April is Poetry Month!

Can you believe it is almost April??? April is such a great month, with the sun coming out more, and hopefully warmer temperatures! It is also a great month in education, as it is Poetry Month.

There are so many great ways to celebrate Poetry Month. The International Reading Association is highlighting a great activity from Sharon Pritcher called The Great Poetry Race. Here is some information about it:

"If you’re looking for a simple, highly enjoyable way to get your students—and their parents—excited about poetry, look no further than the Great Poetry Race.
Here’s what you do: choose a poem that reinforces a specific skill or set of skills that you’re working on with your class. For instance, the poem might include sight words, short-vowel sounds, or dialogue requiring expression.

Next, introduce that poem to your class, modeling how the poem should be read. Then distribute copies of that poem, along with directions and a form for signatures, to each student, who then has a week to read that poem to as many people as possible.

After each reading, the student asks her “audience” members to sign their Great Poetry Race form. The student with the most signatures at the end of the week wins a prize.

This easy-to-execute home/school program engages both students and their parents while increasing each child’s fluency. But just as important, it’s a fun, simple way to get kids excited about poetry and deliver a positive reading experience all at once!"

What is great about this idea is that it bridges the home and school connection, and can be done throughout the month. It might be fun do try a different poem each week as well.