POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM

 

Shared by Mª del Pilar Lechuga:

Some years ago a colleague told me that she had dared to use poems in her classes. Inspired by her and her students' positive reactions I started to use poems as a warmp-up in my 4th ESO groups. Later, I have found that this is more useful with 1st ESO students.

Sometimes I use short poems at the beginning of the lesson. The first day I introduce a new poem I write an incomplete version of the poem. The students have to copy it in their notebook.

Meanwhile, I take advantage of this time to switch on the computer and the projector and type my password. The students have to guess the missing words and after checking they have to recite the poem two or three times.

As homework, they have to learn it by heart and at the begginning of the next lesson some volunteers in pairs or on their own will recite the poem in front of the classroom. The next sessions, until I introduce a new poem, the whole class can recite the poem at the beginning of the lesson.

Here is the first poem I used with my first ESO students:

My dog does my homework

At home every night.

He answers each question

And gets them all right.

There is only a problem

with homework by Rover.

I can't turn in work

that's been slobbered all over.

The author of this poem is Ken Nesbitt. You can find his poems in the website : Ken Nesbitt's Poetry4kids.com. Apart from the poems this website includes a rhyme finder which search words which rhyme.

You can also use these poems to review vocabulary as I will do with another Nessbitt's poem:"My koala is not a doctor" which can be also used to apply rhyming to make predictions and introduce the concept of pun as there is one at the end of the poem.

My koala’s not a doctor.
My koala’s not a teacher.
My koala’s not a pilot.
My koala’s not a preacher.

My koala’s not an actor,
or an athlete, or musician.
My koala’s not a writer,
or a lawyer, or magician.

My koala’s not a scientist.
He’s not a film director.
My koala’s not an astronaut.
He’s not a trash collector.

My koala’s pretty lazy.
He just hangs out in a tree,
and he never went to school
for a diploma or degree.

So he couldn’t get a job
at any place where he applied.
My koala’s unemployed because
he’s unkoalafied.

 — Kenn Nesbitt

There is another interesting website which includes poems for children: https://www.giggleverse.com where the poems are grouped according to different topics.

I hope other teachers can use this type of activity with their classes.