Poetry has never been easy for me to understand or write. I have always liked the cute rhymes, but that's about it. This chapter was encouraging for me because it showed the importance of introducing poetry as part of each day. Last year I taught first grade language arts and the series we used had a poem or rhyme set to music planned for each day. I did this activity “if” I had time. I realize after reading this chapter that I should have always made time for poetry. I remember enjoying Shel Silverstein poetry as a child. I recall the simple black drawings that accompanied each poem. I think that by using simple illustrations, the reader is able to use his imagination. Reading poetry out loud to students allows them to feel the poem and not struggle with the words or difficult rhythm. The 4th grade unit suggestions on page 350 were very helpful. I can see how to use poetry and adapt it for each grade level. Poetry can be great practice of literary skills, imagination, and artistic creativity. I believe that the focus on enjoyment, though, is what I will take from the chapter.
I agree Chris, poetry has NEVER been easy for me to write! I can read poems to a classroom full of kids, that is not a problem. During one of my required classes I had to take a class at the University, the first 8 weeks or so was Poetry the 2nd 8 weeks was story writing. The story writing I loved, however, when it was time for poetry. We did not just find poems we liked we had to write poems about specific topics and then get in a huge circle and read them!!! I do not think I have ever been more terrified in my life to read a poem that I had to write to 20 strangers! I think poetry is good to read and writed, I just know I will never force my students to stand in front of the class and read a poem they wrote, unless they want to!
I absolutely love poetry. So I think this is my favorite chapter so far! I think people either love poetry or they hate it. Some people say it is hard to understand but that is why I love it. Picking apart poetry and the depth behind it is difficult but it is challenging. Once you understand it, the piece is so moving. My favorite poet is Billy Collins. He is not a childrens poet but is amazing. He is a modern poet so he is very easy to relate to and understand. I liked how this chapter describes that with children you have to start with "nonsense" poetry. When they say poetry has to be read slowly and multiple times they are not joking! I have actually written a few pieces of poetry and it was challenging. I also agree that poetry is the best when listened to.
I think it's great about the assignment you had to do. It allows students to break out of their shell and find what is meaningful to them. But I can also understand from your point of view of how terrifying it must have been. I think it would have been easier if it was a poem that you didn't have to write!
Chapter 8 talks about poetry. Although I do like poems and enjoyed them as a child, I think they open up the imagination just as much as stories. Poems are more about emotion and feelings. Poems are also like riddles, you have to decipher the code to know what it means or what the writer is talking about. I was not surprised to find out that children prefer poems that rhyme, and are narrative. Older children prefer the same type of poems but also humorous. Personally, I prefer narrative anything in books and poems. The rhyming makes the poems more interesting and fun and also helps you children to play with words. All poems are not meant to tell a story so the narrative poems, I prefer especially for children past 1st grade. The “nonsense” poems are good for the younger children just starting out and being introduced to poetry itself. I was sad to hear that my library as well as my local book store did not carry the book “Carver: a life in poems” by Marilyn Nelson. But I have read books about George Washington Carver and his accomplishments. Overall this chapter had great insight in poetry and enjoyed it.
I agree with the chapter in this book that poetry attracts children and appeals to their emotions. While I was a teenager I use to write a lot of poetry to deal with my feelings. Therefore, I also agree that often poems can be easier for children to relate to and benefit from than some stories or books. As a CAP teacher, as I have mentioned before, I have used poetry for children struggling with reading skills. I really enjoy the poems by Shel Silverstein. I love the hidden meanings in poems. It is like a puzzle to be figured out.
Gracie, I also believe that children like poems that rhyme. I also believe that older children like the humor ones. "Where the Sidewalk Ends". is a great one too.
Chapter 8 gave me some really good ideas. I had forgotten about some of the poems I used to enjoy as a child, and the chapter mentioned those authors. I really liked the poems of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutzky. I thought their poems would be a really fun way to introduce poetry to an elementary classroom. The chapter made some good suggestions on teaching poetry writing and reading, such as by choral reading or different arrangements, and by using different styles like limericks or cinquains. I kept thinking that it would be fun to have a “poem of the week” in a classroom that kids could practice different reading or illustrative techniques with, and when they started to really learn how poetry works, start letting them write their own each week to share with the class if they wanted to. I think the Silverstein and Prelutzy poems would be a blast to illustrate!
I don’t remember having much experience with poetry in any grade in school as a child, but I watched first graders last year read poems from their reading text book. There was a poem at the beginning of each story that helped to introduce the topic, and the teacher would have the kids choral read it. Then they would discuss some of the imagery, etc. I don’t think the kids ever really got into it, though. They took their tests over the following story, so the poems weren’t a major focus. I think using the techniques from the book and adding some of my own to enhance the enjoyment of poetry would really help the students to get involved.
I think you're right when you say that people either love poetry or they hate it. Even the chapter talked about people who recalled bad experiences with poetry and had developed a dislike for it. I like poetry, but it still really has to mean something to me. I love funny children's poems, and I love emotional poems, but I don't like to sit and read long poems that have nothing to do with me. I think that is a key factor in making children understand and enjoy poetry since it is so hard to understand sometimes. You have to find something that they like and can relate to. (PS - I've written some poetry also! I haven't done it in a long time, though)
I'll be honest I have never really liked poetry. Most of the poetry I had to read in school was boring, long, and hard to understand. But as I have started reading to my children I have found some childrens poetry to be interesting and fun. This chapter gave me more insight as to what poetry really is. I still don't want to write it but can understand it better and be able to use it in teaching. To think that The Night Before Christmas is a poem. It is well loved and read at our house and this shows be that I didn't really understand poetry. Glad to read this chapter and get more insight.
It would have been A LOT easier to get in front of the class and read a poem that was written by someone else....but when you have to write it and stand up...its horrible! :)
When the book states that poetry is not generally liked because of how it is or is not presented to children that it is correct. I am not all that big into poetry. The only poetry that I do like is Shel Silverstein and Edgar Allen Poe. Both of these authors were read to me by a teacher and they made it fun. I really have no interest in any others. I think that for the most part poetry does not make a whole lot of sense to me. I know that is supposed to be the fun part but reading it I am like "What are they trying to say?". I will try to give poetry a chance for my future students so they can get the best education I can provide them.
I agree with you. I would not like to write poetry either, too many rules for me. This many syllables here the right beat there, ugh too much. I to am a huge fan of Night Before Christmas. It is a tradition in my house to read that book before bed every Christmas Eve. My son in now 11 and still loves it. I hope that my daughter will love it just as much. We snuggle together in our pajamas and have hot chocolate and read the book together. Then we sit out milk and cookies for Santa.
I really enjoyed this chapter about poetry. To this day, I can still recite every word of “Homework, Oh Homework” by Jack Prelutsky. I have always found children’s poetry to be one of my favorite forms of literature and our family library has copies of Shel Silverstein’s “Light in the Attic” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” that at one time were my prized possessions as a child. When my oldest son discovered nonsense poems and how much fun they were to read, he actually would choose reading Shel Silverstein over playing a video game. As a family, we played “poem roulette” where we would take one of the books and fan the pages until someone said “stop” and we would read the poem on that page. This was our way of not reading our favorites over and over again (since by that time we already had those all memorized) and with our game, we discovered many new favorites.
With as much as I love to read children’s poetry and share it with my children, I always struggled when it was time to write poetry. This chapter gave some wonderful ideas on how to overcome the writer’s block that I had with poetry and how to take those skills and teach children how to enjoy and love to write poetry. The chapter also provided numerous titles of poems that I am anxious to find and read and poetry collections that are on my list for our next library trip. I thought the ideas of sharing poetry on a daily basis in the classroom are wonderful and I hope to find a way to incorporate that into my classroom.
MirandaH - I love your idea about a "Poem of the Week" and think this would be a great idea to routinely incorporate poetry in the classroom and not just when we are working on that section. I think Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky poems would be great, and I'm sure that we will find that we can use many of the poems we compiled on our blog. I enjoyed your post and thanks for sharing such a great idea!
Poetry, poetry, poetry. I have to honestly say that I have never been a big fan of poetry. As a child I did like some poetry but only if it rhymed. I did enjoy reading the chapter and I have a better idea as to how important it is to introduce poetry to children at a very early age. I think that I would probably use poetry throught the school year and maybe make it a habit to at least use it once a week as a lesson or maybe more depending on how the children respond. The chapter was very informative and it gave great tips to that can be very useful in the classroom.
I totally agree with you Kristi. I too do not understand what they are trying to say or the moral of the poem because like you I have never really enjoyed poetry. I think that it would be to the best interest of the students to be given the opportunity to read and find out if they like poetry or not. The should be able to make those decisions throughout there educational life. I think that just because we don't like poetry we should deprive our future students so I definately agree with you about using poetry in the classroom.
I personally have never been a fan of poetry unless they are in Hallmark cards or sang by one of my favorite artists. However, I do understand the importance of understanding poetry and teaching it to children. I can remember as a eighth grader having a poetry unit. Learning about all the different poems and trying to decipher their underlining meanings was difficult at times but also rewarding. I remember getting to read the Outsiders, because Pony Boy like poetry and Robert Frost was cited in the book. The poem was a focal point of the book. I thought this was a interesting way to further relate poetry to us as people. This teacher made it fun. We even had to recite a poem as a group in from the class. It was interesting to learn about the importance of poetry for children. I found the sections defining the different types of poems valuable. My favorite type of poem is a Haiku, mostly because the poem does not have to rhyme. I also found the section illustrating how to apply poetry in the classroom helpful. Learning how to teach children how to write poetry will be essential during a poetry unit. I think it will also be important to allow the children to learn and develop writing skills while using their imaginations.
Maria C- I liked your idea on incorporating poetry into your class each week. I feel that is a neat idea. Miranda H- I also liked your idea for the poem of the week. I liked the way you two were thinking of ways to apply poetry to the classroom already. It was also nice to know I was not the only person that struggled with liking poetry. I read several reflections that also struggled with understanding and writing poems.
I loved the first part of the chapter expressing the values of poetry for children. I always enjoyed reading poems to my kids, because they were fun. Now I know that I was exposing them to so much more than just rhyming words. Not only was I expanding their vocabulary, but I was also drawing on their senses through imagery. The example of “Mummy Slept Late and Daddy Fixed Breakfast” was perfect for defining imagery. Each description of the pancake was very easily imaginable. I help instruct 3rd graders during small group literacy time. After reading this chapter I talked to the teacher about adding a poetry center to the class. She was excited about the idea. We have a large number of ESL students in this class that are really struggling with vowel sounds and rhyming words. I would like to see if carefully chosen poems can help them in this area. Writing, as well as reading the poems aloud, will benefit the entire class. My only issue with this chapter is the section about it being the teacher’s responsibility to introduce poetry. We have ten classrooms in our building, and I know of only one class that uses poetry outside of what is in the reading textbook. With all of its positive outcomes, why aren’t more teachers using poetry on a daily basis? I found this chapter very informative. I also enjoyed reading all the different examples the text gave. Some of them were fun, but there were some that were not pleasing. Even so, I do understand the importance of all the styles. I am excited to use some of the texts teaching techniques on my 3rd graders. It will definitely allow me to practice before becoming an educator.
Rebekah S., Sounds like you have had a lot of experience with poems. I love your idea about sharing poetry with a class on a daily basis. I am having a hard time understanding why more teachers are incorporating it at all. Not only are they fun, but I know many ESL students that could benefit greatly from the exposure to them. I am not a fan of those with deep meaning, but I am a HUGE fan of the nonsense ones that are just plain fun!
Kristi, I had an experience with poetry in high school that completely changed the way of looking at it. Before that time, I can't remember ever doing much with them. In 4th grade I know we had to wrtie different styles but they were a pain. While I was in High School, we had a fairly new English teacher with lots of great ideas. She loved poetry and helped us go in to the world of poetry. I continued to look for ways to identify with it or interpret it.
Chapter 8- Fortunately this is a chapter that I felt most familiar with. I recently took English Literature and spent a lot of time on poetry. We had a lot of read alouds in class and it was the most fun. I truly believe that most children would love poetry and find it easy to remember because of the rhythm. It can touch them if you can just get it across early in their school years.
Shadra, I enjoy reading your posts because you give great examples of things you have tried or seen used in classrooms. I do not see poetry used very much either. I remember doing a poetry book. The assignment was to find different categories of poetry and then use an art form to go with it. I still remember some of the poems in my book! It seems poetry is kind of like book reports, though. They have been replaced by other things for lack of time and the push to meet testing standards. Let us know how the poetry center goes!
I myself have never been into poetry. I always feel awkward reading it because sometimes they take a moment or too understand. And the more “cute” poems I don’t mind as much because they are usually simpler. After reading this chapter I can see why it is important to introduce children to poetry. After reading this chapter I think I might try writing a few of my own poems because in school, even though I sometimes had a hard time with poems, my teachers always enjoyed my poems and I even won best poem in middle school. Poetry gives children the opportunity to expand they their thoughts in terms of how to write. They may have thought that you can just tell stories or explain things. With poetry children can learn to use words in a more fun and creative way.
I agree with sharing poetry every day with students. You could even encourage students to bring their own. Have the children take turns and every day a different student could read a poem to the class. This chapter did have some awesome ideas to overcome writing block or even starting a poem in the first place
I definitely agree that poetry is very hard to like unless you have had good experiences or memories of it. I am kind of in betweeen on how I feel about it because I know that I have loved some and hated some. However, I do know that I hate writing poetry because for some reason I just cannot do it. It is awkward for me and maybe it is for everyone else who has a dislike for poetry. I would say that hopefully as a teacher I will be able to select poetry that I can say I love because I think that this will affect how my students feel about poetry in the long run. Poetry is definitely an area that I will be kind of scared to teach I think. I definitely understand why it is important for children and maybe that will help me try and discover a love for poerty.
I found this chapter really interesting because I have never really gotten into poetry. Once again I think that is due to being a kid that didn't have a lot of literature emphasis at home. I really had interest in the Teaching with Poetry section on page 346. I never thought that much about how much you can learn from poetry. Language appreciation, knowledge on concept, empathy, insights on self and others, and self expression are such big parts of learning, and is what poetry is all about. I never really thought about poetry like that before reading this chapter. I am going to try to work with my supervising teacher going forward and see how we can maybe incorporate poetry in our class.
I agree completely with Chris. I have never really understood poetry and every time in school when we had to do poetry I cringed because of it. I've never felt like i was good at it and i've never understood it either.
i liked this chapter because it helped me to understand it better. i never realized how many different types of poetry there are and I didn't realize that there are so many different types of poetry out there. I always thought that poetry pretty much to rhyme and had a type of pattern or else it wasn't really poetry. i really enjoyed reading all the different poems that they had posted.
I think it's cool how you used poetry to deal with your feelings. I wish that I would have been able to do that. After I was out of high school I used to write stories or a letter to no one about how I was feeling, but I never really thought about poetry.
I noticed a lot of people brought up the mode of how poetry is presented to young students. I never really remember how it was presented to me. I can't make any judgements on how it was presented to me because I don't remember. However, I do think that like many other things, if you over critique the work someone does it will turn them off of it. As the book said, let them experiment.
Who ever knew that poetry had so many values for our children? Honestly, I wouldn't have guessed that poetry had such an impact of enjoyment on children as it does. I've never really been a person who thoroughly enjoys poetry. I've read it when I've been assigned to, but I find a lot of it hard to understand. Something else I found intersting was that the traditional lullaby Hush, Little Baby is actually a form of poetry! Whoever knew.....I've actually sung this particular one to my children when they were babies and until now didn't realize that a lot of mother goose rhymes are lyrical poetry. So maybe I do like poetry and didn't even know it:-) I especially enjoyed the section where it talked about moving to poetry. I'm hoping to teach in the lower elementary someday and think this piece of information will be very helpful. What better way to get children inspired as to read a poem to them aloud and use it as an opportunity for them to experience and move freely to the sounds, characters and rhythms that poetry has to offer.
Shadra I'm interested to hear about your outcome with the third graders. I think it's a great idea and hope that you have great success with it. As we learned in the reading, one of the importances of poetry is that is plays such important roles in poetic expression, poetry encourages children to appreciate language and to expand their vocabularies. This just might be one of those little things that makes a "BIG" impact on your ESOL kids!!! Like you, I'm wondering why more teachers aren't using more poetry in their classrooms as well.
Poetry has never been easy for me to understand or write. I have always liked the cute rhymes, but that's about it. This chapter was encouraging for me because it showed the importance of introducing poetry as part of each day. Last year I taught first grade language arts and the series we used had a poem or rhyme set to music planned for each day. I did this activity “if” I had time. I realize after reading this chapter that I should have always made time for poetry.
ReplyDeleteI remember enjoying Shel Silverstein poetry as a child. I recall the simple black drawings that accompanied each poem. I think that by using simple illustrations, the reader is able to use his imagination. Reading poetry out loud to students allows them to feel the poem and not struggle with the words or difficult rhythm. The 4th grade unit suggestions on page 350 were very helpful. I can see how to use poetry and adapt it for each grade level.
Poetry can be great practice of literary skills, imagination, and artistic creativity. I believe that the focus on enjoyment, though, is what I will take from the chapter.
I agree Chris, poetry has NEVER been easy for me to write! I can read poems to a classroom full of kids, that is not a problem. During one of my required classes I had to take a class at the University, the first 8 weeks or so was Poetry the 2nd 8 weeks was story writing. The story writing I loved, however, when it was time for poetry. We did not just find poems we liked we had to write poems about specific topics and then get in a huge circle and read them!!! I do not think I have ever been more terrified in my life to read a poem that I had to write to 20 strangers! I think poetry is good to read and writed, I just know I will never force my students to stand in front of the class and read a poem they wrote, unless they want to!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love poetry. So I think this is my favorite chapter so far! I think people either love poetry or they hate it. Some people say it is hard to understand but that is why I love it. Picking apart poetry and the depth behind it is difficult but it is challenging. Once you understand it, the piece is so moving. My favorite poet is Billy Collins. He is not a childrens poet but is amazing. He is a modern poet so he is very easy to relate to and understand. I liked how this chapter describes that with children you have to start with "nonsense" poetry. When they say poetry has to be read slowly and multiple times they are not joking! I have actually written a few pieces of poetry and it was challenging. I also agree that poetry is the best when listened to.
ReplyDeleteGeoff-
ReplyDeleteI think it's great about the assignment you had to do. It allows students to break out of their shell and find what is meaningful to them. But I can also understand from your point of view of how terrifying it must have been. I think it would have been easier if it was a poem that you didn't have to write!
Chapter 8 talks about poetry. Although I do like poems and enjoyed them as a child, I think they open up the imagination just as much as stories. Poems are more about emotion and feelings. Poems are also like riddles, you have to decipher the code to know what it means or what the writer is talking about. I was not surprised to find out that children prefer poems that rhyme, and are narrative. Older children prefer the same type of poems but also humorous. Personally, I prefer narrative anything in books and poems. The rhyming makes the poems more interesting and fun and also helps you children to play with words. All poems are not meant to tell a story so the narrative poems, I prefer especially for children past 1st grade. The “nonsense” poems are good for the younger children just starting out and being introduced to poetry itself. I was sad to hear that my library as well as my local book store did not carry the book “Carver: a life in poems” by Marilyn Nelson. But I have read books about George Washington Carver and his accomplishments. Overall this chapter had great insight in poetry and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I agree with you about some poetry being hard to understand. you have to pick it apart to know what you are reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the chapter in this book that poetry attracts children and appeals to their emotions. While I was a teenager I use to write a lot of poetry to deal with my feelings. Therefore, I also agree that often poems can be easier for children to relate to and benefit from than some stories or books. As a CAP teacher, as I have mentioned before, I have used poetry for children struggling with reading skills. I really enjoy the poems by Shel Silverstein. I love the hidden meanings in poems. It is like a puzzle to be figured out.
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people either like poetry or they hate it. And I also agree that trying to figure it out is fun and interesting.
Gracie,
ReplyDeleteI also believe that children like poems that rhyme. I also believe that older children like the humor ones. "Where the Sidewalk Ends". is a great one too.
Chapter 8 gave me some really good ideas. I had forgotten about some of the poems I used to enjoy as a child, and the chapter mentioned those authors. I really liked the poems of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutzky. I thought their poems would be a really fun way to introduce poetry to an elementary classroom. The chapter made some good suggestions on teaching poetry writing and reading, such as by choral reading or different arrangements, and by using different styles like limericks or cinquains. I kept thinking that it would be fun to have a “poem of the week” in a classroom that kids could practice different reading or illustrative techniques with, and when they started to really learn how poetry works, start letting them write their own each week to share with the class if they wanted to. I think the Silverstein and Prelutzy poems would be a blast to illustrate!
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember having much experience with poetry in any grade in school as a child, but I watched first graders last year read poems from their reading text book. There was a poem at the beginning of each story that helped to introduce the topic, and the teacher would have the kids choral read it. Then they would discuss some of the imagery, etc. I don’t think the kids ever really got into it, though. They took their tests over the following story, so the poems weren’t a major focus. I think using the techniques from the book and adding some of my own to enhance the enjoyment of poetry would really help the students to get involved.
Stephanie-
ReplyDeleteI think you're right when you say that people either love poetry or they hate it. Even the chapter talked about people who recalled bad experiences with poetry and had developed a dislike for it. I like poetry, but it still really has to mean something to me. I love funny children's poems, and I love emotional poems, but I don't like to sit and read long poems that have nothing to do with me. I think that is a key factor in making children understand and enjoy poetry since it is so hard to understand sometimes. You have to find something that they like and can relate to. (PS - I've written some poetry also! I haven't done it in a long time, though)
I'll be honest I have never really liked poetry. Most of the poetry I had to read in school was boring, long, and hard to understand. But as I have started reading to my children I have found some childrens poetry to be interesting and fun. This chapter gave me more insight as to what poetry really is. I still don't want to write it but can understand it better and be able to use it in teaching. To think that The Night Before Christmas is a poem. It is well loved and read at our house and this shows be that I didn't really understand poetry. Glad to read this chapter and get more insight.
ReplyDeleteStephanie M
ReplyDeleteI too am happier listening to poetry than writing it. I believe that some people should write poetry while the rest of us listen.
It would have been A LOT easier to get in front of the class and read a poem that was written by someone else....but when you have to write it and stand up...its horrible! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen the book states that poetry is not generally liked because of how it is or is not presented to children that it is correct. I am not all that big into poetry. The only poetry that I do like is Shel Silverstein and Edgar Allen Poe. Both of these authors were read to me by a teacher and they made it fun. I really have no interest in any others. I think that for the most part poetry does not make a whole lot of sense to me. I know that is supposed to be the fun part but reading it I am like "What are they trying to say?". I will try to give poetry a chance for my future students so they can get the best education I can provide them.
ReplyDeleteDanica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I would not like to write poetry either, too many rules for me. This many syllables here the right beat there, ugh too much. I to am a huge fan of Night Before Christmas. It is a tradition in my house to read that book before bed every Christmas Eve. My son in now 11 and still loves it. I hope that my daughter will love it just as much. We snuggle together in our pajamas and have hot chocolate and read the book together. Then we sit out milk and cookies for Santa.
I really enjoyed this chapter about poetry. To this day, I can still recite every word of “Homework, Oh Homework” by Jack Prelutsky. I have always found children’s poetry to be one of my favorite forms of literature and our family library has copies of Shel Silverstein’s “Light in the Attic” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” that at one time were my prized possessions as a child. When my oldest son discovered nonsense poems and how much fun they were to read, he actually would choose reading Shel Silverstein over playing a video game. As a family, we played “poem roulette” where we would take one of the books and fan the pages until someone said “stop” and we would read the poem on that page. This was our way of not reading our favorites over and over again (since by that time we already had those all memorized) and with our game, we discovered many new favorites.
ReplyDeleteWith as much as I love to read children’s poetry and share it with my children, I always struggled when it was time to write poetry. This chapter gave some wonderful ideas on how to overcome the writer’s block that I had with poetry and how to take those skills and teach children how to enjoy and love to write poetry. The chapter also provided numerous titles of poems that I am anxious to find and read and poetry collections that are on my list for our next library trip. I thought the ideas of sharing poetry on a daily basis in the classroom are wonderful and I hope to find a way to incorporate that into my classroom.
MirandaH - I love your idea about a "Poem of the Week" and think this would be a great idea to routinely incorporate poetry in the classroom and not just when we are working on that section. I think Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky poems would be great, and I'm sure that we will find that we can use many of the poems we compiled on our blog. I enjoyed your post and thanks for sharing such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteChapter 8
ReplyDeletePoetry, poetry, poetry. I have to honestly say that I have never been a big fan of poetry. As a child I did like some poetry but only if it rhymed. I did enjoy reading the chapter and I have a better idea as to how important it is to introduce poetry to children at a very early age. I think that I would probably use poetry throught the school year and maybe make it a habit to at least use it once a week as a lesson or maybe more depending on how the children respond. The chapter was very informative and it gave great tips to that can be very useful in the classroom.
Kristi
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Kristi. I too do not understand what they are trying to say or the moral of the poem because like you I have never really enjoyed poetry. I think that it would be to the best interest of the students to be given the opportunity to read and find out if they like poetry or not. The should be able to make those decisions throughout there educational life. I think that just because we don't like poetry we should deprive our future students so I definately agree with you about using poetry in the classroom.
I personally have never been a fan of poetry unless they are in Hallmark cards or sang by one of my favorite artists. However, I do understand the importance of understanding poetry and teaching it to children.
ReplyDeleteI can remember as a eighth grader having a poetry unit. Learning about all the different poems and trying to decipher their underlining meanings was difficult at times but also rewarding. I remember getting to read the Outsiders, because Pony Boy like poetry and Robert Frost was cited in the book. The poem was a focal point of the book. I thought this was a interesting way to further relate poetry to us as people. This teacher made it fun. We even had to recite a poem as a group in from the class.
It was interesting to learn about the importance of poetry for children. I found the sections defining the different types of poems valuable. My favorite type of poem is a Haiku, mostly because the poem does not have to rhyme. I also found the section illustrating how to apply poetry in the classroom helpful. Learning how to teach children how to write poetry will be essential during a poetry unit. I think it will also be important to allow the children to learn and develop writing skills while using their imaginations.
Maria C-
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea on incorporating poetry into your class each week. I feel that is a neat idea.
Miranda H-
I also liked your idea for the poem of the week.
I liked the way you two were thinking of ways to apply poetry to the classroom already. It was also nice to know I was not the only person that struggled with liking poetry. I read several reflections that also struggled with understanding and writing poems.
I loved the first part of the chapter expressing the values of poetry for children. I always enjoyed reading poems to my kids, because they were fun. Now I know that I was exposing them to so much more than just rhyming words. Not only was I expanding their vocabulary, but I was also drawing on their senses through imagery. The example of “Mummy Slept Late and Daddy Fixed Breakfast” was perfect for defining imagery. Each description of the pancake was very easily imaginable.
ReplyDeleteI help instruct 3rd graders during small group literacy time. After reading this chapter I talked to the teacher about adding a poetry center to the class. She was excited about the idea. We have a large number of ESL students in this class that are really struggling with vowel sounds and rhyming words. I would like to see if carefully chosen poems can help them in this area. Writing, as well as reading the poems aloud, will benefit the entire class.
My only issue with this chapter is the section about it being the teacher’s responsibility to introduce poetry. We have ten classrooms in our building, and I know of only one class that uses poetry outside of what is in the reading textbook. With all of its positive outcomes, why aren’t more teachers using poetry on a daily basis?
I found this chapter very informative. I also enjoyed reading all the different examples the text gave. Some of them were fun, but there were some that were not pleasing. Even so, I do understand the importance of all the styles. I am excited to use some of the texts teaching techniques on my 3rd graders. It will definitely allow me to practice before becoming an educator.
Rebekah S.,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have had a lot of experience with poems. I love your idea about sharing poetry with a class on a daily basis. I am having a hard time understanding why more teachers are incorporating it at all. Not only are they fun, but I know many ESL students that could benefit greatly from the exposure to them. I am not a fan of those with deep meaning, but I am a HUGE fan of the nonsense ones that are just plain fun!
Kristi, I had an experience with poetry in high school that completely changed the way of looking at it. Before that time, I can't remember ever doing much with them. In 4th grade I know we had to wrtie different styles but they were a pain. While I was in High School, we had a fairly new English teacher with lots of great ideas. She loved poetry and helped us go in to the world of poetry. I continued to look for ways to identify with it or interpret it.
ReplyDeleteChapter 8- Fortunately this is a chapter that I felt most familiar with. I recently took English Literature and spent a lot of time on poetry. We had a lot of read alouds in class and it was the most fun. I truly believe that most children would love poetry and find it easy to remember because of the rhythm. It can touch them if you can just get it across early in their school years.
ReplyDeleteShadra,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your posts because you give great examples of things you have tried or seen used in classrooms. I do not see poetry used very much either. I remember doing a poetry book. The assignment was to find different categories of poetry and then use an art form to go with it. I still remember some of the poems in my book! It seems poetry is kind of like book reports, though. They have been replaced by other things for lack of time and the push to meet testing standards. Let us know how the poetry center goes!
I myself have never been into poetry. I always feel awkward reading it because sometimes they take a moment or too understand. And the more “cute” poems I don’t mind as much because they are usually simpler. After reading this chapter I can see why it is important to introduce children to poetry. After reading this chapter I think I might try writing a few of my own poems because in school, even though I sometimes had a hard time with poems, my teachers always enjoyed my poems and I even won best poem in middle school. Poetry gives children the opportunity to expand they their thoughts in terms of how to write. They may have thought that you can just tell stories or explain things. With poetry children can learn to use words in a more fun and creative way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with sharing poetry every day with students. You could even encourage students to bring their own. Have the children take turns and every day a different student could read a poem to the class. This chapter did have some awesome ideas to overcome writing block or even starting a poem in the first place
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that poetry is very hard to like unless you have had good experiences or memories of it. I am kind of in betweeen on how I feel about it because I know that I have loved some and hated some. However, I do know that I hate writing poetry because for some reason I just cannot do it. It is awkward for me and maybe it is for everyone else who has a dislike for poetry. I would say that hopefully as a teacher I will be able to select poetry that I can say I love because I think that this will affect how my students feel about poetry in the long run. Poetry is definitely an area that I will be kind of scared to teach I think. I definitely understand why it is important for children and maybe that will help me try and discover a love for poerty.
ReplyDeleteI found this chapter really interesting because I have never really gotten into poetry. Once again I think that is due to being a kid that didn't have a lot of literature emphasis at home.
ReplyDeleteI really had interest in the Teaching with Poetry section on page 346. I never thought that much about how much you can learn from poetry. Language appreciation, knowledge on concept, empathy, insights on self and others, and self expression are such big parts of learning, and is what poetry is all about. I never really thought about poetry like that before reading this chapter.
I am going to try to work with my supervising teacher going forward and see how we can maybe incorporate poetry in our class.
I agree completely with Chris. I have never really understood poetry and every time in school when we had to do poetry I cringed because of it. I've never felt like i was good at it and i've never understood it either.
ReplyDeletei liked this chapter because it helped me to understand it better. i never realized how many different types of poetry there are and I didn't realize that there are so many different types of poetry out there. I always thought that poetry pretty much to rhyme and had a type of pattern or else it wasn't really poetry. i really enjoyed reading all the different poems that they had posted.
rrballuch,
ReplyDeleteI think it's cool how you used poetry to deal with your feelings. I wish that I would have been able to do that. After I was out of high school I used to write stories or a letter to no one about how I was feeling, but I never really thought about poetry.
I noticed a lot of people brought up the mode of how poetry is presented to young students. I never really remember how it was presented to me. I can't make any judgements on how it was presented to me because I don't remember. However, I do think that like many other things, if you over critique the work someone does it will turn them off of it. As the book said, let them experiment.
Who ever knew that poetry had so many values for our children? Honestly, I wouldn't have guessed that poetry had such an impact of enjoyment on children as it does. I've never really been a person who thoroughly enjoys poetry. I've read it when I've been assigned to, but I find a lot of it hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I found intersting was that the traditional lullaby Hush, Little Baby is actually a form of poetry! Whoever knew.....I've actually sung this particular one to my children when they were babies and until now didn't realize that a lot of mother goose rhymes are lyrical poetry. So maybe I do like poetry and didn't even know it:-)
I especially enjoyed the section where it talked about moving to poetry. I'm hoping to teach in the lower elementary someday and think this piece of information will be very helpful. What better way to get children inspired as to read a poem to them aloud and use it as an opportunity for them to experience and move freely to the sounds, characters and rhythms that poetry has to offer.
Shadra
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to hear about your outcome with the third graders. I think it's a great idea and hope that you have great success with it. As we learned in the reading, one of the importances of poetry is that is plays such important roles in poetic expression, poetry encourages children to appreciate language and to expand their vocabularies. This just might be one of those little things that makes a "BIG" impact on your ESOL kids!!!
Like you, I'm wondering why more teachers aren't using more poetry in their classrooms as well.