LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Happy Spring Everyone!!!
A while ago I posted a request for poetry lessons. I was looking for
inovative, tried and tested ideas to share for teaching poetry to young
children. I want their first experiences with poetry to be really fun.
These are my responses. Thank-you to all who took the time.
********
I just finished a poetry unit with all my students K - 5, and like you, I
was looking for something for my youngest students. We did all the usual
things - they really loved doing nursery rhymes because they already knew
them! I did use something different that I felt was lots of fun-- Have you
seen Bruce McMillan's (sp? I'm at home, not near my books!) books "One Sun"
and "Play Day"? They are books of two word rhymes with a full page
corresponding picture. For instance, a child's hand covered with sand and
the poem is Sand Hand. We did several together and them I covered the word
page and let them try to figure out the poem from the picture. Although it
was really too difficult for my kdg. kids, we had so much fun and it helped
them realize that poetry can be so many things. We compared those two word
poems to poem stories such as Dr. Seuss and I was very pleased with how
things worked out. I think introducing children to poetry -- in all its
wonderful forms -- is such a privilege. I hope your unit works out
wonderfully!
********
I recently borrowed a "HUMUNGO Magnetic Poetry kit for Kids" from our CESA
(Cooperative Educational Services Area) library. While I didn't develop the
unit as much as I'd have liked to, I found that the magnetic words generated
a lot of enthusiasm.
I defined poetry as being the use of few, well-chosen words to express an
idea and showed the students the words and told them that we would choose
from the set to make an idea. Some encouragement was needed to feel free to
abandon typical sentence structure in first grade. I think it would be
difficult to use the Magnetic Poetry kits at K level because of the low
number of words that they can recognize.
Sorry, I've lost the CO.s phone no. but the address is Magnetic Poetry
PO BOX 14862
Minneapolis, MN 55414
********
Buy some plastic Easter eggs. Put a poem in each and a piece of
candy. Hide the eggs in the media center. Let them find them ( I had each
student find only one and then return). Open up the eggs and share the
poetry while they eat the candy. Some of the students will be able to read
the poems others not. Have fun.
********
This is NOT my idea, but I can't remember where I found it:
Make "pockets" from construction paper & attach to bulletin board
Make copies of short, interesting poems & put them in the pockets
Read "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" (& put copy on board if you want) &
several of the poems you've put in pockets
Let children choose 1 poem copy to take & keep in their pocket
Kids could also decorate pocket folders (use pocket pattern but make a
little larger & fold paper in half...does that make sense??) to keep or
write poems in.
********
I love doing poetry with these ages! With all levels, I emphasize that
poetry is fun, can be about any subject, doesn't have to rhyme. We do
various recitations of familiar poems, either as a group, or just me, with
them joining in on the chorus. I share picture book versions of story poems
("Casey at the Bat - the Polacco version: great for 2/3rd grade; "Custard
the Dragon" for 3rd grade)
Kindergarten: We do a lot with nursery rhymes at this age. We act out
familiar ones (sometimes coaching the actor first, and having the rest of
the class guess which rhyme it is). I share "Mother Goose" poetry from
around the world - there are books with Spanish, Chinese, and Russian rhymes
that you can find in your public library. (I love using my Matreshka doll
for the Russian rhymes)
1st grade: I bring a lot of types of poetry to show them (short, long,
rhyming and not, haiku, funny, thoughtful, issue-oriented). The books by
Douglas Florian (Beast Feast, etc.) are great to show, as is _Splish Splash_
(Joan B. Graham) with the shapes of the poems. They really relate to the
food poems, and ones about school. They love the Jack Prelutsky,
Silverstein, Douglas Florian collections. We could spend weeks on this.
2nd grade: We have a curriculum that deals exclusively with folklore, so the
poetry has to wait for the next year. The teachers, however, present a lot
of poetry, using the _Random House Book of Poetry_ as one of their core
books.
3rd grade: (I'm doing it this week!). We briefly talked about poetry, then I
grouped the kids in groups of three. Handed out 3 poetry books to each group
and they were to spend a few minutes looking at the different kinds of
poetry available. After a few minutes, I switched the books among the
groups. They found poems that they wanted to share with the class. (E.E.
Cummings puzzled them a lot, until I shared his eccentricities)
********
Fun poetry..Red Dragonfly on my Shoulder Hiaku
My Little Sister Ate One Hare
Old Black Fly
Slugs
The Dragons are Singing Tonight
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
Jackdaws...filling clear containers with items that are ementinoned
in a poem or what the reader imagines from reading or hearing the poem.
I've seen mason jars used.
"Coffee house" reading of their own creations
Poetry newsletter
Shape poems words and lines creating animal shapes, etc.
Shape books..with all the poems about the animal or item
*****
Jo Ann Loberg - Library Media Generalist
Breck School
Minneapolis, MN
joloberg@bitstream.net
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