Teacher T.A.L.K

April is National Poetry month.  What a great way to get kids engaged in reading while having fun doing so.  Poetry is a great way to get kids engaged in text because it’s short, vivid and can even be funny!

Our Title I students have been using poetry all year to practice their fluency.  We also discuss the main idea of the poems, talk about figurative language, and also do reading responses based on the poems.  All of these are simple activities you can do to help celebrate poetry month in your class.

I have listed several quality websites below that offer lots of great ideas, lessons, podcasts, and more to celebrate poetry month.

1. Reading Rockets Poetry Month – activities, lessons, ideas
2. Poetry Powerpoints – various forms, poems, styles and ideas
3. Poetry Resources for Teachers - includes a Daily Poetry Podcast, slideshows, printables, activities, lessons and more!
4. 30 Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month – New York Times lesson plans
5. 30 Days of Poetry - Learn a different form of poetry each day with examples and activities
6. Magnetic Poetry Page
7. Giggle Poetry - Funny poems, poetry theater, and MUCH more!

Who knew there were so many vocabulary resources out there!  I know this has been a constant discussion between teachers all over all building.  Many of our students lack vocabulary knowledge which we know hinders their ability to make connections and predictions to texts they are reading, which ultimately effects their comprehension.

I have recently come across two great websites that can be easily incorporated into your reading block.  Both sites offer pictures, easy to read definitions, and example sentences.

• Weboword – shows simple pictures and definitions.  Their word bank is more uppper level and not very extensive.  However, you can have your kids submit their own drawings to go along with vocabulary words you are doing in class.
• Word Ahead- Vocabulary Videos:  Has over 500 words with pictures and sentences that kids can listen to .  This is yet another site where students can also upload their own video clips of vocabulary you are working on class.

I am amazed at the vocabulary resources that are everywhere!

It’s that time of year when testing becomes the focus of each day and teachers struggle to find creative ways to engage kids in curriculum.  “We are here until the last day of school,” or “We don’t stop learning after the test,” are common phrases in many classrooms in the upcoming weeks.  It was always this time of year that I came up with my best “stuff” for my classroom.  These ideas always led to me to really think about how I can incorporate great ideas and projects into the curriculum the following year.

In an effort to find meaningful and engaging projects for you to do in the classroom during this time of year, I wanted to share this resource.  The following website was highlighted in a recent article of The Reading Teacher and also from several professionals on Twitter.

• MakeBeliefsComix.com

This website allow students to create a comic strip to print and share.  While there are only 3 frames, students can save them and create more to continue a story.  There is an idea box for teachers, writing prompts and printables too.  This is a great way to get kids writing, collaborating and still engaged in the learning process through testing and even in the regular every day curriculum.  Create your own and share!