More on poems

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Archive : 2002 : October : 27

More on poems
By Lou

I also do a Poem-a-Day with my fifth graders. I have the poem on the overhead projector, they get a moment to look it over, then anyone who wants to read it aloud with me stands up (it's usually the majority of the class).
We read it together, then I ask students to discuss in their groups what it means and what they thought when they read it. Groups discuss, one person from the group shares the group response, and we talk about it from that aspect. I also ask students if there are any interesting words or phrases they really liked. So we are also able to discuss the word choice aspect of poetry. I

teach poetry in the spring, where students not only study different types of poetry but do some of their own writing, so this makes students aware throughout the year of good poetry, the beauty of word choice, and how powerful and meaningful words can be if put together in just the right way.