Poetry in the Classroom

Poetry is an important part of every child's learning process. Below is three describable centers for preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Children will gain knowledge though poetry!

Center One: Poetry and Writing

At this center students create their own journal of poetry. Three subjects will be integrated: poetry, writing, and art. Weekly students will be given a visual prompt: apple, shape, or a weather display such as a snowflake, or a pumpkin, words written on paper such as respect, kind, smile, etc. The visual prompt will depend on the month and what kinds of elements are going on during that time. The poems will be collected and published in a book called My Poetry Book later in the school year. A Small group of students will work individually at this center, social interaction is promoted and students learn to theory-build.

At the Poetry Writing Center students will be prompted to write their poems utilizing Acrostic, Haiku, Cinquzin or free-write. During free-write children can choose any one subject they wish. How they wish to write their poem and what they would like to write about is completely up to them. Sample poems will be displayed on the wall according to the layout of the poem they are writing that week. If the children are writing acrostic poems that week, then acrostic poems will be placed on the wall. If the visual prompt is an apple that week, then the children will write about this apple using the first letters of the apple.

Acrostic Poem Example:

Apples are delicious

Plus they are sweet

Picking green apples is smart

Love the taste

Everyone eats them.

Journals for each student will be placed in cubbies. On the outside of each journal students will write, “My Poetry Book,” their names will go on the inside. On a desk students will find colored and regular pencils, and blank paper. Clip boards will be in a plastic bin on the floor. Additional bins will have an ABC dictionary and laminated editing sheets.

Once students gather their materials they can sit in a circle on the carpet at the gathering area. The visual prompt for that week (an apple) will in the middle of the carpet on a small table. While students sit with their materials they begin brainstorming on how they wish to proceed writing the poem. Two baskets with the names Conference and Ready for Journal will sit opposite side of the students’ journals. Once students are done with their first draft on regular paper and they have edited their work, they will place their poem in the Conference basket. Once the teacher edits the work, she will place it back in the basket labeled Ready for Journal, then students can pick up their poem and begin to write it in their journals. Students can also draw a picture of the topic in their journals too.

Center Two: Poetry and Word Work

At this center students Read-to-Self, Read-to-Someone or listen to poetry books on tape. Each week a variety of genre will be put in the bins. Daily students can choose which literacy activity they wish to engage in. In the reading area students can choose to sit on bean bags and or sit on the floor with carpet mats.

Each student will have their own book box on a shelf and names will write on these box boxes. Students can have up to 4 books per box. The book must contain poetry and be a good “fit” book that helps that student work on their literacy skills. Each book box will contain a journal. In the journal students can write about the characters and then make-up their own story.

Up against a wall two more book shelves hold a broad range of poetry books. The books are put in bins and labeled by category. Bins will include: animals, shapes, family, musical poems, tongue twisters, nursery rhythms, fairy tales, school is cool, funny characters, counting, abs’s, team work, respect, the four seasons, etc.

Children can listen to poetry on tape. Poetry tapes with books will sit in a basket on a small table with two chairs. The table will be pushed up against a wall. On the wall children will see poetry poems, poetry songs, and chants. The poems on the wall will differ depending on the poetry topic for that week. One week the poetry topic could be nursery rhymes, so nursery rhymes poems will be on the wall.

Next to the books on tapes there will be a couple of folders stapled to the wall. One folder will have a word list. On this word list students can write words they are having trouble saying and or understanding what the word means. Students can write the word on this list, and then at the end of the week I would convey to the students how to say the word and give its meaning. Or when students are done reading their book they can write a short summary about what they read.

Center Three: Poetry and Author Study

Every two weeks a new poetry author will be introduced to the class. Students will learn rhythm words and how to create their own poetry story from the books and poems the author has written. My example author for this assignment is Robert Pottle.

Students will learn how to build sentence puzzles. At this station students will read the author’s poems and or books and look for words that rhythm. Then students will go to the rectangle table, sit down, and begin making sentences from the rhythm words found. At the table some sentence structured words written on the index cards will be provided by the teacher. Students will write their rhythm words on index cards. Once students write out their words, they can combine all the index cards together and then form a sentence. The goal is for the students to create their own poem.

Many poems from the author will go on the wall. Each poem will be placed at eye level and in large print. Poems such as When Santa Claus Came to School, The Test, My New School, The First Day of School, The Artist, and Room Cleaning Robot are a few poems written by Robert Pottle. Poem of the Week will go in the middle of the other poems, the poems theme could revolve around school, home, family, etc. Robert Pottle wrote a poem called The First Day of School. Students could take this poem and make up their own poem about their feelings about the first day of school.

Books by the author will be found in a bin or two in the corner of the room. Books written by Robert Pottle could included: If Kids Ruled School, Moxic Day and Family, Moxic Day and the Prankster, Maine: The Way Life Should Be, Maine: The Way Life Is, I’ve Been Burping in the Classroom, Miles of Smiles, Twinkle Twinkle Little Tot, I’m Allergic to School, My Teacher’s in Detention, Dinner with Dracula, etc. Above the book bins students can find a folder with a list a list of books written author. Students can take the list and use it as a reference is case they wish to further their author study at the school or public library.

Resource:

Pottle, Robert Funny poems & children's poetry by Robert Pottle!. Retrieved July 6, 2008, from Funny poems & children's poetry by Robert Pottle! Web site: http://www.robertpottle.com/