April is National Poetry Month. Here are eight great reasons for using poetry in your classroom:
1. Poetry develops oral language.
2. Poetry develops auditory memory.
3. Poetry helps children make print connections.
4. Poetry develops phonological awareness (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration).
5. Poetry enhances fluency.
6. Poetry develops vocabulary.
7. Poetry sparks children’s interest in reading.
8. Poetry helps children fall in love with language.
Although we teach in an educational system that is skill-based, it is O.K. to include something in your curriculum just because it brings you JOY! "The Swing" was my favorite poem when I was young because I loved to swing and the rhythm of the poem made me feel like I was actually swinging. We didn't have many books in my home, but this one was treasured.
Have your students close their eyes and make pictures in their brain as you share this poem with them today.
The Swing
By Robert Louis Stevenson
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside—
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown—
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
Did you have a favorite poem as a child? Share it with your students this week. For homework have them ask their parents to say a poem they liked as a child.