I love using poetry to work with my students on fluency skills. You can quickly address phrasing, observation of punctuation, decoding skills (which impacts fluency), pace, and expression through modeling and repeated practice. Words that may initially be challenging to decode are worked out with repeated reading, but unlike the pages of a book, children do not seem to mind rereading poetry.
With all poetry I use, students work with it multiple times. We use highlighters to mark phrases and pencils to box vocabulary and underline sightwords. With repeated reading, you will observe increased pace and better observation of punctuation. In fact, one way to finish working with a piece is to do a recorded reading periodically. What a fun keepsake that is for the end of the year!
Poems can be used in multiple ways to keep it fresh. Students can partner up for a paired reading followed by a discussion of how to make the year extra special. It can also be projected on a smartboard for choral reading and group work with the text. Teachers may also have students create their own couplets about the fun things they did this year as a reflection.
This poem is a sampler from the Poetry for Your Pockets bundle I have in my store. There are poems in both black and white (for printing and student coloring) and color (for projecting on your Smartboard). The full bundle includes 37 original poems (88 pages)-not including the freebie, and over the summer, I have plans to add activities to go with them. You can purchase this bundle for $12.00 (one season free).
For other hands on activities and ideas, be sure to check out the Show and Tell posts. So many ideas, so little time. :-)
Now, have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday!
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