POET TREE

HERE'S A POEM FOR YOUR POCKET!

A Poem 

By Dr. Holly

A poem, a poem
Is a very special thing.
It takes the words
And makes them sing.

A poem is a present,
A poem is a treat
With words piled like ice-cream
In your bowl to eat!

A poem, a poem
Is a treasure and an art
So always carry one
With you in your heart.

Let children make a pocket and keep their favorite poem in it. Encourage them to exchange poems with classmates and read to each other.

Hint! To make a poetry pocket seal an envelope, cut it in half, punch holes and tie on a string. Children can decorate these and then wear them around their neck.

Here are some other ideas for celebrating poetry month in your classroom:

A Poem a Day
Choose a poem and read it to your class at the beginning of each day. You can read it and “let it be.” Or, you could use the poem to introduce vocabulary or to spark a discussion.
*Assign each child a different day to be responsible for bringing in the poem. This would be a good activity for children to do with their parents.


Poet “Tree”
Use an old Christmas tree or stick several large, dry branches in a pot of dirt. Invite children to write or illustrate a poems on index cards and then attach to the tree with clothespins. Encourage children to “pick a poem” and read!

Laurel Wreath
Just for fun, let children make laurel wreaths out of paper plates and leaves. The Greeks awarded these in Olympic events for sports as well as poetic meets. 

POETRY MONTH

When your give children a song and rhyme,

You give them a gift that will last for all time!

It’s true! We keep songs and poems that we learn when we are young in our hearts and minds all of our lives. Since April is National Poetry Month, I’m going to focus my blogs this week on poetry.

Here are eight great reasons for integrating poetry in your classroom:

Poetry develops oral language.
Poetry develops auditory memory.
Poetry helps children make print connections.
Poetry develops phonological awareness (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration).
Poetry enhances fluency.
Poetry develops vocabulary.
Poetry sparks children’s interest in reading.
Poetry helps children fall in love with language.

With all the emphasis on standards and assessment, poems can be like a breath of fresh air. They can add joy, imagination, creativity, and FUN to your classrooms!

Here are some ways to celebrate poetry month in your classroom or in your school.

Poetry Club
Write “Poetry Club” on a poster and decorate with glitter. Explain that anyone who stands up in front of the class and recites a nursery rhyme or poem can be a member of the poetry club. (You might want to model reciting a poem for them.) After they’ve recited their poem, let them sign their name on the poster.



*Design a membership card for the poetry club and run off on card stock. Present one to the children after they’ve recited a poem for their classmates.

Poetry Café
Plan a poetry party for your students called the “Poetry Café.” Involve children in planning refreshments, making decorations, writing invitations, etc. Encourage each child to learn and practice reciting a poem. Explain that in the coffee houses instead of clapping, the audience would “snap” their fingers for the poets.


Parents and Poems
Ask children to interview their parents about poetry using some of the prompts below:

Do you like poems? Why? Why not?
What’s your favorite poem?
Do you have a favorite poet?
Did you learn any poems when you were a child?
Do you have a poetry book?


Visiting Poet
Invite a poet from your community to visit and read poetry. Encourage the children to generate questions to ask the author before her visit.


Poetry Wall of Fame
Decorate a bulletin board in the front hall or lunchroom and encourage teachers to display their students’ poems on it.


Poetry Detectives
Challenge the children to be “detectives” and locate the poetry section in your school library. Learn this rhyme:

For an emergency call 911 any time.

In the library 811 for a poem or rhyme.

Poetry Hunt
Cut out magazine pictures of different objects and glue them on index cards. Place the cards in a sack and have each child draw one. Can they find a poem to go with their picture? Where could they look to find a poem?

WE'RE POETS AND WE KNOW IT!

Ask the children, “What do poets do?” As they respond comment, “You know, we can do that, too. We can all write poems and be poets!!!” Here are some simple activities to start your students on the road to writing poetry.


ACROSTIC
An acrostic is an easy way to begin writing poetry. Model how to do this on the board by writing a word vertically. Have children to think of a word that begins with each letter. Read over what you have written, and you have a poem.

Name Acrostic – Children think of a word that describes them for each letter in their name.


Holiday or Season- Write the holiday or season and then add an adjective that begins with each letter.

Non-fiction – Write a vocabulary word from a unit or theme and then
challenge children to write a word that begins with each letter.

Hint! Make banners or puzzles from poems that the children create.


BLANK POEM
Write several lines of poetry, leaving blanks at the end of each line. Encourage the children to fill in words that rhyme. Have them help you sound out the words as you write them. For example:

I saw a pig
Who could ______.
I saw a cat
Who could ______.
I saw a sheep
Who could ______.
And I can rhyme
Any time!

*Use similes for blank poems. For example, children could fill in the line to “Hungry as a _____. Quiet as a______. Sleepy as a ______. Mad as a _______. Good as _______. Sweet as ______.” And so on.


PREDICTABLE POEMS
Give children predictable sentences similar to the ones below. All children have to do is fill in a missing word, and they’ll have a poem.
Hint! They can use words that rhyme, nonsense words, or words that don’t rhyme.

I like_____.
I like _____
I like _____.
Do you like____?

I can _____.
I can_____.
I can_____.
Can you_____?

*I know….I wish….My mom is…Dogs can….Spring is….Green is…. And so forth!
*Write predictable poems using the five senses. It looks like…It sounds
like…It tastes like… It smells like…It feels like…It’s a ….


Poetry Quilt
Give each child a square and let them write an original poem or rhyme on the square. Let them decorate a frame around their poem with crayons. Glue the children’s squares to a large sheet of bulletin board paper. Be sure to leave at least an Inch between the squares. Take 12” pieces of yarn and tie them in bows. Glue the bows between the squares so it will look like a quilt.

Windsock
Give children a sheet of paper 12” x 8”. Let them illustrate or write an original poem on the paper. Next, glue 12” x 1” tissue paper strips on the bottom of the paper. Bring the edges together to make a cylinder and staple. Punch 3 holes in the top and tie on 12” pieces of string. Bring the ends of the string together and knot.

NUTTY TO THE RESCUE

Here's a new story/poem created by Alex May.

YouTube Narrated:

https://bit.ly/drJPipNarrated

YouTube Silent

https://bit.ly/drJPipSilent

A POEM FOR YOUR POCKET

Pocket Poem
Seal an envelope, cut it in half, decorate, punch holes, tie on a piece of yarn, and let children choose a favorite poem or nursery rhyme to tuck inside.

Here's a poem for your pocket that my daughter Holly wrote.

A Poem

By Dr. Holly 

A poem, a poem 

Is a very special thing. 

It takes the words 

And makes them sing. 

A poem is a present, 

A poem is a treat 

With words piled like ice-cream 

In your bowl to eat! 

A poem, a poem 

Is a treasure and an art 

So always carry one 

With you in your heart. 

Visiting Poet
Invite a poet from your community to visit and read poetry. Encourage the children to generate questions to ask the author before her visit.


Poetry Café
How about a poetry party where you serve hot chocolate instead of coffee. Let children choose favorite poems for you to read or encourage them to recite nursery rhymes or finger plays. Explain that in the coffee houses instead of clapping, the audience would “snap” their fingers for the poets.

POEMS FROM MY PAST

MY WHISTLE
I bought a wooden whistle,
But it wouldn’t whistle.
I bought a steel whistle,
But it still wouldn’t whistle.
I bought a tin whistle,
And now I “tin” whistle!

THE MOON
I see the moon,
And the moon sees me.
God bless the moon,
And God bless me!

WISH UPON A STAR
Star light,
Star bright.
First star I see tonight.
Wish I may,
Wish I might,
Have this wish come true tonight!

FIND A PENNY
Find a penny.
Pick it up.
All day long
You’ll have good luck!
But if you give
It to a friend
Then your luck
Will never end.

LADY BUG
Lady bug, lady bug
Fly away home.
Hour house is on fire
And your children are lone.

WORMS
Nobody loves me,
Everybody hates me.
Guess I’ll go eat worms.
Short, fat, squishy ones,
Long, skinny, slimy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm.

POETRY = READING SKILLS

Are you (and your students) tired of skills, skills, skills? Well, take a look how poetry can "camouflage" those skills in a meaningful and engaging way.


Syllables
After reading a poem with your students, read it again clapping the number of syllables in each word. You could also snap, stomp, hop or make other movements for the syllables.




Rhyming Words
Following a reading, mention that you heard words that sounded alike at the end. Repeat two of the words that rhyme. Let’s read the poem again and see if you can listen for other words that rhyme. As children find words that rhyme, highlight them on the poem with highlighting markers or tape. Write sets of words that rhyme on the board. Underline the letters that are the same. Have children think of other words that have the same sound at the end. Write the rhyming words on the board as the children call them out.

Alliteration
Read poems that have strong alliteration. Ask children to identify words with the same beginning sound. Highlight the words in the poem or list them on the board. Can children add other words to the list that begin with the same sound?

Sound Scramble


Just for fun, choose an initial consonant sound and alliterate each word in a rhyme. For example: Bumpty Bumpty Bat Bon Ba Ball. Bumpty Bumpty bad ba breat ball…

Decoding Skills
As you come to unknown words in poems, stop and model how to sound them out by blending the sounds.

Predicting
Before reading a poem, encourage the children to look at the title or illustrations and predict what the poem might be about.

High Frequency Words
Highlight word wall words that are in poems. Pass out flash cards with words and challenge children to match them with words in the poem.

Parts of Speech
Ask children to identify verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech in poetry.

Comprehension
After reading a poem, ask appropriate questions that will develop comprehension skills. Is there a main character? What was the setting? When did the poem take place? What happened at the beginning? Middle? End? Was there a problem or resolution? What will happen next? What was the main idea?

Genres of Literature
Help children recognize different types of literature through poetry. Could the poem really happen or is it pretend? Poems and books that are pretend are called “fiction” and those that are real are called “non-fiction.” Is the poem humorous or serious? Does it tell a story (epic) or is it just a rhyme?

Mental Imagery
Being able to visualize what is happening in a story, poem, or text is a strategy for improving comprehension. Have children close their eyes as you read different poems to them. Encourage the children to make a picture in their brains to go along with what they hear. After listening to the poem, encourage the children to discuss the pictures that they made in their heads.

Hint! Cut a pocket off an old pair of pants and staple it to a bulletin board. Store favorite poems in the pocket and use them to reinforce your reading skills.

POETRY MONTH

When your give children a song and rhyme,

You give them a gift that will last for all time!

It’s true! We keep songs and poems that we learn when we are young in our hearts and minds all of our lives. Since April is National Poetry Month, I’m going to focus my blogs the next few days on poetry.

Here are eight great reasons for integrating poetry in your classroom:

Poetry develops oral language.
Poetry develops auditory memory.
Poetry helps children make print connections.
Poetry develops phonological awareness (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration).
Poetry enhances fluency.
Poetry develops vocabulary.
Poetry sparks children’s interest in reading.
Poetry helps children fall in love with language.

With all the emphasis on standards and assessment, poems can be like a breath of fresh air. They can add joy, imagination, creativity, and FUN to your classrooms!

Here are some ways to celebrate poetry month in your classroom or in your school.

Poetry Club
Write “Poetry Club” on a poster and decorate with glitter. Explain that anyone who stands up in front of the class and recites a nursery rhyme or poem can be a member of the poetry club. (You might want to model reciting a poem for them.) After they’ve recited their poem, let them sign their name on the poster.



*Design a membership card for the poetry club and run off on card stock. Present one to the children after they’ve recited a poem for their classmates.


Laurel Wreath
Just for fun, let children make laurel wreaths out of paper plates and leaves. The Greeks awarded these in Olympic events for sports as well as poetic meets.

Parents and Poems
Ask children to interview their parents about poetry using some of the prompts below:

Do you like poems? Why? Why not?
What’s your favorite poem?
Do you have a favorite poet?
Did you learn any poems when you were a child?
Do you have a poetry book?


Poet “Tree”
Use an old Christmas tree or stick several large, dry branches in a pot of dirt. Invite children to write or illustrate a poems on index cards and then attach to the tree with clothespins. Encourage children to “pick a poem” and read!