April 2016
SHARED POETRY READINGS
WHY? fluency, confidence, personal pleasure
WHAT? nursery rhymes on language experience charts, big books of poems,
pocket charts of poems, PowerPoints, etc.
HOW? Use some of the techniques below to improve fluency of reading.
Choral Reading – First the teacher models reading the poem fluently and
with expression. Then the children reread the poem 3 or 4 times with the
teacher.
Echo Reading – The teacher reads each line, and then the children “echo”
the line after the teacher.
Take a Turn – The teacher reads a line, and then the children read a line.
(You could also let one group of children read the first line, another
group the second line, and so on.)
Popcorn- While reading stop and call out the word “popcorn.”
Whenever the teacher says, “Popcorn,” the children must pick up
and continue reading.
Hint! Children will also enjoy saying “Popcorn” as they read with a
partner.
Magic Word – Choose a magic word or phrase in the poem. Every time
you come to that word or phrase children clap their hands, jump up and
down, or make another motion or noise.
Poetry Tapes – Make tapes of favorite poems. (Parents, children, the
principal, and other “celebrities” could read them.) Have children
follow along with a printed copy.
*Record short poems several times in a row for repetition.
Coaching – Read a poem the wrong way without expression and let the children correct you and suggest appropriate changes.
*Make sure to track each line from left to write as you read!
POEMS, POEMS, EVERYWHERE!
WHY? creating a print-rich environment, interest in print
WHAT? poetry books, chart paper, markers, pocket charts, poster board
HOW? Use some of these ideas to display poetry in your classroom
Language Experience Charts – Write poems on language experience charts and hang around the classroom. 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 with markers, crayons, paint. or other art media.
Bulletin Board – Create a special bulletin board to display favorite poems
or original poems that children write.
Classroom Door – Post poems on your classroom door. Have children recite them as they are lining up.
Pocket Chart – Write poems on sentence strips and use in a pocket chart.
Chalkboard – Write favorite poems on your chalkboard or dry erase board and use for shared reading.
Teacher’s Desk – Post poems on the front of the teacher’s desk, a file
cabinet, etc..
Picture Frame – Place poems that children enjoy in picture frames and
hang on the wall.
Poet “Tree” – Use an old Christmas tree or stick several large, dry branches in a pot of dirt. Write poems on index cards and then attach to the tree with clothespins. Encourage children to “pick a poem” and read!
REINFORCE READING SKILLS
WHY? phonological awareness, phonics, high frequency words, comprehension
WHAT? poems on charts, big books of poems, highlighting tape
HOW? Integrate reading skills in a meaningful way through poetry:
Syllables – After reading a poem with your students, read it again clapping the number of syllables in each word.
You could also snap, stomp, hop or make other movements for the syllables.
Challenge children to identify words with one syllable. Can they find words with two syllables? Can they find a word that has the same number of syllables as their name?
Rhyming Words – Following a reading, mention that you heard words that sounded alike at the end. Repeat two of the words that rhyme. Let’s read the poem again and see if you can listen for other words that rhyme. As children find words that rhyme, highlight them on the poem with highlighting markers or tape. Write sets of words that rhyme on the board. Underline the letters that are the same. Have children think of
other words that have the same sound at the end. Write the rhyming words on the board as the children call them out.
Onsets and Rimes – Take 3” x 5” index cards. Cut 3” x 2” rectangles from white paper and staple five to the top left side of each index card. Write rimes (vowel and letters following it) on the long section of the index card. Write onsets (consonants and blends) on the strips. Lift up the strips so children can blend the onsets and rimes and read the words.
Rime Boxes – Place magnet letters that will create a particular word
family (such as a, t, m, p, b, c, h, r) in a small breath mint can. Put a
list of the words that can be made from the letters in the box so children can reproduce them on the lid.
Alliteration – Read poems that have strong alliteration. Ask children to
identify words with the same beginning sound. Highlight the words in the poem or list them on the board. Can children add other words to the list that begin with the same sound?
Sound Scramble – Just for fun, choose an initial consonant sound and alliterate each word in a rhyme. For example: Bumpty Bumpty Bat Bon
Ba Ball. Bumpty Bumpty bad ba breat ball…
Listen Up – Say groups of words from the poem. Two should begin with the same sound and the third should be different. For example, “lion, leap, ground.” Can children listen up and identify the two that are the same?
Say a number of words from a poem. Tell the children if they hear a word that starts with the /h/ sound they should put their thumbs up. If they don’t hear the /h/ sound they should put their thumbs down.
Letter Recognition – Glue magnetic letters to the end of craft sticks. Pass
these out to the children. Can they find their letter in the poem and match it up?
Make a “magnifying glass” by twisting the end of a pipe cleaner into a circle. Have children use it to “spy” letters that are in their name.
Blending – Select words from the poem and stretch them out. Can
children blend the sounds and identify the word? How many sounds
are in the word?
Decoding Skills – As you come to unknown words in poems, stop and model how to sound them out by blending the sounds.
How Did You Know That? As children decode new words ask them, “How did you know that?” When children “think out loud,” they are helping their classmates discover strategies that they can use to read
unknown words.
Predicting – Before reading a poem, encourage the children to look at the title or illustrations and predict what the poem might be about.
Left to Right – Track the words in a poem from left to right as you read
to your students. Have them track print as they reread poetry. Where is
the beginning of the line? Where is the end? What is the first word?
Context – As you read poems, stop and leave out a word. Can children supply the missing word?
Punctuation – Ask children to identify punctuation marks in poems.
Read with and without punctuation and discuss the difference.
Take 3 jumbo craft sticks and draw a period, question mark, and exclamation on one end. Place sticks at the end of a sentence and see how
the punctuation changes the meaning.
High Frequency Words – Highlight word wall words that are in poems. Pass out flash cards with words and challenge children to match them with words in the poem.
Word Study – Select words from poems and identify the root word. Is there a prefix, suffix, or other ending? Add endings to root words from
the poem for the children to identify.
Parts of Speech – Ask children to identify verbs, nouns, and other parts of
speech in poetry.
Sparkle Words – Sparkle words (adjectives and adverbs) add “color” and interest to poems. Challenge children to find “sparkle words” in poems. Write these words with glue on a poster and sprinkle with glitter. Encourage children to add these “sparkle words” to their own creative writing.
Comprehension – After reading a poem, ask appropriate questions that will develop comprehension skills.
Is there a main character? What was the setting? When did the poem take place? What happened at the beginning? Middle? End? Was there a problem or resolution? What will happen next? What was the main idea?
Genres of Literature – Help children recognize different types of literature through poetry.
Could the poem really happen or is it pretend? Poems and books that are pretend are called “fiction” and those that are real are called “non-fiction.” Is the poem humorous or serious? Does it tell a story (epic) or is it just a rhyme?