Poems, Poems, Everywhere!

Hint!  If you hang them on a pants hanger or attach with book rings to a regular hanger, you can move them around the room to different locations.

Posters - Write poems that relate to seasons or holidays on posters. Let children decorate them with markers, crayons, paint, or other art media.

Bulletin Board - Create a special bulletin board for displaying favorite poems or original poems that children write.

Classroom Door - Post poems on your classroom door.  Have children recite them as they are waiting to go out into the hall.

Pocket Chart - Write poems on sentence strips and use them in a pocket chart.  Mix sentences up like a puzzle and have children put them back in order.

Chalk Board - Write favorite poems on your chalkboard or dry erase board and use them for shared reading activities.

Teacher's Desk - Post poems on the front of the teacher's desk, a file cabinet, on the bathroom door, etc.

Picture Frame - Place poems that children enjoy or their original poems in picture frames and hang them on the wall.

Poetry Tree - Use an old Christmas tree or stick several large, dry branches in a pot of sand.  Write poems on index cards and then attach them to the tree with clothespins.  Encourage children to "pick a poem" and read!

Poetry Corner - Dedicate a special corner or nook in your classroom to poetry!   Place pillows, bean  bags, poetry books, charts, a walkman with tapes of poems, puppets, twinkle lights, and other props to "entice" children to read and listen to poems.

Creation Station - How about a writing area where children will be encouraged to construct their own poems?  Place magnetic poetry words (available at dollar stores and book stores), magnetic boards, rhyming games, overhead transparency and markers, pens, pencils, colored pencils, chalk, paper, blank books, colored paper, notepads, envelopes, construction paper, stickers, glue, chalk board, wipe off board, clip boards, stamps and other writing instruments in this center.  The items can be stored in a tub, basket, or on a shelf.

Poem a Day - Choose a poem each day and read it to your class at the beginning of the day.  Sometimes, you might simply read it and "let it be."  Other times, you can use the poem to introduce vocabulary or to spark a discussion.  Post poems in the classroom and then store them in a "poetry treasure box" so children can enjoy them over and over.