Easy Kindergarten Poetry Activities and Shared Reading Poems (FREE SAMPLE) (2023)

Kindergarten poetry activities for the WIN!

We simply love our daily poetry time each year. Each week, we focused on one poem. We read it daily, and it is a fun way to build fluency!

Using poetry is a great way to involve the whole class through shared reading lesson plans. You can adapt this five-day fluency plan to your own poems. Below, you will see an original poem from my set of weekly poems. As the weeks go by, students start to develop their favorite poems, and they want to revisit them again and again.

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Why should we add music and reading together?

Brain research shows that multiple areas in the brain are activated when students see print, hear music, and move. This leads to more engaged learning and JOY!!! We want students to love shared reading, so adding songs means we say goodbye to boring! WOOT!

What activities can you do with a poem?

Elementary students can learn so much through poetry. Rhythm and rhyme, concepts about print, and comprehension skills. Additionally, students will work on building their reading fluency. Let me walk you through how our poetry unit works as part of our fluency plan and show you how much fun poetry can be.

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Kindergarten Poetry Activities: Monday’s Poetry Work

On Mondays, students are introduced to a new poem. First, I read it, and I sing the tune. Then I invite my students to join in. We decide the actions that should accompany our poem. We take time to practice singing the poem a few times together. Then we add the poem to our poetry notebook. Some teachers like to use a folder, but since we will be doing other activities each day, I find a notebook works best.

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(Video) Recite the poem "I Am A Tree" with Nancy (FULL POEM w/ACTIONS)

Typically, the poem is printed and added to sentence strips. We use a pocket chart to display the poem, and the entire class participates.

Since this is one of our back-to-school poems, we are keeping it simple. At the beginning of the year, we focus on routines. Students are asked to come up to this simple poem and highlight a target letter. On this day, the young students were looking for the letter t. Several students participate until the entire poem has been screened for the focus skill. As the year progresses, we may look for sight words, rhyming words, or words that are decodable.

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Meanwhile, while students take turns at the pocket chart, the rest of the class adds the book to their poetry notebook. They illustrate the poem and follow along with the work that is happening of front of the class. In this example, students will circle each”t.”

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Kindergarten Poetry Activities: Tuesday’s Poetry Work

On Tuesday, we sing the poems a few more times and continued to look closely at the text. This time we are looking for capital letters. We will revisit this skill with many different poems, but this is just an introduction. Once again, as the students are working at the pocket chart, the students are working in their own poetry notebooks. We want each student to be active in their own learning… No beauty shop… No shoe repairman.

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Kindergarten Poetry Activities: Wednesday’s Poetry Work

Once again, we read and “act out” our poem. Usually, by Wednesday, the students are getting pretty independent and the kindergarten teacher can begin to pull back some of the support. Perhaps, singing a little more softly and inviting the young children to carry the heavy load!

(Video) Poetry for Kids | Learn about the different types of poetry and the parts of a poem.

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At a pocket chart, we will do some type of sorting activity. It can be a concept sort, a phonemic awareness skill, or a phonics skill. Students will also follow along in their poetry interactive notebooks. Once this activity is completed, it can become one of our literacy centers. Extra practice is the best way to make learning more permanent.

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Kindergarten Poetry Activities: Thursday’s Poetry Work

I bet you know what comes next. We sing and act out the poem again. Each of my poetry resources comes with two sorting activities each week. At this point in the week, students really know this poem. We also sing it during transition times. Repeated practice is also an easy way to build oral language.

Kindergarten Poetry Activities: Friday’s Poetry Work

Fluency Friday is when do a little fluency demonstration.It can take a few different routes.

  • Put on a show: We sometimes grab an unexpecting staff member on Friday mornings and sing oursong. The music teacher always appreciated this activity. The school secretary at a busy elementary school? Not so much!
  • Add illustrations to our emergent reader. Usually, this book has clipart images, but you can cover the images before you put it through the copy machine. Then ask your students to illustrate each pageLOVE it!
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  • Chatterpix – Sometimes, I ask my students to recite the poem with Chatterpix (a free app).These look complicated, but they are SO easy to make! The best part of using Chatterpix is downloading the video and sending it to parents or, perhaps, a family member. Can you imagine having a keepsake like this? Here is an example of Chatterpix. This particular poem comes from the February collection.
(Video) Shape (Concrete) Poem for Kids | Poetry for Kids | Kindergarten and Grade 1 Poetry

Do I need to use a pocket chart for poetry?

I like to use the pocket chart so students can see it throughout the day. But from time to time (when I was short on prep time), I liked to slide the poem under the document camera or display it on the Smartboard. We can still look closely at the poem, and each student still works in their individual poetry journal.

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What should I do with the poems at the end of the week?

I always kept a poetry binder so students could revisit a fun poem they particularly liked. We have recorded the music for these poems, and they make a great listening center activity. Students can scan the QR code found in the poetry book and sign along.

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Additionally, students can reconstruct poems as part of an early finisher activity. You can read more about early finishers by clicking:

  • I’m DONE! Now what? (FREE download)

Poetry Planning Made Easy

I have done all of the planning for you! Each set of printed poems comes with:

(Video) English Recitation Competition on Nature/Environment |Poem Competition save nature for kids/children

  • A five-day fluency plan so you can keep these poetry activities going all year.
  • A variety of poems that are a lot of fun
  • An emergent reader for each poem.
  • A version for the students’ poetry notebook
  • A single-page version of the poem for the document camera
  • Sentence strip version for a pocket chart with interactive pieces.
  • Two sorts with response pages that you can use during your poetry time or place them in your student centers.

Interactive Notebooks

If you want the interactive poetry notebooks, I have those for you as well. These are easy to implement… just print and copy!

  • Your students’ level of engagement will soar with these interactive notebook pages.
  • Students will respond directly in their notebooks while building their fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics, and word knowledge.

Add more fun poetry activities through videos! Each poem in this collection includes:

  • MP3 track for each song with vocals
  • MP3 track for each song karaoke version
  • MP4 Video file for download
  • MP4 Video streaming link
  • Video Jukebox organizational page
  • Song Book Class Book with Editable Cover Page
  • Lyrics in color and black and white printable (with and without QR codes)
  • Lyrics with and without QR codes for videos
  • SEESAW Preloaded and Google Classroom Ready Files

I have two sets of poems:

Read more on how I use poetry in classroom

  • Fun Poems In Kindergarten For Shared Reading (FREE Sample)

  • Nursery Rhyme Lesson Plans For Kindergarten (Free Download Too!)

FREE Video File

You can grab a free video by entering your information below.

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(Video) If You Give a Child a Word— spoken art | Brandon Sanders and Mikeala Miller | TEDxYouth@FtWorth

FAQs

How do you teach poetry in kindergarten? ›

Here are some ideas to introduce poetry to Kindergarten:
  1. Read Out Loud. Begin by saying the rhyme out loud, use beats and sounds of rhythm to attract the children to participate. ...
  2. Sing-a-Long. Children can learn poetry through songs. ...
  3. Use Pictures. ...
  4. Shared Reading. ...
  5. Drawings. ...
  6. Play with Rhyming Words.
Nov 12, 2021

How do I teach my child to read poems? ›

Eight Steps for Teaching Kids Poetry
  1. Read the poem aloud. Have students listen to you as you read the poem aloud. ...
  2. Identify and define words the students do not know. ...
  3. Read the poem aloud again. ...
  4. Summarize the poem. ...
  5. Discuss the poem. ...
  6. Ask students for their experiences. ...
  7. Memorize the poem. ...
  8. Recite the poem.

What is an example of a shared reading? ›

Shared reading is an interactive reading experience in which all your learners can see and interact with the text. It is a whole group reading experience. You might use a song or poem on a chart, a big book, a printed article, the morning message, language experience stories, a basal story, or a trade book.

How do you make shared reading fun? ›

12 Post-Reading Activity Ideas for Shared Reading (K-2)
  1. Reread the same text! ...
  2. Do an alphabet letter, sight word, or phonics pattern hunt with the text. ...
  3. Illustrate a poem or text without words. ...
  4. Perform a Reader's Theatre version of the text. ...
  5. Sequence pictures to show what happened in the text.
Aug 11, 2018

What are the 5 elements of poetry for kids? ›

The criteria for selecting poetry for children suggests the importance of the following five poetic elements: (1) rhythm (2) rhyme (3) repetition (4) imagery and (5) shape.

What are the 4 main parts of a poem? ›

The basic elements of poetry include meter, rhyme, scheme, verse, and stanza.

What is a poem for kindergarten? ›

A poem is a piece of writing that uses imaginative words to share ideas, emotions or a story with the reader. A person who writes a poem is called a poet. Many poems have words or phrases that sound good together when they are read aloud.

How do you start a poetry lesson? ›

Introducing Poetry
  1. START WITH A QUICK-WRITE. Ask students how do you feel about poetry? ...
  2. MAKE A COMPARISON. Ask students to write metaphors or similes that illustrate their feelings about the genre: Studying poetry is like… ...
  3. DISCUSS THE POEM. Give the students the poem and read it to them. ...
  4. LET STUDENTS THINK AND CREATE.
Apr 2, 2017

What is word scramble poetry activity? ›

Word-Scramble Poetry

This strategy begins with a pile of words cut out on individual pieces of paper. They can be specific words chosen by the teacher or words collected from students. Students organize the words to create any poem they would like without adding new words.

Where do you start when reading a poem? ›

How To Read A Poem
  • Examine the title and the shape of the poem. Before I read a poem, I examine the way it takes up space on the page. ...
  • Read the poem as you normally read anything. ...
  • Re-read for meaning. ...
  • Re-read for sound (out loud, if you can). ...
  • Add context to paint a full picture.
Apr 1, 2020

What is an example of shared reading in the classroom? ›

Shared reading activities like dramatic play, echo and choral reading, narrative storyboarding and word games engage children in reading literacy.
  • Dramatic Play. Acting out stories helps children relate to the characters and choices they make. ...
  • Echo Reading. ...
  • Choral Reading. ...
  • Narrative Storyboard. ...
  • Word Games.

What is guided reading in kindergarten? ›

During guided reading, students in a small-group setting individually read a text that you have selected at their instructional reading level. You provide teaching across the lesson to support students in building the in-the-head networks of strategic actions for processing increasingly challenging texts.

What is the teacher's role in shared reading? ›

By using shared reading techniques teachers can: Read aloud a story for the enjoyment of the students. Reread the story aloud with the class to give support and a feel for success during their first reading. Explicitly model fluency, phrasing, and expression in continuous text when reading out loud.

What is supposed to be taught in shared reading? ›

In Shared Reading, children participate in reading, learn critical concepts of how print works, get the feel of learning and begin to perceive themselves as readers (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Some of the benefits of Shared Reading: Allows students to enjoy materials that they may not be able to read on their own.

How long should a shared reading lesson be? ›

Q: How long is a Shared Reading lesson? A: You should spend 10 minutes each day doing shared reading, and each shared reading book should be revisited several times over multiple days. How many days you stay with a book depends on how engaged the students are with the text.

What are the five rules of poetry? ›

Poetry can be described as a form of writing that uses rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration to convey a message. It can be expressive, comforting, and empowering. Here are 5 elements of poetry that all poets should know: Meter, rhyme, alliteration, imagery, and tone.

What is example of poetry? ›

Examples include: 'Historic Evening' by Arthur Rimbaud, 'O Me! O Life! ' by Walt Whitman, and 'What Are Years' by Marianne Moore. Rhymed Poem: there are many different types of rhyme in poetry, such as end rhyme, internal rhyme, and half rhyme.

What are 3 main elements of a poem? ›

There are three distinct elements that contribute to the structure of a poem:
  • The statement and voice.
  • The rhythm.
  • The rhyme.

What is the end of a poem called? ›

In poetry, an end-stop refers to a pause at the end of a poetic line. An end-stop can be marked by a period (full stop), comma, semicolon, or other punctuation denoting the end of a complete phrase or cause, or it can simply be the logical end of a complete thought.

What is poetry for children kids? ›

Poetry is a type of literature, or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader's imagination or emotions. The poet does this by carefully choosing and arranging language for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. Some poems, such as nursery rhymes, are simple and humorous.

What are 7 lines in a poem called? ›

Septet. A stanza with seven lines. This is sometimes called a “rhyme royal.”

What is a simple poem? ›

We define short form poetry as anything 9 lines and under, or any poem that uses 60 words or less.

What is poem in simple words? ›

A poem is a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their beauty and sound and are carefully arranged, often in short lines which rhyme. Synonyms: verse, song, lyric, rhyme More Synonyms of poem.

What is a fun fact about poetry for kids? ›

Poems can paint a picture in our minds. They can also make us feel a certain way. Poetry was originally recited, or spoken aloud, to an audience. There are many different types of poetry, and the earliest, called epic poems, date back thousands of years.

What is a good start of a poem? ›

The opening line of a poem should grab the reader's attention, invoke the thematic intentions of the poem, and give an insight into the poet's writing style.

How do you start a poem for kids? ›

Use your list of words to begin writing your poem. Start with a statement or a question about your topic. When you are writing, remember to use your senses to make your poem descriptive. Use comparisons to give your reader a picture in their mind.

How do you introduce a poem to a child? ›

An easy way to start introducing poetry to kids is to find books of nursery rhymes for pre-school children. Local libraries will have some, perhaps in a special section of board books. Reading, memorizing, chanting, or singing nursery rhymes really helps little ones develop skills they need for reading.

What type of poetry is the easiest? ›

Acrostic poetry is considered one of the simpler forms of poetry and is commonly taught to younger students. Acrostic poems are generally quick and easy to write and open students' minds to the understanding that poetry is a non-conventional style of writing which doesn't always have to make perfect sense.

What is a fun poetry? ›

Funny poetry is a style of poetry in it's own right, different from the many other types of more serious verse. A style of poetry is often called a genre (pronounced ZHAHN-ruh). Other styles, or genres, include love poetry, cowboy poetry, jump-rope rhymes, epic poetry (really, really long poems), and so on.

What is the best type of poetry for children? ›

Free verse poems are great for kids because there are no rules to follow. The idea is to state your emotions or story across several lines in a meaningful way. Many free verse poems use different literary devices such as alliteration or personification to help convey the emotion of the subject.

What is a poem puzzle? ›

A riddle poem is a poem with a puzzle. Think of a common object. (For example – a pig.) Now write down four or five things that describe it.

What is a poetry game? ›

A real-world game where players are divided into poets and policemen, in a world where poetry is banned – the poets try to write poems secretly, and the policemen try to catch them in the act.

What is it called when you use the same word in a poem? ›

Anaphora is the repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, clauses, or poetic lines.

What are the four steps to reading poetry? ›

Read with a pencil

Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages. Read through the poem several times, both silently and aloud, listening carefully to the sound and rhythm of the words.

What do you say before reading a poem? ›

Introduce a theme, “This one's about…” or mention the location if it offers your audience insight into your poem and keep it short, preferrably shorter than the poem. If you can, avoid mentioning the title of your poem before or during your introduction and only read the title as you are about to read the poem.

What is the first rule of poetry? ›

Don't obsess over your first line.

If you don't feel you have exactly the right words to open your poem, don't give up there. Keep writing and come back to the first line when you're ready. The opening line is just one component of an overall piece of art.

What are the three steps to reading a poem? ›

Scan the poem to identify its form, rhythm, and meter.

Listen to the sound of the poem, and notice how the poet uses rhyme, if at all. Count the syllables in each line, and mark if they are stressed or unstressed. Finally, mark any words or lines that repeat.

What is the six-line in a poem? ›

A sestet is a six-line stanza of poetry. It can be any six-line stanza—one that is, itself, a whole poem, or one that makes up a part of a longer poem. Most commonly, the term refers to the final six lines of a sonnet.

What is the 5 step reading method? ›

SQ3R is a reading comprehension method named for its five steps: survey, question, read, recite, and review. Follow the steps below to learn how to glean as much information as possible from the text requirements from any class.

What are the 5 techniques for reading poetry aloud? ›

5 Tips for Reading Poetry Aloud
  • Use a dictionary. One way to make reading poetry aloud easier is to make sure you can say all of the words. ...
  • Slow down! Always speak slowly when you're reading poetry aloud. ...
  • Turn up the volume. Project! ...
  • Practice reading poetry aloud. ...
  • Relax!

How do you closely read a poem? ›

A close reading is not a description of a poem from beginning to end: it is a view on a poem that sees it whole, and has an opinion about it. The process of close reading is twofold: first, read the text; second, interpret your reading.

How do you make a poem that can be read both ways? ›

Palindrome Poetry (or Mirror Poem): Poetic Forms
  1. You must use the same words in the first half of the poem as the second half, but.
  2. Reverse the order for the second half, and.
  3. Use a word in the middle as a bridge from the first half to the second half of the poem.
Nov 18, 2010

What are close reading activities? ›

Close reading is a meaningful reading and rereading of a piece of text. This purposeful reading is designed to help the student gain more knowledge of text structure, be able to determine what's important, and have a deeper understanding of the author's purpose.

What is an example of close reading? ›

Scientists use magnifying glasses to look at things up close. The magnifying glass allows them to note small details that they might have overlooked if they did not look so closely.

What are the 7 steps of poetry? ›

How to Write a Poem, in 7 Steps
  • Devise a Topic. The easiest way to start writing a poem is to begin with a topic. ...
  • Journal. At this point, you've got a topic for your poem. ...
  • Think About Form. ...
  • Write the First Line. ...
  • Develop Ideas and Devices. ...
  • Write the Closing Line. ...
  • Edit, Edit, Edit!
Dec 6, 2022

What is the two line of a poem? ›

A poem or stanza with one line is called a monostich, one with two lines is a couplet; with three, tercet or triplet; four, quatrain.

How can I learn a poem in 2 minutes? ›

Take a piece of paper and cover the whole poem except for the first line. Then say that first line over and over again until you can say it without looking at the poem. Next, reveal the next line, and say both of those lines together until you can say those without looking at the poem.

What are the 4 basics of poetry? ›

The basic elements of poetry include meter, rhyme, scheme, verse, and stanza.

What are the 3 parts of poetry? ›

There are three distinct elements that contribute to the structure of a poem:
  • The statement and voice.
  • The rhythm.
  • The rhyme.

Videos

1. Make A Circle | Preschool Song | Super Simple Songs
(Super Simple Songs - Kids Songs)
2. Clap Your Hands with Lyrics || Popular English Nursery Rhymes for Kids
(Aditya Kids)
3. Limerick Poems for Kids | Classroom Poetry Video
(Homeschool Pop)
4. Walking Walking | featuring Noodle & Pals | Super Simple Songs
(Super Simple Songs - Kids Songs)
5. Nursery Rhymes | Clap Your Hands #how to teach rhymes for preschool kids | Rhymes For Preschool Kids
(Mrs Reena's Cocoon)
6. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Poem | Action Songs For Kids | Nursery Rhymes With Actions | Baby Rhymes
(Pebbles live)

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