Focused Poetry with Poem of the Week

Focused Poetry can be a wonderful type of literature for children to enjoy. Rich in imagery and literary devices, poetry also provides many learning opportunities. I love teaching poetry and especially incorporating Poem of the Week. 

Through studying poems, students can learn that there are many interesting ways to express emotions and ideas. Furthermore, children learn about metaphors, similes, imagery, and of course the parts of a poem. These concepts help children not only in their understanding of poetry, but also in understanding literature in general. In addition, poems are the perfect way for children to practice their reading comprehension skills, comparison skills, and identifying the theme or topic in a text. 

Plus, poems for children can be a lot of fun, too! Topics can include animals, holidays, the weather, and more. These topics are engaging and exciting for students to learn about. But, how can we introduce poetry in a fun and engaging way for our students? 

What is Focused Poetry?

• Focus Poetry is a quick 5-10 minute instruction in which students focus on a poem daily.
• Students will build their reading fluency, visualization skills, language and help grow their vocabulary.
• During a focused poetry lesson students will all participate in the reading and discussion of the poetry elements.
• Poem is usually enlarged and displayed in an area in the classroom where students can gather to read the poem together.
• Students will have a copy of the poem in their notebooks to mark up, demonstrate comprehension and other literacy skills.

Tips for Teaching Focused Poetry

Poetry, when taught well, can be lots of fun for students. Here are some of my top tips for making poetry fun, interesting, and educational.

• Perform Poetry: A dramatic reading can be the perfect way to draw students into a poem. Then, you can encourage students to try it themselves. You may be surprised at the performers you get in your class!
• Get Students Drawing: Encourage students to respond to the poems you read in class by drawing pictures about them. This way, they can visualize and express what the poem means to them through drawing. Not only is this fun, but it can help students identify the overarching theme or topic the poem addresses.
• Teach Students to Identify the Parts of a Poem: Of course when studying poetry, students should also learn the specific parts of a poem that make poetry unique. For example, they can be taught about lines and stanzas. In addition, students can learn about poem titles, authors, couplets, and more.
• Practice Literary Devices: Poems are full of literary devices such as similes, metaphors, alliteration, imagery, and more. So, poems provide a great opportunity to show students how literary devices can be used to enrich writing.
• Try Writing Poetry: Naturally, as students explore more of poetry, the next step for students is to try writing some of their own poems! You can keep it fun and experimental by having students try black out poetry, formula poems, or even explore free verse poetry.

Poem of the Week Activities

Looking for a quick and easy way to include poetry in your class’s routine? I put together several packets of poems to provide my students with a variety of seasonal poems to read throughout the year. 

Each poem is unique and fun for kids to read. Then, there are daily activities children can enjoy with the poem of the week. For example, students can simply read and enjoy the poem, analyze the parts of the poem, draw a picture to visualize the poem, compare two poems, and much more. 

Take a Peek at the Poem of the Week: Poetry Unit

Don’t forget to watch this quick video to see a mini snippet of everything included!

Schedule for Teaching Focused Poetry

• Monday: Introduce a poem, read it to students and have students read it with me. Students get their copy to place in the poetry notebook.

• Tuesday: Students read the poem. Students listen to the teacher read the poem and keep their eyes closed while visualizing it. They discuss what they visualized and illustrate visualization.

• Wednesday: We go through the poem and circle any new vocabulary words that are new. Students read it with a partner.

• Thursday: We read the poem, and answer reflection questions.
• Friday: We read the poem together, anyone that has memorized can volunteer to read aloud. We complete any poetry activities that were not completed. We read it again as class together again.

Shop all the Focused Poetry Resources Here!

Take a peek at all my seasonal sets in the bundle HERE!

• Set #1 Poem of the Week anytime
• Set #2 Poem of the Week anytime
• Set #3 Poem of the Week anytime
• Set 4: Fall Poem of the Week Set
• Set 5: Winter/ Christmas Poem of the Week
• Set 6: Spring Poem of the Week Set

Teacher Friends, Don’t forget to grab the Fall Focused Poem Freebie

or during the Springtime grab the Spring Poem Sampler

CLICK HERE

Now, you tell me about your favorite poetry resources and poetry teaching ideas! Drop a comment below! Or, do you have a question about organizing your poetry unit? Feel free to leave a comment below and I will be happy to help!

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