Five for Friday ~ Poetry Across the Grades

Hello, everyone!  Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars here today!  I have been on my Spring Break this week and am not ready to go back.  But, I am excited to share some fun poetry ideas for everyone, especially with Poem in Your Pocket Day next week!

This post is linked with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Poetry can be used with even the youngest of children.  Nursery rhymes and other simple rhymes are perfect to use with young children.  I use them with my own daughter and kindergarten students to help them with rhyming.  Just listening to the poems and rhyming together helps them out so much!

I also use simple poems with my kindergarteners to work on concept of word.  I use nursery rhymes and simple songs to help them know where words are in print.  We progress throughout the year as we read poems.  Here are some examples of things we do with the poems.

Using stickers to mark words

Finding words in the poems

Here is a freebie of Weather Poems that are perfect for Concept of Word from Carla at Comprehension Connection.  Click {here} or on the picture below to grab it from her TPT store.

Using poetry with beginning readers is always fun!  We use the poems as repeated readings to help with fluency.  I use one poem throughout the week with the students to help with fluency practice.  We also work through other activities as well, such as locating sight words or other words they need to know.  We continue to work with rhyming words as beginning readers too.

Em from Curious Firsties has a great post on using poems for repeated readings.  You can read her post by clicking {here}.

As children progress as readers, so do their needs as readers.  Poetry lends itself well for helping students with important reading skills.  Once students are more fluent as readers and have the basics for reading, they need to hone in on important skills.  At this stage, students really need more work on prosody, the rhythm of speech.  We really have fun with this as we highlight punctuation marks and other types of print to help them focus on HOW to read the words and phrases.  I posted about this in February, and you can read this post {here}.

Of course, once students become competent readers, they work with poetry in different ways.  Once students are familiar with the ins and outs of poetry, they can begin to work with comprehension.  Students in third grade and beyond can work on reading poetry and thinking about what happens in the poem.  Sometimes poems can be tricky, but if you start out with poems they know, like nursery rhymes {yes, nursery rhymes with older students}, they can understand comprehension skills easier.  Many nursery rhymes tell a story and have some type of cause and effect.  Think about "Jack and Jill".  Kids can learn so much from that one rhyme!

Problem:  They need water.  Solution:  They go up the hill to get it.

Cause:  Jack fell down.  Effect:  He broke his crown.

And as students go through the middle and high school grades, they can use that simple knowledge on more complex poems.

Even though many of these ideas seem to be specific for each stage of reading, readers in all stages can benefit from poetry.  The ideas in the various stages can be used for other stages as well.

All readers can find imagery in poetry and visualize what is happening.  Each week when we read poems in my groups, we spend some time drawing a picture of what is happening or what the students think about when they read the poem.  Here is an example of a student's drawing based on the poem we read.

Thank you to Lauren from Teacher Mom of 3 for this wonderful set of May poems,which is where I got the poem for the above picture!  You can grab them for free from her TPT store by clicking {here} or on the picture below.

Students of all ages can also write simple poetry.  Many start with the simple acrostic poem and work their way into some more complex types.  I like to use the Bio Poem with my students when they study famous people.  Here is a freebie template for planning a Bio Poem.

And in honor of Poem in Your Pocket Day, which Lauren wrote about on Wednesday in this post, here is a freebie you can use with your students for their poems in their pockets.

Bex from Reading and Writing Redhead also has a great freebie full of resources for helping to teach poetry in this blog post.

There are so many wonderful ways to use poetry in our classrooms!  What are some fun ways you have used poetry with your students?

 

**Thank you to Ashley Hughes for the cute kids in this post!

Reading Strategy File Folders!

Hello! It's Amy over from Eclectic Educating again! Today's post is just a  little explanation of one of my favorite activities from the amazing Debbie Miller. Is anyone else out there completely in awe of the wonderful Debbie Miller? I had the privilege of seeing her speak at a conference my first year teaching and loved every minute of her session. We studied her book Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades in great detail in my college classes.

I really love how she gradually fosters independence in her students with the key reading strategies. My post today focuses on an idea found in her second book Teaching with Intention. The activity is very simple, but my students loved it!

The first thing you need is some file folders. (I thought purple added a little flair!) Using a permanent marker, I divided the file folder into four sections: 

1. What we think we know
2. New Learning
3. Questions
4. Misconceptions

After I finished labeling the different sections, I laminated all of the file folders, for durability. In her activity, Debbie Miller used full sized post-its, but I found that the mini post-its worked better for my students. 

This activity works well for most nonfiction texts. To begin, I have my students record what they think they know on post-its. We label it as what we think we know because sometimes students have misconceptions about a topic. If we find this to be the case, we simply move the post-it to the misconception section later on. 

Then, students write questions they have about the topic. We also pause throughout the reading to add more questions. When we are pausing, we also add information to the new learning section. As we go along, we move any post-its that turned out to be misconceptions. (Sorry for the glare!)

I found that this activity really got my students to focus on their own thinking during their reading. They also were really excited to use file folders and post-its. It's the simple things right? Some of my favorite texts to use for this activity are articles from Ranger Rick  magazine. 

Thanks for another hit Debbie Miller! Is anyone else out there a huge Debbie Miller fan? If not, who do you admire?

Poem In Your Pocket Day!

A few years ago, I was working with a teacher as a literacy coach with her third grade class.  It was the month of April and to celebrate National Poetry Month, I introduced the students to numerous authors and forms of poetry.  A favorite of the class was working with Scholastic's Poetry Idea Engine.  This engaging and interactive site is appropriate for younger students as well!  Project onto your interactive white board and it makes for a fun shared writing activity!

Also on Scholastic is the "Writing with Writers" section where students in grades 1-8 can listen to poets such as Jack Prelutsky, Karla Kuskin, and Jean Marzollo read their poems.  As well, these authors offer writing tips and mini writing workshops.  You can check out this activity here.

However, one of the highlights of our poetry study was celebrating "Poem in Your Pocket Day".  After students had read various poems from diverse authors, we were ready to prepare for our celebration.

Poem in Your Pocket Day is celebrated this year on Thursday, April 24.  Started in 2002 in New York City as part of the the city's National Poetry Month celebration, the idea quickly spread across the country.  This is a day when people of all ages select a poem that they have written or one by a published author and carry it (in their pocket!) with them to share with others throughout the day.  Click the picture below to visit the Poets.org website for more information and resources.

• A few days before April 24, introduce students to Poem in Your Pocket Day.  See here for a poem by Beatrice Schenk de Regnier for which this day was named after.  Have them select one poem to keep in their pocket.  This could be an original poem that they wrote or one of their favorite poems. Many of my students selected poems by Jack Prelutsky and Kenn Nesbitt.
• Have students copy their poem.  Scholastic has a free printable stationery sheet that you can use. Click here to view and download.
• I had students write two copies of their selected poem.  One copy they kept in their pocket to share with others throughout the day and the other copy we displayed in the hallway for all the students and staff in the elementary wing to read. Many of my students chose to illustrate their poems as well!
• read.write.think has an extensive lesson plan including a stapleless writing tool that students can use.
• Make an accordion book that is perfect for students to keep in their pocket.  Click the picture below to download a free template.

 

• Children's Poet Laureate-  Kenn Nesbitt
• Bruce Lansky- founder of Giggle Poetry
• Shel Silverstein
• Jack Prelutsky (I love all his works, but his book, My Parents Think I'm Sleeping) is one of my favorites.  
•  Jon Scieszka
•  Loris Lesynski- Check out her hysterical poetry book Dirty Dog Boogie
• Roald Dahl
• Brod Bagert- His Chicken Socks and Other Contagious Poems is a hoot!
• Be sure to visit this site for a wealth of poetry resources that includes the classics as well as modern poetry~ Rainy Day Poems
• And finally, for the younger crowd, Dr. Jean has many ideas for you to use with kindergarten and first grade students.  Click here to visit her blog post for Poem in Your Pocket Day. 

 Hopefully, this is a good start for you to begin planning for your own classroom celebration.  What poem will you be keeping in your pocket on April 24?  Please share your favorite poem or author in comments.






Border Frames and Fonts by:

Reading Response Spinners

As a reading specialist, I’m always looking for ways to make reading intervention more fun. My kids need a lot of repetition with the same things, but in a motivating way!

There are a few story elements that I like to review after every fiction book we have read- and to make it more interesting, I picked up some supplies from the Dollar Tree and created some Reading Comprehension Spinners!

On the blue pinwheel, I just used a Sharpie to write Main Idea, Main Character, Setting, Problem, Solution, and Author’s Purpose. I did have to write quickly because the Sharpie wanted to bleed through a bit. No big deal, though!

While I was on a roll, I made two more spinners, too- one for reading responses (the green) and non-fiction (pink). I labeled them with washi tape.

So, for a grand total of $3, I have 3 spinners! These would be great in the regular classroom, too, for quick review after a read-aloud!

When I use them with students, I spin it and let them stick their finger in to stop it. If we’ve already stopped on that one, we turn to the next one that hasn’t been done.

The reading response one may be my favorite, because I can spin it once and have all of the kids respond to that prompt! How do you review common reading comprehension questions like story elements?

Spelling- what's your take?

Hi everyone!  It's Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers!  

This post isn't going to be my normal post where I think maybe I can share a tip to help you in your classroom.  I am actually going to ask the opposite…. I need help:)

In my school (K-4), we are looking into our spelling program and trying to figure out what is best to help our kids.  I would LOVE to hear from you as to what works for you.  Our program now is actually very individualized.  We have 12 words each week.  7 of them are pattern words and the other 5 are sight words (dependent on ability).  

Each week we have parent helpers give our tests because they are individualized.  This is where the problem comes in… it takes the parent about an hour and a half just to give the tests.  So, when she can't show up or we have  delay or cancellation, it just doesn't work out well.  They are extremely time consuming!

We have mixed reviews as a staff as to whether we should even have spelling tests, what types of words we should be giving, and if they are beneficial.  What do you think?  

What spelling programs do you use and do you think they are beneficial?  Thanks for your help!

Books-The Digital Version

In my home, I have a four year old (in 4 days) and a five year old that love books. (Thank goodness!)  We read and read and read and read.  We spend a lot of time at our local bookstore down the street.  There really is just something about holding those real books, turning those pages, and spending the time to just examine the pictures.  But I have also found that sometimes they enjoy listening to another reader.

And the same is true for my students.

Today I wanted to share some websites that may help you to bring more books and readers into your classroom.

This is my #1 go-to website for books.  We Give Books is a free online library of children’s books that enables your kids to help other children around the world while they’re reading.  Yep...FREE!  You do need to set up an account to access all the books (over 150 titles).  Some of the books are great for read-alouds, some selections are for independent reading, and a good mix of non-fiction and fiction.

Here are some exampes:
See How They Grow series
Max and Ruby
SkippyJon Jones
DK nonfiction readers
Ladybug Girl

National Geographic Young Explorers allows you to read many of their classroom magazine issues for K and 1st grade for FREE.  The students can actually click the little audio icon and it is read to them.  I am thinking....listening center with a graphic organizer or research material for informational writing!

Storyline Online is also FREE!  There are 25 books listed on this website that are read by famous individuals.  It is a great way to listen to a fluent reader.  One particularly helpful part of this website is that these videos are on SchoolTube if your school has blocked YouTube.  Just click on the "Comments and Questions" icon.  Some of the books on the website are:
The Rainbow Fish
Stellaluna
Brave Irene
A Bad Case of Stripes

Read to Me has 18 videos of books being read by famous people.  It is also free!  Duck and Cover, Fancy Nancy, and Duck Soup are just a few of the books you will find on this site.

This is the International Children's Digital Library.  The books available on this site are multi-cultural and available in different languages.  It is a non-profit organization and their mission is to help children respect diverse cultures and exhibit tolerance.  One feature I love about this site is the way that you can search through their books.  Look at this:

There are so many different options.  I found that there are 4,642 different books to search through!

Kiddie Records is a new website to me.  After playing around with it, I am really excited to use it.  This site is free also but will take you back in time!  It is filled with audio recording from "long ago."  Students will need to listen to and visualize the stories that are being read.  I am not even sure how many different recordings there are....but there are A LOT!

Tumble Books is an amazing resource but slightly more tricky.  It is not free...BUT...most libraries have a subscription and you can access all the resources that way for FREE.  I know I was able to get to all the books on this site through my local library.  And it looked like this:

But this is just one of the "clouds" offered.  If you look above, there are books for younger children, older children, and some great non-fiction videos.  I found a public library to have some good descriptions of what Tumble Books can offer.  Click HERE to view that website.

This is another free site that is full of books from many different sources.  I did not see any nonfiction titles but many, many fiction titles.  Some are read aloud to you and some are not.  But I thought the set up was very user friendly!

As I was typing out this post, I did A LOT of research. I started to get confused by what all of these websites had to offer.  So I wanted to create a quick guide so that you could find what would work for your students.

I hope you find this to be helpful.  Do you have any websites that you like to use?