Poem of the Week

For years, one of the highlights of my class was the Poem of the Week.  Working on fluency, as well as countless oral language standards, the students would memorize a poem each week.  Since most of my students each year are primarily English Language Learners, practicing their oral language skills was such an important thing for them.

Each Monday, a new poem would be displayed on the pocket chart.  The poems were never more than 10 lines...simply because the pocket chart only had 10 slots.  ;)   The students would copy the poem into their Poetry Journals, and we would set about the task of beginning to memorize the poem.  The students would learn the meter of the poem, the rhythm, and the tone on this first day.  We would also discuss pronunciation/meanings of difficult words.  This would take all of 10 minutes to do.

On Tuesday through Thursday, we would begin by determining the rhyme scheme, learning various poetry terms and traits that were evidenced in the poem, and discussing the author's message.  All of this was done with the standards in mind, so I would make sure to choose poems containing the right skill set.  After the discussion, we would continue to try and memorize the poem.  For example, the poem that is to the right has a good discussion on author's purpose.  What did the poet mean when he wrote it?  How does it relate to my own life?  What did the poet intend for me to feel when reading the poem?  It also lends itself well to a discussion on summary.  Taking the entire Alice in Wonderland story, how was it summarized here?  What are the important points?

Friday's were always reserved for the recitation of the poem.  The poem would be taken down, then, table by table, the students would stand up and recite it.  For my mostly EL class, this was a great time for them to practice their oral language.  They also really enjoyed performing!

Here is the form I used to have the students write the information down.  It really is simple.  I would hole punch them and use one of the pronged folders to keep them in.  That way, each week, the kids could just add this in.  At the end of the year, they had a portfolio of about 30 poems!




I would recommend these books to get you started with the poems.  They all had a variety of poems in them that were engaging enough for the students, yet academic enough to fit my purposes.

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
 Random House Treasury of Best-Loved Children's Poems (Random House Poetry Treasury)
Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky are also great.

Have you used poetry to help the students practice fluency? Please share your routine with us!