Denise Johnson has written this brief article (below) that captures the rationale for providing children with poetry experiences as well as providing many resources for identifying and using poetry in the classroom:
One of the many attributes of poetry is that it conveys a maximum amount of thought and feeling in the fewest and most carefully chosen words. For children, the benefits of reading and learning about poetry are enormous. According to Fountas and Pinnell (2001), "When you immerse your students in rich, lively poetry, you introduce them to intense, concise, skillfully crafted language" (p. 410). They state that poetry should be included as an integral part of the language and literacy curriculum because it:
- Enables students to appreciate the sound and imagery of language
- Invites students to understand and view themselves and their world in new ways
- Enriches students' lives as they discover words, sound, and rhythm in unique, creative ways
- Intrigues students as it offers puzzles within puzzles
- Captures the essence of meaning in the sparest of language (p. 410)
Yet, with all of the advantages of including poetry in the reading curriculum, it is the least favorite and most avoided of the genres by teachers. Why? Though young children delight in poetry, this doesn't last into middle childhood when, for many children, reading poetry becomes a task of understanding a predetermined meaning or memorization. This type of experience may have been the way many teachers were taught themselves. As a result, many teachers dislike poetry and, therefore, do not choose to include it in the reading curriculum.
An analysis of studies on the poetry preferences of children by Kutiper & Wilson (1993) reveal further insight. Narrative poems and limericks were preferred while haiku and free verse were not. Humorous and nonsensical poems about familiar experiences or animals were most popular while poems about nature were not. Contemporary poems were preferred and poems that contained visual imagery or figurative language were disliked. Norton (2003) postulates that, "One reason for the narrow range of poems that children enjoy may be that adults infrequently share poetry with children." For teachers to share poetry with children, it is critical that they first learn to enjoy it themselves. Norton goes on to state, "The enjoyment of poetry, like enjoyment of other types of literature, can be increased by an enthusiastic adult who reads poetry to children" (p. 321).
In addition to exhibiting enthusiasm for poetry, how can teachers raise the value of poetry of all types for their students? An appreciation of poetry can be carefully cultivated by presenting poetry in a logical sequence: nursery rhymes and songs; rhymed stories; narrative poems that are highly but carefully illustrated and give contextual support to the poetry; and then a coherent, related sequence of poems by one poet to encourage understanding of the personality of the poet and appreciation of the poems (Gough, 1984).
Teachers must also ensure that poems introduced to students are of the highest quality. Darigan, Tunnell, & Jacobs (2002) offer the following criteria for evaluating poetry:
- Form: Does the poetry you are reading have a discernible form such as narrative, lyric, limerick, haiku, concrete and free verse?
- Elements of poetry: Does the poetry you are reading tastefully use figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, and personification?
- Sounds of language: Does the poetry read with rhythm, rhyme and repletion?
- Sounds of words: Does the poetry include alliteration and assonance, making the words sing?
- Content: Are poems enjoyable and do they make you think or look at the world in a different way?
Web Resources
A-Rhyme-A-Week
Part of the Webbing Into Literacy site created by Dr. Laura B. Smolkin, Principal Investigator in the national Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), This site houses 30 different illustrated, ready-to-print nursery rhymes for teaching phonological awareness.
Children's, Young Adults', and Teachers' Choice
A list published each year in the October issue of The Reading Teacher, featuring the top 100 books selected by children, teens, and teachers across the country as their favorites.
Enhancing a Poetry Unit with American Memory
A nicely explained process for using archives from the Library of Congress to inspire "found poetry."
Giggle Poetry
Humorous poetry by Bruce Lansky along with writing tips and a poetry contest.
KidAuthors
KidAuthors is a place for kids to share stories and poems with people around the world as well as read stories and poems written by other kids.
Poets.org
The website of the Academy of American Poets features over 1250 poems, along with biographies, photos, and other information on more than 450 poets. The Serious Play page within the site also provides links for ideas on teaching poetry to children, links to interesting sites, information on approriate poets, and dozens of great poems for younger children, some with audio.
Poetry Writing with Jack Prelutsky
Hosted by Scholastic, the Writing with Writers site allows students to proceed through a series of activities such as reading about the author, reading one of his poems, brainstorming ideas for poems and writing a poem (which can be published online) with poem starters for those who choose to use them, complete with a certificate of achievement signed by Jack Prelutsky himself
The Poetry Foundation
Wonderful resource for identifying terrific poetry for children.
Scholastic Teachers
Resource for supporting children's writing of poetry.
Conclusion
This is all that I shall say,
I will say no more,
except the teaching of poetry is anything BUT a bore.
Read poetry every day
to your children at school
and they will remember you forever
and think you are way cool!
For in their hearts and their minds
you will have planted a seed,
one that grows and searches to find
great poetry to read.
Denise Johnson
References
Darigan, D., Tunnell, M., & Jacobs, J. (2002). Children's literature: Engaging teachers and children in good books. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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Fountas, I., & Pinnell, G. (2001). Guiding readers and writers grades 3-6: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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Gough, J. (1988). Poems in a context: Breaking the anthology trap. Children's Literature in Education, 15, 204-210.
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Kutiper, K., & Wilson, P. (1993). Updating poetry preferences: A look at the poetry children really like. The Reading Teacher, 47(1), 28-35.
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Norton, D. (2003). Through the eyes of a child: An introduction to children's literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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About the Author
Denise Johnson is an assistant professor of reading education at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virigina, USA. She received her Ed.D. in reading from the University of Memphis, Tennessee. She has worked as an elementary classroom teacher, a middle school reading specialist, and a Reading Recovery teacher. She now teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy education and conducts research on the integration of technology into preservice and inservice education courses and within elementary classrooms. Her articles on literacy and technology have been published in a variety of journals and she is active in several professional organizations. She enjoys traveling with her family and reading to her son, Derek. Contact her by e-mail at[email protected].
ASSIGNMENT: Poetry Invitation Example
Submit POEM INVITATION Instructions and template through Oncourse Assignment Link by July 26