Shared Reading with Poetry Fun with poetry – students learn without even knowing it!

What is Shared Reading with Poetry? Have you ever used the Shared Reading strategy with big books? Talk about your experiences with Shared Reading. Shared Reading with Poetry (SRP) follows the same pattern as Shared Reading using big books –First reading of the poem is for enjoyment only –Students increase participation in further readings –The eventual goal is for students to read the text on their own **Please click when you are ready to go to the next point, and click the speaker icon for the audio.**

Why use Poetry? Children love poems! –Rhythms and rhymes –Silly, funny –Familiar subjects –Poetry can “stimulate our imagination and creativity” (Nowak-Fabrykowski, 2000, p. 271) –What is your favorite poem? What is your favorite poem to share with children? Please discuss in your group.

Watch it being done! Sometimes it is easier to show than to tell. Please watch this brief charming video of a teacher in S. Africa performing a shared reading with poetry lesson. Hint: Watch the video from 3:06 – 5:54 for the shared reading portion. Then pause the video, come back to PowerPoint, and click to advance to the next slide. **Please click the speaker icon for the audio, then click the video to watch it.**

Why do it? “Next to hugging and talking to children, reading aloud is the greatest gift we can give them.” – Jim Trelease, Introduction to Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young SRP supports all learners, scaffolding reading until all readers can experience success. SRP is based on the way that children naturally learn

Do experts support SRP? Shared Reading is based on the work by Don Holdaway (The Foundations of Literacy, 1979), and his “acquisition learning” model, based on demonstration and participation, which is how children naturally learn in many environments. –Child observes an “expert” perform the task –Child joins in the task, with support from the expert –Child “gives it a go” on their own, without an audience, though the expert is available for support –Child performs for the expert, who praises their efforts –(Nicoll-Hatton, 1992).

What are the steps? The steps of SRP are the based on the steps of Holdaway’s acquisition learning model. 1.Read the poem aloud with expression, while students observe and enjoy. Support comp- rehension with discussion before and after the reading. 2.Give the students suggestions on how they can join in – their choice – as you read the poem a second time. (Acting out, reading along with, etc.)

What are the steps? (2) 3.The next day, after reading the poem again together, leave the poem out and available for students to play with during free time or center work. Be available to answer questions, but let them work on their own. Do this for at least two days. 4.On the fourth day, ask for volunteers to read the poem alone. Always praise students’ efforts and approximations of performance.

Session Objectives Here are the objectives that you will be looking for during each session of Shared Reading with Poetry: Session 1: Students enjoy poem and show comprehension. Session 2-3: Students participate in the reading of the poem in some way, either by acting out, reading along, etc. Some students work with the poem voluntarily, on their own, during free time or center time. Session 4: Some students volunteer to lead the group in the reading of the poem. Most students read the poem along with the leader. Students are highly praised for their efforts.

Another Demonstration Here is a video of me demonstrating Session 1 of SRP, and discussing Sessions 2-4. **Please click the video to watch it.**

Extension activities You can do so many extra things with SRP! –Use the poem to reinforce phonics skills. Poems that rhyme are particularly good for working with word families. –Print out the poem onto handouts and let students decorate –Use shared writing to allow students to add to the poem –Let your creativity and imagination run wild!

The Poems Many different poems can be used for SRP. To make your jobs easier, I have compiled a collection of poems that are sure to be a hit with young children. They come from Read-Aloud Rhymes for theVery Young, selected by Jack Prelutsky. They are organized by subject matter, so you can easily use them to coordinate with other instruction. They are ready to print out and use on an overhead projector, or you write one on chart paper.

Reflecting on our teaching As we all know, an important part of teaching is reflecting on our teaching. There are TWO ways I am suggesting that you reflect on how your Shared Reading with Poetry is going. –RECORD videos of your SRP sessions with your students. Use these videos to reflect on and write about the sessions. –WRITE brief responses to the 2 Reflection Journal questions on the provided sheet. (Your reflection will also allow me to observe how well I have explained this teaching strategy.)

Do you have any questions? Please me! At Please visit my website! Here, you will find a copy of this presentation, more links to helpful resources and videos, a forum where we can discuss SRP, and a page to send videos, forms, and questions. Here’s the website:

Thanks for listening! Enjoy using Shared Reading with Poetry! Sharing poetry with children is so much

Resources Gill, S. R. (2006). Teaching rimes with shared reading. Reading Teacher, 60(2), Honchell, B., & Schulz, M. (2012) Engaging young readers with text through shared reading experiences. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 4(3), Nicoll-Hatton, V. (1992). Big books revisited: an interview with Don Holdaway. Pen, 86, Nowak-Fabrykowski, K. (2000). The Role of Poetry and Stories of Young Children in their Process of Learning. Journal Of Instructional Psychology, 27(1), 59. Zeece, P. D. (1998). Dancing words: poetry for young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 26(2),