Poetry Resources

As I was writing my entry on Hailstones and Halibut Bones I realized my English Literature page lacked poetry resources. I decided to give poetry its own page and started collecting resources.

Academy of American Poets

Diamonte

Guidelines for Ten Poems

How to Write a Cinquain




Poetry Reading Strategies

Poetry Scavenger Hunt

Poetry Vocabulary

Poetry Writing with Jack Prelutsky

Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin

PoetryTeachers.com

Primary Resources

Hailstones and Halibut Bones

April is National Poetry Month. When I taught fourth grade we had to complete our poetry unit before April because of testing requirements. However, we would revisit poetry in fun ways during the month. The Academy of American Poets provides resources for those who want to engage children in learning more about poetry.

I used poetry as part of our weekly speaker's theater program, so I had a couple of boxes of poetry books in my classroom library for students to find poems to use for the exercise. I encouraged them to choose styles of poems and to explore different poets.

One book I was glad to see back in print was Hailstones and Halibut Bones. I was introduced to these color poems as a child. I loved the way the author gave colors personalities. When I was in school for education, I was unable to locate the book in print and could only write down copies of the poems to share with my students. Eventually I located a few second hand copies that I gave as gifts to family members.

While kids are naturally drawn to the humor and fun of Jack Prelutsky in A Pizza the Size of the Sun or Shel Silverstein in Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings it can be challenging to get kids to move on to new poets that do not focus on soley on humor and rhyme.

Mary O'Neill has been used not just to interest children in reading poetry, but as a means of getting them to write poems that do not rhyme or fit a specific poetic formula. For years, children have pondered what colors are after exploring her poetic definitions.

If you did not read Hailstones and Halibut Bones as a child, it is worth checking out of your local library and reading it with your children. This month is a great chance to check out the poetry section at your local library. Your children will have the chance to explore a variety of different styles, formats, and become more comfortable with a different genre of writing.

If you are looking for information on children's poets check out the Children's Author Blog Page.

Free poetry resources can be found on the Poetry Page.

Speaker's Theater

Speaker’s Theater like Reader’s Theater focuses on helping children develop reading fluency. However, Speaker’s Theater focuses most often on independent public speaking skills. Students are generally encouraged to choose a piece to read aloud to the class and assessed on fluency and presentation skills. Many teachers use this as a time to encourage exposure to poetry that can often be tough to fit into full curriculum schedules. Homeschooling parents can also use this format to encourage children to practice public speaking skills.

Unlike traditional recitation exercises, children are not required to memorize a poem. Many classrooms us a music stand as a podium to allow children to have a book or paper to read from. This allows them freedom from holding a book during the presentation. This often leads to presentations that are more creative and prevents children from hiding behind the book during the presentation.

Children should be encouraged to choose their own pieces and rehearse them prior to presentation. Setting up a schedule that gives children predictable expectations of when they will be reading, decreases anxiety and increases personal responsibility for preparing their performance. Homeschooling parents can determine how often this activity will occur. Most classrooms find that for every child to perform spreading children out over a weekly or biweekly schedule works best. Finding time to truly listen, evaluate, and provide useful feedback to each student requires time. It is better to spread out assignments than not to be able to provide each child with a meaningful activity.



Having poetry books in the classroom helps encourage children to engage in the activity. Homeschooling parents and teachers can get assistance from librarians in finding engaging material for children to read and present. The more the children enjoy the poems, the more they will be willing to practice and perform. In some schools, this tradition begins in Kindergarten and continues through elementary school. So many children have a long tradition with the activity. If it is something new being introduced, take the time to engage children with the process.



Rubrics:

Rubrics are often used with this activity to give children feedback on their performance. I was not able to find online versions, but I will add the Reader’s Theater Rubrics I posted in an earlier blog as they are very similar to Speaker’s Theater Rubrics I have used in the past. Read more...


Holt, Rinehart, and Winston

Humbolt

Learning Organizers

PBS





Picture Credits kittenpuff1 morguefile.com tinah morguefile.com