Are You A Poetry Detective?

April is one of my favorite months because it's Poetry Month! I love working on poetry with my students - both writing them and reading them.

Today I want to share an idea with you that can be used for a center or independent work. It's a great way to expose kids to lots of poems and help them to be active readers!

First, I used the color copier (shhhhh!!! Don't tell!) and made copies of several poems from books in our library and in my class. I put them in sheet protectors and on a metal ring. If you choose to do this as a center, you could definitely have a tub of poetry books available for kids to choose from.

Each group of students perused the poems and looked for things they noticed. Before they went off on their own, we brainstormed ideas of things to look for - figurative language, rhyming, imagery and other techniques that poets use. As they read the poems, they recorded what they noticed and found on this graphic organizer.

After they had a good amount of time to read and record their thinking, we gathered together and created a Poetry Mentor Text anchor chart. We read 2-3 poems together and recorded what we noticed as a class. (You could also make the anchor chart first, and then send them off to read and notice on their own!)

I know many people have been spending a good amount of time assessing for the end of the year, but if you have time this week this is a great way to celebrate Poetry Month! You can grab your copy of this FREE Poetry Detectives graphic organizer by heading over to my TPT store.

I hope your students enjoy reading and analyzing poetry as much as mine did!!