Poetry

Summary of book
This book is a collection of 30 poems. The poems are easy to read and understand. A great example is the rhyming poem called, What is Pink? The poem, The Mouse’s Tail, a little longer but is a funny poem about a mouse in court. This book also contains limericks and haikus.

Personal reaction
I remember reading poems in elementary and never liking it. When I got into collage I was introduce to poetry once again and actually like it. This book is great for young students.
Extension Idea
Have student choose they own poetry method. Have them write three poems. Have students who feel comfortable to read aloud in class.

This book shows example of all kinds of poems. There are rhyming poems, free verse, limericks, narrative, concrete, humorous, and Haiku. They are all explained in a few words what they are and how they sound.

A free verse by Langston Hughes called I, Too, Sing America is about a African American eating during slavery and how he wants to be viewed as an equal and an American.

A narrative poem called The Dance of the Thirteen Skeletons by Jack Prelutsky is a long story about 13 skeletons that are dancing on their graves in the snow. Its a funny song with plenty of rhythm for children to dance to it.

Personal Reaction:
I loved poetry when I was a child. We read it a lot in school and was assigned to write different types each year. This book is a wonderful way to introduce poetry to the classroom.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Write a class poem.
2. Red a poem and compare the different interpretations the children have.

Summary-

This is a collection of 30 poems. Most of them are popular or classics. It is broken down into different styles of poetry. There are a few examples of each style in each section. Poets include Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and many more.

Personal Reaction-

I love that this shows all different styles of poetry. I also love how they are grouped together, labeled with the style type, and a definitoin of the style type is given. This is great for a quick reference and exposing kids to the diversity of poetry in a short space.

Extensions-

1) Pick a stlye the student likes and share a poem in that style, also tell a little about the author of that poem.
2) Write a poem in the style they like and share it with the class.

Summary:
This book has a collection of 30 timeless poems. It is divided up by the different types of poetry that it is. Rhyming poems, Free verse, Limericks, Narrative, Concrete, Humorous, and Haikus. It tells what the different types of poetry mean as you go through the book. One poem in the book that caught my eye is called, "Tee Vee" by Eve Merriam. It is a humorous poem about a married couple who never talked to each other. They just watch tv all the time until one day their tv wouldn't work.

Personal Reaction:
I really liked this book of poems. It helped me understand more about how poems are classified.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. In my classroom, I could use this book for a literature lesson.
2. In my classroom, I could use this book to teach my students about poetry.

Summary: This is a small collection of thirty poems which are arranged by type - for example, rhyming poems come first (like The Road Not Taken) and then free verse, then limericks, narrative, and so on. Every poem is an introduction to the many types of poetry out there.

Personal Reaction: While I don't like poetry, I really enjoyed this book.I believe that if I had started learning poetry in a small, introductory book like this, rather than just diving in headfirst in middle school, I might actually be interested in poetry.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Each week, read a different type of poem from the book, allowing kids to each have their own copy. For every day that week, students will write their own poem of the same type in a journal.

2. At the end of the book, students will break into small groups. Together, they will choose two types of poems. Each group will write at least two poems for each type they pick. For one week, the groups will get together to write their poems. At the end of the week, or the following Monday, students will go to the front of class and recite their poems. To make it more fun, the teacher can bring in a set of bongos and a student from each group can play to the poems.