March poems come in like a lion and out like a lamb, right? Well, poetry can be a lion or a lamb. It can come in roaring or it can be gentle.
Regardless, introducing students to poetry early shows them poetry isn’t scary or harmless. Making poetry a staple in your classroom can help students with so many skills…and it’s fun.
Poetry needs to be introduced to students in the form of content specific material or a fun holiday poem. Students can be drawn in by a 4-line poem, especially when we help them see the fun!
March Poems: A Benefits Review
I previously blogged about the benefits of using Poem of the Week. Check out the post for more details.
- Language Development
- Phonemic Awareness
- Rhythm and Rhyme
- Critical Thinking
- Cognitive Development
- Vocabulary
- Memory Skills
- Imagination and Creativity
- Parent Involvement
- Love of Literacy
March Poems: 5 MORE Benefits for Poem of the Week
I can go on about Poem of the Week, and I have time after time, but here are 5 more reasons you should be sold, too! Let’s look at some examples with March Poems.
11. Content Integration
Any time we can develop more than one skill at a time, we’re getting more bang for our buck.
If I can teach about Maps and Globes during Social Studies and Science “time” in the schedule AND teach onset and rime, sight words, comprehension with 4 lines of text?
When it comes to cross-curricular “more is better!”
Heck, yes!
MAPS AND GLOBES (social studies content)
RAINDROPS (Spring Weather)
LEPRECHAUN (a poem about St. Patrick’s Day)
ANIMAL BABIES (animals and offspring)
12. Reading Fluency
Like with confidence building, students are rereading the text and gaining fluency with each reading.
They will see that poem over and over in the following weeks. March poems can linger after March.
They will make an art project the following week and affix the poem.
They will practice the poem in the poetry chart.
They will practice word patterns.
They will practice the poem with line order in the pocket chart center. Likewise, they take home the poem the following week to read to their parents and choose activities for homework.
13. Comprehension Skills
Each poem can be used with several comprehension strategies.
Students can always relate beginning, middle, and end.
Students can also apply Ask and Answer Questions to each poem. Asking them the basic Who (me)? What (looking for treasure)? Where (under the rainbow)? When (in the spring)? Why (to find the pot of gold)? How (finding the rainbow and leprechaun can lead you to the pot of gold)?
Some poems will lend themselves to compare and contrast like the Maps and Globes poem.
Within the poem, students can see a map is a piece of paper AND shows a specific place, while globes are representatives of the world (a sphere) and a view form outer space.
Some poems will lend themselves to cause and effect like the Leprechaun poem. Within this poem, students can see if they look for a rainbow and a leprechaun, they could be lead to a pot of gold.
Some poems like Raindrops lend themselves to visualizing. The poem asks the reader to “hear the raindrops” and see the puddles “all around.”
Finally, the students can visualize themselves jumping in puddles.
Finally, the poem Animal Babies can be used for Sequencing (life cycles) and Main Idea (animal babies) and supporting details (ducklings, tadpoles, kittens and puppies.
What comprehension strategies could you do with these 4 lines of text?
14. Independence with Center SKills
The centers included in the poem of the week sets are process/product centers.
The line order practice pages can be easily differentiated and accomplished independently.
The poetry center can be the poem with sight words missing. Students fill in the missing words and illustrate.
The lift-the-flap onset and rime center is added to each week. An flap contains a rime from the weekly poem and students can create a new word.
The Read, Write, Glue, Draw center is also included in each week. The sight words and content is included in each set with a process students can follow independently, while building skill fluency, handwriting practice, and building confidence.
15. Confidence Building
We know early students lack confidence with reading.
With the poem of the week, students learn the poem in a scaffolded routine and practice whole group for a week.
BUT it doesn’t end there. Each poem can last several weeks AND they can add the poem to their independent reading folder.
Using a poem of the week can be help children with all these skills and more. (You know I’ll come up with more!)
Did you know there’s a way to check out the poem of the week? Week 2 of the Year-Long Curriculum is available for free. All the sets are the same format, but the content is different.
POEM OF THE WEEK FOR FREE!
That’s right. Check out the Poem of the Week routine and activities for FREE! Once you see the value, you’ll want the whole year! It’s already done for you!