Popping For Poetry!

 Come on in...welcome to my blog post about Poetry Pop-In week.

March has been a great month to become... 

Wild about Reading and Poetry!

POETRY POP-IN WEEK WITH OUR SCHOOL MEDIA SPECIALIST, KRIS HUGHES, AND MARY KAVANAUGH, SCHOOL LIBRARIAN.

April is the official poetry month, yet in my opinion, poetry should be read everyday! Don't you agree? Poetry is a powerful tool when helping students learn to read and write. The natural flow of the rhyme and rhythms build a love for reading and language. In fact, research tells us that:

• Poetry awakens our senses, helps us make connections to others, and leads us to think in synthesizing ways, as required by the use of metaphor.
  
• Paying attention to the language and rhythms of poetry helps build oral language skills.
  
• Children with well-developed oral language skills are more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing.
  
• Creative applications of new media that build on the literacies students have already developed outside of school can help teachers tap into the literacy-enhancing power of poetry. {Hughes, 2007} 

In first grade I expose my students to a new poem every week. The poems usually relate to a science or social studies topic, however it could be a silly poem just for fun.  For example, our poem this week is called, Bugs, and it relates to our science unit on insects. After reading the poem all week, on Friday the students place the poem in their poetry notebook to illustrate. At the end of the year, each student has a collection of poetry to take home to share with family and friends. What a keepsake for moms and dads! Take a look at the pages from a student's poetry notebook in my class. I love her illustrations! 

In an effort to expose and get our students excited about reading and writing poetry, our School Media Specialist, along with our School Librarian "popped" into our classrooms to share some light-hearted, and funny poetry with our students. As you can see, they dressed up the for occasion as they dawned on mop heads to read the poem, Spaghetti, written by Jack Prelutsky. 

Students listen to the poem Spaghetti by Jack Prelutsky.

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!

          You’re wonderful stuff,          

          I love you, spaghetti,          

I can’t get enough.

You’re covered with sauce

And you’re sprinkled with cheese,

Spaghetti!  Spaghetti!

Oh, give me some more please.

Spaghetti!  Spaghetti!

Piled high in a mound,

You wiggle, you wriggle,

You squiggle around.

There’s slurpy spaghetti

All over my plate,

Spaghetti!  Spaghetti!

 I think you're great! 
     

Spaghetti!  Spaghetti!

I love you a lot,

You’re slishy, you’re sloshy,

Delicious and hot,

                           I gobble you down,                           

Oh, I can’t get enough.

Spaghetti!  Spaghetti!

You’re wonderful stuff.

                                                             

What do you think inspired Jack Prelutsky to write this poem? You guessed it, his LOVE for spaghetti! In fact, this well-known and beloved American writer of children's poetry, has written over 40 children's books based on things he loves and doesn't love (so much), and in 2006, the Poetry Foundation awarded him the inaugural winner of the Children's Poet Laureate. This month, I read poems to my students from Jack Prelutsky's book, I'm Glad I'm Me! The poems were entertaining and funny, but most of all, my student were able to relate to the subject of the poems....KIDS!

I read the following poem to my class, and I wish you could have heard the laughter!

 

Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face

By Jack Prelutsky

 

Be glad your nose is on your face,

not pasted on some other place,

for if it were where it is not,

you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose

were sandwiched in between your toes,

that clearly would not be a treat,

for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread

were it attached atop your head,

it soon would drive you to despair,

forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be

an absolute catastrophe,

for when you were obliged to sneeze,

your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,

remains between your eyes and chin,

not pasted on some other place—

be glad your nose is on your face!

Find out more about Jack Prelutsky while reading some his poems when you visit the Poetry Foundation, and also watch this interview with Jack Prelutsky to find out what inspires his creative writing. Oh, and by the way, be sure to visit his zany website to find out how you can download his new App based on his book, The New Kid on the Block.


Writing poetry is good way to express your feelings. I challenge you to write a poem about something you like or don't like during the month of April. After all, it is National Poetry Month. 

Blogging is a ton of fun

But I must get out to run

Before I meet the sun!

Well, between now and next time...Ya'll come back you hear!

The poetry research used in this post can be found here.