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Using Poetry To Teach Reading Skills
Why use poetry' Children love rhythm whether itis in songs, words or tapping on a table or desk.
Home schooling parents and teachers using word
play with children every single day in one form
or another are boosting children’s learning power,
child development and natural curiosity.
Young children are highly motivated to read and
hear poetry in any form. Choose poetry books that
are adequate for the age of the child, books that
are less threatening for beginning readers with a
humble amount of text.
Poetry can be
predictable and is easily modeled by children.
More importantly, it develops oral language.
Short stanzas encourage children to re-read again
and again. Repetitive reading provides
consistency allowing young children to read
without really reading.
Poetry is
entertaining and informative. It instills a love
of reading at an early age which is necessary for
later educational success. If the reading
process is pleasurable, children become self-
disciplined in searching for additional reading
material. What a joyful feeling it is to witness
a young child searching for a new book to read!
Make poetry and learning come alive by
acting out parts of the entire poem. Children
absolutely love this activity! Assign one line
to one child, another line to another child, one
line to the parent or teacher, etc. Play the
part by using your body and gestures to act out
the words as the words are spoken. Move around
the room using your arms, legs and hands. Ask
children to make up their own words to a poem and
act them out. Soon, children will be initiating
this activity during play time, turning play time
into learning time!