Take 5

One of the most significant features of The Poetry Friday Anthology is the inclusion of standards-based mini-lessons for each poem at every grade level (K-5). We call that the "Take 5" component with five activities related to the poem. You're welcome to use some, all, or none of these activities, but they provide a starting place for presenting the poem and connecting with curriculum standards. The Take 5 components also follow a regular pattern: they include guidance on reading the poem aloud, a creative way to engage students in reading the poem chorally, a discussion prompt, a skill focus, and a link to another related poem or poetry book. In just five minutes, you can lead a poetry break that is enjoyable, meaningful, participatory, and skill-based.

TAKE 5

Tip #1: This tip pairs the poem with an easy suggestion for how to make the poem come alive as you read the poem aloud by pairing the poem with a prop, adding gestures or movement, trying out specific dramatic reading techniques, singing the poem to a certain tune, etc.

Tip #2: This tip suggests how to engage children in reading the poem aloud together with you. One example is echo reading, asking them to repeat certain words or lines after you. Note: when leading an echo reading, keep the pace moving so the echo reading won’t interrupt a poem to the point of distraction.

Tip #3: You’ll find a fun discussion prompt here, tailored to fit the poem. It’s usually an open-ended question with no single, correct answer. Encourage diversity in responses! Take a moment to hear what students think and invite them to share their thoughts and feelings.

Tip #4: Here we focus on one skill tied to the Common Core (or TEKS) standards. We designed this tip to connect the poem to a specific language arts or poetry skill or concept such as rhyme, repetition, rhythm, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. Also, this is where we point out poetry forms (cinquain, haiku, tanka, acrostic, diamante) as well as explain techniques such as personification and simile.

Tip #5: In this tip we share other related poem titles and poetry book titles that connect well with the featured poem, keeping the cycle of poetry sharing going.


Get your copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology now for Take 5 activities for 216 poems all year long!