April 2016
WORD SUBSTITUTION
WHY? vocabulary, language play, thesaurus
WHAT? large copies of poems, pocket charts, big books, sticky notes,
markers
HOW? After reading a poem or nursery rhyme, encourage children to
substitute similar words. For example, if you took “Little Miss Muffet,” you could ask children for another word for “little,” “tuffet”, “curds and whey,” etc. Write children’s suggestions
on sticky notes and put them over the original word. You might end
up with something like this:
Small Miss Muffet
Sat on her stool
Eating her cottage cheese.
Along came an arachnid
Who sat down beside her
And scared Miss Muffet away.
Model how to look words up in a thesaurus to find synonyms.
MORE? Substitute words that rhyme in poems. Children will enjoy this because of the nonsense involved. Little Boy Blue might become:
Little Boy shoe
Come blow your torn.
The sheep’s in the fellow,
The cow’s in the morn.
Where is the toy
Who looks after the jeep?
He’s under the toy stack
Fast a peep.
Let each child take a traditional nursery rhyme and change a few words to make their own rhyme. Illustrate these and bind together to make a class book.
VOCABULARY
WHY? increased vocabulary, dictionary skills
WHAT? poems, dictionaries, thesaurus
HOW? Poetry is a perfect way to expand vocabulary. Simply by listening to
poetry, children will indirectly be exposed to new words. New words can also be studied directly. Encourage children to pick out words from poems that they are not familiar with. Demonstrate strategies for figuring out what new words might mean.
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Use text to predict the word meaning.
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Look for root words, endings, etc. that might give a clue as to the meaning.
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Model how to look up words in a dictionary. Review the different definitions, and then select the one most appropriate to the text.
Frequently use new vocabulary in daily conversations with the children.
MORE? Keep a list of “new words” children discover together. Call the list “Word Power” and invite children to add words to the list.
MENTAL IMAGERY
WHY? comprehension, emotions
WHAT? poems
HOW? Being able to visualize what is happening in a story, poem, or text
is a strategy for improving comprehension. Have children close their eyes as you read different poems to them. Encourage the
children to make a picture in their brains to go along with what they hear. After listening to the poem, encourage the children to discuss the pictures that they made in their heads.
MORE? Divide children into pairs and have them describe (a.k.a “think out loud”)
what poems mean with their partner.
Ask the children to draw pictures or write about emotions the poem
evoked.
What other places or things did this poem make you think about?
Challenge children to connect what they’ve read to own their lives!
REFLECTIONS/CRITIQUES
WHY? critical thinking, comprehension; analysis
WHAT? variety of poems
HOW? Ask questions similar to those below after reading different poems.
Did you like it? Why? Why not?
Do a hand vote by holding up 1-5 fingers (five being the highest).
If the poet could tell you what she had in mind…
If you could ask the poet a question…
How did the poem make you feel?
Is it a happy poem? Sad
poem? Angry poem? Love poem?
Does it rhyme?
How many syllables are in each line?
Is it real or pretend? (Fiction or non-fiction?)
Read poems different ways (with different voices).
Which one
fits the poem best?
Is it a narrative poem? Does it tell a story?
Is it a lyric poem? Is it like a song?
What is the setting? Is there a main character? What is the main
idea?
WE’RE POETS AND WE KNOW IT!
WHY? interest in reading and writing
WHAT? language experience chart, markers
HOW? Ask the children, “What do poets do?” Write their responses on a
language experience chart. As you write their responses, comment,
“You know, we can do that, too.” Next, ask them, “Who can be a poet?”
Encourage them to think of themselves as poets because they can all write poems!
MORE? Invite a local poet to speak to your class. Most poets have other jobs and poetry is their avocation. This is an important concept for children. You can be a teacher, a cowboy, or a nurse - and be a poet, too!
Take a “Poetry Field Trip” on the internet and see if you can find
sites with poems for children.
POETRY POCKET
Fold a sheet of construction paper in half. Trim the inside section to create a 1 ¼” frame as shown.
Let children decorate the frame with
their name, pictures, stickers, etc.
Open and laminate. Fold in half again and tape the sides to create a pocket. Staple to a bulletin board or tape to children’s lockers.
Let children write poems and display them in their
poetry pockets. This way all children’s work can be displayed and they
can make their own decisions about what they want to share with others.
Hint! You can also use a file folder to make a poetry pocket.
HOW TO WRITE A POEM!
WHY? integration of reading and writing
WHAT? paper, pencils, pens, markers, overhead, chalkboard, poetry books
HOW? Ask the children, “What is a poem?
Do poems have to rhyme?
Do they have to make sense?” Take a common word and write it on the board. Have children brainstorm all the words that rhyme
with that word. Encourage each child to think of two sentences using
the rhyming words. Write the children’s two-line poems on the board as they dictate them. Read over the poems after you write them.
MORE? Challenge each child to take a word and write all the words that they
can think of that rhyme with their word. (They could use their name,
a holiday, favorite color, food, a vocabulary word from a unit of study,
etc.)
Next, have them write two or more simple sentences using the
rhyming words. Invite children to read their poems to classmates.
ACROSTIC
WHY? integration of reading and writing, phonics
WHAT? writing materials
HOW? An acrostic is an easy way to begin writing poetry. Model how
to do this on the board by writing a word vertically. Have children to think of a word that begins with each letter. Read over what you have written, and you have a poem.
Name Acrostic – Children think of a word that describes them for
each letter in their name.
Holiday or Season- Write the holiday or season and then add an adjective
that begins with each letter.
Non-fiction – Write a vocabulary word from a unit or theme and then challenge children to write a word that begins with each letter.
Real Object – Have children observe a real object and then write an
acrostic poem about it.
Field Trip- Follow up a field trip with an acrostic poem.
BLANK POEM
WHY? vocabulary, parts of speech, rhyme and alliteration
WHAT? overhead, chart paper, dry erase board, etc.
HOW? Write several lines of poetry, leaving blanks at the end of each line.
Encourage the children to fill in words that rhyme. Have them help
you sound out the words as you write them. For example:
I saw a pig
Who could ______.
I saw a cat
Who could ______.
I saw a sheep
Who could ______.
And I can rhyme
Any time!
Give each child a sheet of paper with a different rhyme and a blank.
Ask them to fill in a rhyming word and illustrate their sentence. Put these
together to make a collaborative book.
MORE? Have children brainstorm words that rhyme with “pig” or whatever
word is in the sentence. Try out these words and let the children choose the one that they like best.
Use similes for blank poems. For example, children could fill in the line to
“Hungry as a _____. Quiet as a______.
Sleepy as a ______. Mad as a _______.
Good as _______. Sweet as ______.”
And so on.