I have always loved reading poetry, but I have never been overly comfortable writing it. I read a lot of poetry to my students, but it’s usually the sing-song rhyming kind. They love it! We read a lot of Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein, but I haven’t read too much else. As far as writing with my students, we haven’t done a tremendous amount. I’ve never tackled free-verse with first graders. We have done I Poems, Acrostics, and Limericks. They really like acrostic poems, so I am eager to share Silver Seeds with them this year. I really like the idea of showing them a famous poem and letting them make it their own; giving it their own spin. I think first graders would do great with that, and it’s something I’ve never considered. My first graders love imitating my writing, so why not let them imitate a famous poet?
This is modeled perfectly for us in the book Love That Dog. Even though Jack is using well known poems as inspirations for his writing, his poems are very creative! The Certo article states “By reflecting on, imitating, and “trying on” other poets’ styles, a child can find his or her own voice in poetry.” This is exactly what Jack has done in Love That Dog… I’m sure my students could do it too!
I really enjoy how the author of this article has included tips for implementing this kind of poetry writing into your classroom. I especially like that the tips can go for younger students and older students alike. I think I will definitely be trying this in my classroom soon. I think many of my students aren’t quite ready for independent poetry writing at this point in the school year, but think of what great poems we can create during a shared writing time!
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