Incorporating Poetry in the Classroom

Title: Poetry Speaks to Children

Authors: Many!
Editor: Elise Paschen 

Copyright: 2005 

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Reading Level: Lexile: 630L  

Genre: Fiction and Nonfiction Poetry

Summary: This diverse collection of great poetry is something every elementary school teacher should have in their classrooms, and also something every family should have in their homes. There are many famous poems within this collection, like some from Robert Frost and even Roald Dahl (author of the famous Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda). The mix of the different types of poems is what makes this collection amazing. There are various non-fiction and fiction poems within the novel. Some of the poems are funny, like "Daddy Fell Into the Pond".  Other poems are great for holidays, as "Knitted Things" would be great for Halloween. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" would be a perfect poem to read aloud for Black History month. There is such a great mix of poetry within this collection, as pretty much any poem would be perfect for many different lessons. The collection has a CD included, with many of the poems being read by their original authors. Students who need to hear the text being read while reading along will benefit greatly.

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud

Key Vocabulary: 

• In "The Adventures of Isabel"by Ogden Nash
• Cavernous
• Concocter
• Enormous
• Hideous
• In "The Quarrel"by Maxine Kumin
• Quarrel
• In "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" by Eugene Field
• Afeard
• Dew
• Herring
• Ruffled
• In "The Tyger" by William Blake
• Furnace
• Immortal
• Seize
• Sinews
• In "Summer" by W.D. Snodgrass
• Astraddle
• Sidesaddle
• Skedaddle

Electronic Resources:

• The CD included with the book will be great to use in the classroom. If the teacher's voice is weak from recovering from an illness, or if the teacher is just not really in the mood to read aloud a poem - the teacher could play the audio CD for the classroom while the classroom completes activities for certain poems.

• For the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" written by Robert Frost, I would show this video. With the use of visuals, this video will help students be able to better comprehend the poem. This poem will also be great to read to students during winter months.

Increasing Comprehension Skills:

Before Read Aloud:

• Before a poem is read aloud, I would come up with a list of key vocabulary for the poem. Some of the key vocabulary listed above for certain poems would work well. With these vocabulary words, make sure students complete a word sort. Sample columns in a word sort for this activity would be: noun, verb, adjective.  Students will then sort each word into the category in which the word belongs. Here is an example of a word sort (found on this blog): 

• Students can also fill out a KWL chart for the subject of the poem. For example, if the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is the poem of choice for a read aloud, I would have students fill out a KWL chart for what the civil war and/or the topic of segregation.

During Read Aloud:

• When reading the poem, point out key vocabulary words and ask students what each word means when the word is read.  The repetition of these words will help students' vocabulary knowledge strengthen. 

• Students can create a concept map for a poem being read.  For example, if the poem of choice for the read aloud were "Eagle Poem" by Joy Harjo, a concept map could be created about the Eagle and the Eagle's environment.  Here is a great site for creating electronic concept maps if a whiteboard or SMART Board are not options. 

After Read Aloud:

• Students can practice their vocabulary knowledge by creating a dictogloss.  Here are some instructions for implementing the dictogloss technique:

o  Give students a diagram for the dictogloss, like the one I have included after these

    directions. Make sure the poem was already read to the students before, so they are 

    already familiar with the text. This makes it easier for students to rearrange the text. 

    The section picked out will be read aloud three times, in total. Tell students to focus on 

    listening and remembering important factual content

o   Read the text the first time. After the text is finished being read, make sure students

    write down notes in the leftmost section of a chart or a graphic organizer created for

    this activity. Give them about 5 minutes to do this individually. I found a sample

    located at the bottom of this document.

o   Read the same text a second time and repeat steps above.

o   Read the same text a third time and repeat steps above.

o   Split students up into pairs or trios and make sure they compare their notes with each 

    other.  Display the original text on a projector for the entire class to see.  Give students 

    about 5-10 minutes to discuss their text and come up with similarities.  

• Students would love to create a blabberize for a poem that was read. I have created an example for enjoyment. My blabberize is of a Joey - a baby kangaroo. Students will love creating a blabberize, and it will help with their comprehension as they will summarize events in the poem to describe the character they choose to blabberize! 

Writing Activity:
It would be really awesome if students wrote their own poems as a writing activity! They could write about their favorite activity, animal, food, person, or place! This activity can be creative - as long as they write a poem and stick to some rules about writing poetry.  A haiku would be a fun poem to use as this activity, or they could create couplet poems to practice their rhyming skills. Students will love this activity!

Tiffany Tidbit - This poetry collection is a must-have for the classroom and certainly for a family. However, some poems in this collection are a bit goofy, and might not be appropriate to teach lessons around in the classroom. One of the poems I would not read aloud in the classroom is, "About the Teeth of Sharks", written by John Ciardi. Although the poem is not really inappropriate, per say, the ending of the poem is a bit suggestive as it refers to someone being consumed by a shark. Another poem I would not read aloud is called "Gas", written by C.K. Williams. This poem is about...yes, farting. The poem also teaches readers/listeners to blame others for passing gas. Not appropriate at all for the classroom, however, it would be a funny laugh for a bedtime poem. Parents - just remember to tell your child that blaming others for your actions is not the right thing to do! I really enjoyed this collection otherwise!