Poetry is an important and enjoyable part of literacy. In this class, learners will enjoy listening and reading a variety of poems. New poems and new themes will be read aloud each week and students will be encouraged to enjoy, react, respond, and look at the literacy behind each poem. 

No reading skills are necessary for this class and no previous exposure to poetry is necessary either. This class is an excellent way for students to enjoy poetry as well as learn literacy skills from poetry. We will talk about letters, letter sounds, rhyming words, sight words, and any other connections students may make in their learning. As each poem will become a familiar text for the students, they will be able to pull apart the letter, sounds, rhyming words, and so on. After being introduced to each poem, we will have a discussion about each topic and the poetry style. These discussions will be guided by me to be sure that students are exposed to basic poetic vocabulary and to be sure that students are respectful of one another. Furthermore, we will discuss any words that repeat, the rhythm, and rhyme that students may notice. 

The first class in each week will be when students are introduced to the poem. We will listen first, echo read, call and response read through, and then independently practice the poem. The second class of each week, we will spot letters and sight words within the poems. We will then draw a picture and write a sentence about how the poem makes us feel or any connections that we have to the poem. 

Week One - Class 1 and 2:
Welcome Poems

Week Two - Class 3 and 4:
Nature Poems 

Week Three - Class 5 and 6:
Relationship Poems

Week Four - Class 7 and 8:
Silly Poems