Poetry Portfolios: Using Poetry to Teach Reading

Overview

From Theory to Practice

OVERVIEW

Students learn to read and write when they have an active interest in what they are reading and writing about. This lesson supports students' exploration of language skills as they read and dissect poetry. Through a weekly poem, students explore meaning, sentence structure, rhyming words, sight words, vocabulary, and print concepts. After studying the poem, students are given a copy of the poem to illustrate and share their understanding. All of the poems explored are then compiled into a poetry portfolio for students to take home and share with their families. To further connect home to school, a family poetry project is suggested.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Lapp, D. & Flood, J. (1997). Where's the phonics? Making the case (again) for integrated code instruction. The Reading Teacher, 50(8), 696–700.

• When students are taught isolated skills, their anticipation for reading diminishes.
  
  
• A whole-to-parts approach toward reading instruction is beneficial in promoting excitement for literacy, phonemic awareness, and lifelong learning.
  
  
• A whole-to-parts approach to literacy allows children to see language in context. By teaching language in context, children can see the true meaning of language, develop ideas about language, and learn literacy skills.
  
  
• Students need to see the importance of reading—they need to make the connection between learning to read and real-life experiences.

   

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