Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Poetry Slam: Read to the Rhythm!

I love the month of April!  Everyone comes back from Spring Break refreshed and ready for National Poetry Month!  This April we are going to read, write, and share poetry all month in our library!  Our first through third grade students will be given the opportunity to join in for a poetry slam the week of April 13th during their library time.  The idea for the poetry slam came to me from Melvil Dewey, who calls himself the StoryYeller.  Here is the final round of Dewey's Rap Battle of the Books:


I love the idea of sharing poetry and building fluency at the same time!  Reading a poem along with music challenges the child to keep up with the steady beat.  It's a great opportunity to perform and read with expression as well.  And the best part is the kids will be sharing lots of great poetry with their peers!

Our students get to choose whether to participate in the poetry slam.  They also get to choose a poem that is already written or they can write their own.  They will select their favorite music to use as the background to keep the steady beat as they read their poem.  Several students have chosen to present with friends in class.  I've pulled several poetry books that lend themselves to being read along with a steady beat.  The children can choose a poem from one of our books if they choose.  I copy the poem for them and send it home with the letter at the top of this blog post so our parents can help our children practice presenting their poem at home if they'd like.
I can't wait for our kids to share their love of poetry with their classmates
 (and become fluent readers at the same time)!



1 comment:

Unknown said...

Wow - such a powerful way to engage with the written word and performance!