In my classroom, I have my students collect their poetry in a 3-brad folder. In the beginning of the year it takes a bit of time to show them how to use the brads, but I think it's worth it. I used to use spiral notebooks and have the kids cut the poems out and glue them in. I've found the folders to be much simpler. I also like that it gives the kids an opportunity to illustrate.
During the month of April I've been giving my students a new poem everyday. I have tons of poem books, so I often just type them quickly so the kids can have their own copy. First Grade W.O.W. has an excellent poetry pack you can download for free. I keep them pretty plain because I want the kids to deepen their comprehension with illustrating. Sometimes I direct the illustrations to help solidify new vocabulary or help them remember words that are hard to read.
I usually choose something for them to highlight with crayon. Sometimes we use different colors to highlight different components.
We look for:
word chunks
beginning blends
word endings
parts of speech
vowel teams
repeated words or phrases
rhyming words
contractions
Sometimes I just ask, are there any words of interest? Students tell about words they find interesting and explain their thinking. Students suggest words from the word wall, unfamiliar words, words with silent e, and words that they like.
When I introduce a poem, I read it aloud first. Then we echo read. I ask the students what they notice, and they share their observations with the class. (If you get super excited about the good observations, you start to get better observations. )
I love to act surprised by their ideas.
"What?! You found 4 words with silent e. And we're learning about silent e right now! What a coincidence!"
Kids love to read poems with funny voices and act them out. You can use cards from I Love 2 Teach for fun voice ideas.
* ICYMI I often post videos of poems and songs on Movie Clip Monday.*
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Hi Deb! I, too, use poetry notebooks in my own classroom and it's quite possibly one of the things I enjoy the most about teaching first grade. Who DOESN'T love snapping their fingers and tapping their toes to a catchy poem?!
ReplyDeleteI actually got tickled at your comment about acting surprised about your kids' observations. Too funny!
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