Strategies
By practicing the reading of poems, students will increase their reading fluency. Research shows that "developing students' reading fluency sets up a vitalizing cycle. Improved fluency results in increased confidence and self-esteem as a reader. Increased confidence leads to more independent reading, which leads to an increase in background knowledge, comprehension, and fluency." 1 5 There are multiple ways to increase a student's fluency. One of them is to have students "recite poetry." 1 6 Another strategy to increase fluency is choral reading. When students read chorally they recite the same text at the same time, developing expressiveness. 1 7 "The National Reading Panel (2000) and multiple researchers strongly recommend repeated readings as the best way to improve fluency." 1 8 Students should repeatedly read poems to master their short rhythmic patterns, and they can time their successive readings to document improvement in fluency. Rasinski offers the suggestion of hosting a "Poetry Coffeehouse where students read aloud to the class a self-selected poem that they have practiced all week." He reports that over time Poetry Coffeehouses help students evolve as poets. They start out the year with simple, fun pieces, move to more serious pieces by midyear, and often become so interested in poetry that they begin to write and perform their own pieces by the end of the year." 1 9
Students will discuss their poems with peers who are reading the same poem, or they can illustrate them in order to demonstrate that they comprehend the message of the poem. It is important for students not just to know the words of the poems they are reading, but also the meaning behind the words. Poetry offers rich language and vocabulary and students can strengthen their reading comprehension by being able to discuss their poem with a teacher or peer and offer their ideas about what it means. Students will work together or independently to brainstorm the meaning behind the poems they are reading and demonstrate their understanding by using a visual representation or other chosen form of presentation. When students are able to discuss and listen to the ideas of others, they are better able to understand. It is especially important for them to hear the voices of their peers so that they can know how other children their age made a connection to the poem and decide whether it is similar to or different from their own and why. They can use the ideas of others to better understand what they think they already know. Teachers and students need to create norms for discussing poetry so everyone has an opportunity to speak and that everyone's ideas are to be valued. The Common Core Standards specifically addresses for second grade students the rules for discussion, including: follow agreed upon rules for discussions, build on others' talk in conversation by linking comments to the remarks of others, and ask for clarification & further explanation as needed about topics and texts under discussion. 2 0 These standards can best be modeled and met through the study of poetry. Students can demonstrate an understanding and mastery of them each time they discuss a poem (as well as during other discussion opportunities that are presented across the curriculum throughout the year).
Poems can be used to influence vocabulary. Poems written for adults by poets of other eras like Shakespeare and Milton are filled with expressions not common in a second grade classroom, or in any 21 st century classroom for that matter. The poems and the exposure to new vocabulary within the context of the poems will build up the grade school students' vocabulary. Shakespeare's Sonnet Twelve includes words like "behold," "prime," "sable," and "o'er," just to name a few. I'll read the poem to the students once, fluently and with expression, so they can listen to the poem, but on the second read I'll pause at the new vocabulary words so the students will have the opportunity to discuss them and learn their meanings. Koch wrote, "Students learned new words and new conceptions in order to play a new game, or to enable them to understand science fiction in comics or on TV, so why not for poetry, which is liked just as much?" 2 1 I would like to establish a classroom climate that allows them several avenues for understanding new words. Students could share whether or not they have heard the word before and where they remember hearing it. They can talk about what situation they were in when they heard the word, or what book they read it in and what they remember about it. Students can have help to understand the new word by using a resource to look it up. They can use a dictionary or the internet for this purpose and re-read the poem with the new definition applied to the context to show that they understand what it means. While they're discussing the new words and their meaning in the context of the poem or line of the poem, students can also be illustrating the meaning of that particular line or the poem itself. When students are able to discuss and illustrate, they show that they understand what they have read and heard. This strategy is applicable to all types of modes the students will be reading in second grade, but it is important for teachers to model for students what to do when they come to a word they do not know and how to use the words around that word or the resources around them to help them figure out what that word means.
Poets come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. When choosing poems, it is important that students have the benefit of reading poetry written by various authors. Poetry can be used to build a cultural appreciation and awareness in the classroom, as well as give students a global perspective. When teaching students how to understand a poem, it is important to give them the context in which the poem was written. It would be beneficial to use a map and show where the author is from or where the author lived when writing the poem (if known). Biographical information about a poem's author can also help the students understand the poem. This requires work on the part of the teacher or an exercise in which students can work independently or in pairs to research information about a poet and share out with the class when one of that poet's poems is being studied. Students will not only read the poem, but will also learn about the poet's author. This could contribute to their understanding of the content of the poem.
Students will learn point-of-view through poetry. Students will read poems and discuss who the author of the poem is, and they will also learn how to identify the speaker and the intended audience. After reading the poem and learning something about the author as well as contextual information about the poem, students can reread the poem to see if they can identify who is speaking in the poem. This will be done first using poems where the speaker is easily identifiable, but with increasing difficulty throughout the year or once students feel that they have mastered identifying who the speaker and intended audience of the poem are. This is important for students to learn because it contributes not only to a greater understanding of the poem but to an understanding of point of view, a Common Core Standard for second graders. Additionally, if they are able to learn the dynamic relationship among the author, the speaker(s), and audience member of the poems they are reading, they will be more successful in writing poetry that takes varying points of view. This skill can help develop the ability to be understanding citizens who can appreciate others. If they can identify different points of view in the literature that they read, then they can begin to understand differing perspectives among the people they encounter and engage with in their everyday lives.
Students will write into poems. This means students will mark a part of a poem (they can mark a word, line, or stanza), annotate that part and respond to it. This is a way for all students to access all poems because they choose what part to mark and annotate in a way that is meaningful to them. First students will listen to me fluently read the poem and look at their copy while I read. Then they will highlight, underline, and annotate in the side margins. It is important that they get to choose their part, not for the teacher to assign the part. In their response they can make a connection to it or a reflection about it, or address it in whatever way they feel. This is a quick write, and students will only be given a short amount of time to respond. I will then reread the poem slowly and students will read what they've written when I come to the part of the poem that they chose (it's ok if more than one student shares about the same part, just establish in advance the rules for taking turns talking). This enables students to hear each others' ideas and learn more about the meaning of the poem from their peers. When this strategy is coupled with poems of real substance, it is inspiring to listen to the students combine their voice with that of the author of the poem.
Students will access poems to help them remember things. Poems will be used in my classroom, and students will be expected to memorize them, in order to know and understand a new topic or idea. For example, when we study matter in science, students will learn "The States of Matter Poem," which starts "Air is a gas/ We can't see it, that's true/ But often we feel it/ In things that we do./ It keeps up a kite/ Air fills up a bubble/ Without it to breathe/ We would be in BIG trouble!" 2 2 I am going to use this poem and others throughout the year as introductions to units of study across the curriculum in the subjects of science, social studies, reading, writing, and math. When students are able to connect their learning and understanding across disciplines, it makes it easier for them to understand both the poem and the content.
Any poem that I share with students I will make sure they have a copy of. This is very important in order to include all learning styles, and it will give students the opportunity to associate the visual representation of the word with what they only hear when the words and poems are being read aloud to them. Kinesthetic learners can also put their fingers under the lines in the poems they are listening to and track the words with their eyes, ears, and fingers. Making copies of poems available to students further engages them in understanding the poem. Students can also write on their copies and take notes off to the side to help them remember or think of things that they associate with each particular poem.
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