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● Poetry is the perfect text to use to help young readers develop an ‘ear’ for the language. David Harrison and I outline one approach in this article, Playing with Poetry to Develop Phonemic Awareness. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275696575_Playing_With_Poetry_to_Develop_Phonemic_Awareness
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● We also help teachers use poetry to further develop phonemic and phonological awareness using poems to dive in and have fun with the rhyme and rhythm of our language. Our series, Learning through Poetry, provides lots of experiences with poetry and language (https://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/administrators/series/learning-through-poetry-321/)
● Three of my favorite ways to encourage students to write their own poetry is to give them a resource to get started. All three ways make great connections across the curriculum. Here is the first way:
1. Gather books that help students identify items in nature (birds, plants, flowers, rocks, trees).
2. Give each student ten 3”x2” slips of paper.
3. Ask students to select a book and flip through, finding interesting and descriptive words to jot down on individual slips.
4. Provide a large sheet of paper…ask them to lay out their ten slips, moving them around to create a stream of ideas, connecting the slips with other words to make meaningful phrases.
5. Glue the results down…and share.
● The second way to encourage students to write their own poetry utilizes a memory the student has.
1. Ask them to sketch a place or event that is a favorite (maybe it is going to a relative’s home, or something they do with their family such as hike or go fishing).
2. After drawing, students label as much of the sketch as they can. They can use words or phrases.
3. As with the first activity, have students transfer the words and phrases to slips of paper and arrange on large paper. Again, they fill in other words as needed to create a poem about their personal experience
● The third way to encourage students to write their own poetry is to use a photograph. These can be personal or historic. The historic ones could be from local historical society sites, Library of
Congress, or even Social Studies texts. Two useful articles are available through my website at https://maryjofresch.com/research-articles:
o Fresch, M.J. (Winter 2019).
Poetry across the curriculum: An approach for learning vocabulary and content. The Missouri Reader, 42 (2), 14-17.
o Playing with Poetry to Develop Phonemic Awareness co-authored with David L. Harrison!
● There are a number of content poetry books (with lessons) for middle grades students in my book: Fresch, M.J. & Harkins, P. (2009). The power of picture books: Using content area literature in middle schools. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
● Give your eyes permission to be curious. Look for things to behold, for things to bring into your new world of observation. Look up at the sky. Forget the cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. Search for the long-tailed dragons and sailing ships. Let the child in you wake up with fresh eyes each morning. Try these six steps:
1. LOOK. The first step of observation is to simply open your eyes and look.
2. SEE. Now pause and focus on the object, person, or scene.
3. NOTICE. Select one, specific area to study.
4. PONDER. Allow your mind’s eye to enter into your vision.
5. STUDY. Explore the minor details of your subject.
6. BEHOLD. Allow your mind, your emotions and all your senses to begin making free associations with the various aspects of your subject until the delicate essence of your subject is no longer simply a part of your observation, but a part of you.
● Look for color, size, shape, and texture. Try to feel the object with your eyes. Choose new vantage points from which to observe the familiar. Look for similarities and differences. Look for parallels and contradictions. Look from the inside out.
● I have written a poem a day since 2011. For me every month is poetry month.
● In the good old days, when you could give treats, we discussed the different ways to eat an Oreo cookie (an old Scholastic idea.) Do you pull it apart? Dip it in milk? Eat the icing first?
● Work on writing poems related to social studies and literature. Bio poems are good. At the end of the year, let the kids write a poem about themselves or about an historical or literary character. One year had them do this about their mother for Mother’s Day.
● In April, spring is coming and the weather in Missouri is very unpredictable. This is a good time to write Haiku poems relating to rain, storms, tornados.
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