Poetry Anthologies - One Weekly Routine

One of our weekly routines in the classroom is when we open our poetry anthologies each Wednesday. These anthologies are curated during the summer by me, as I look ahead to our themes, projects, special events, holidays, and so on. I try, whenever possible, to match each week's poem with something that the children are either learning about or experiencing in some way.

Our poem for the very first week came from the very first book I read to the children - Oh, The Places You'll Go. This ties in also with one of our big projects for identity (that we have yet to start) - our 3-D All About Me hot air balloons, as well as some of our classroom decorations. 

The poetry anthologies are a wonderful tool for building reading confidence. Children can choose to simply listen to other people read while following along, or they can read "all together," if they would like to have their friends help a bit, or - when they think they are ready - they can read "all by myself!" This is a red letter day for many. 

After reading each poem, we talk about the meaning, and any tricky words. We brainstorm various ways we could choose to illustrate. What makes sense for the poem? We talk about the importance of adding a lot of detail and color.