Poetry

My last chapter I chose for my “Fab 4” was chapter 9, poetry.  The reason I chose to do this chapter is because I always dreaded reading poetry when it was assigned to me.  I felt that if I read this chapter, it would help me get a better understand as to why poetry is an important component in literature.  Poetry for children conveys the experiences and perceptions of the child in a way that is meaningful and not condescending.  When assigning poetry in a classroom, it engages the children in a new and heightened understanding of the world, themselves, and others.  In addition, it provides opportunities for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds to develop important oral skills through reading and performing poetry.  In this chapter, it talked about drawing pictures of the poetry of what the students read, thinking aloud, using a spiderobics chart located on page 24, and performing poetry.  In my classroom, I would have my students explore and choose poems. I would then have them read and discuss some of the poems as a class. I would have them choose one poem to recite and act out.  I would have them get with a group and have one student perform their poem and have a group discussion about how the students interpreted and presented the poem.

Some examples of poetry:

Hickory, Dickory, Dock by Keith Baker (Grades 1-2)

A twist on an old favorite features some serious antics on the part of a busy little mouse. As a huge grandfather clock strikes each hour from one o' clock in the afternoon to midnight, a different animal passes by, and the mouse has a funny interaction with each of them.  The story includes counting, telling time, and a cozy bedtime ending to engage them the reader.

My Teacher’s in Detention by Bruce Lansky (Grades 3-4)

This book covers wild and wacky school topics, like bringing skunks to show-and-tell, falling asleep at your desk, and ripping your pants on the playground. The big-timers of children’s poetry have converged on the pages of this book to deliver the very best in school poetry.

My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil (Grades 5-6)

A playful collection of classroom portraits made from creative groupings of objects includes a picture of the narrator's intelligent best friend comprised of a globe, pencil and magnifying glass.