exclamation marks. Phonics focus – search for specific spelling patterns or vowel teams. Illustration activity – visualize imagery by drawing matching pictures.

Using Poems in the Primary classroom to increase Fluency practice – rereading familiar poems builds automaticity. Buddy reading – partners take turns or echo read. Choral reading – read poems together as a class or small group. Echo reading – teacher reads a line, students repeat with expression. Performance reading – students “perform” poems for the class or families.


Using Poetry in Primary Classroom to Retell and discuss – talk about the meaning, theme, or author’s purpose. Vocabulary notebook tie-in – define tricky or new words. Making connections – text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world links. Inference practice – guess feelings or hidden meanings from clues. Sequencing – arrange poem lines or stanzas in the correct order.

Using Poems in the Primary Classroom for Writing Center Inspiration by Poetry imitation – students write their own version using a similar pattern. Sentence structure practice – rewrite lines using new adjectives or verbs. Seasonal writing prompts – use poems to spark journal entries. Copywork for handwriting – neat writing of a short, meaningful text. Creative response – students draw, write, or collage their interpretation.

Using Poetry Binders or Folders in the classroom for Music, Movement and Drama by Add rhythm or instruments – read with clapping, tapping, or rhythm sticks. Poetry with motion – create hand motions to match key words or lines. Poetry songs – set poems to familiar tunes for morning meetings. Dramatic readings – act out imagery or emotions from the poem.

Using Poems to Home–School Connection Take-home fluency practice: send binders home weekly for reading aloud. SEL Tie-Ins Use poems about kindness, courage, or feelings for discussion. Cross-Curricular Support Science or social studies poems: reinforce units like weather, animals, or community helpers.

I've sold thousands of my poetry packets and bundles. They have a proven track record.

Reviews for Using Poetry Binders, Folders, or Poems in the Classroom


Still not convinced poems fit into your day or vision for your classroom?  Try this set for FREE!
Free September Poems for the Primary Classroom

If you end of loving what it adds to your classroom, you may want to invest in the BUNDLE of Monthly Poems.  A great value especially knowing that you can use the poems (PDF or Google Slides) over and over again.

If you haven’t tried poetry in your classroom yet, start with just one poem. See what your students notice, what they laugh at, what they remember. Then come back and tell me how it goes. I’d love to hear all about it!💛




Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Let's chat!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)