Getting Students to Read Poems with Fluency and Expression

In this article in The Reading Teacher, Sheila Seitz suggests the following lesson sequence to get grade 3-5 students reading poems well:

• Lesson 1 – The class watches a YouTube video of a reading of “Casey at the Bat”, a poem by Edward Thayer www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7_tNazVJGU&feature=related, and discusses the way the poem was read. In small groups, students then share their thoughts about the poem, responding to these questions: What words stood out to you? Are there any phrases you can remember? Did the narrator pause at any point? Do you think the reader has read the poem only a few times? Why or why not? The teacher then has students watch the video www.favoritepoem.org/FlashVideo/lsamuel.html of a boy reading the poem, this time asking students to focus on four aspects of oral expression: rate (the speed at which the poem was read), repetition (why did the poet use some words more than once?), onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning), and voice (for example, the umpire calling the strikes). The teacher hands out a printed copy of the poem www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174665 and has students highlight punctuation, key words, pauses, etc. Students are told they will be choosing a poem in the next lesson and will be asked to read it with expression.

• Lesson 2 – Students explore the website www.poetry4kids.com/poems, choose a poem based on its appeal and readability, and print a copy. Students then read their poem several times, mark it up (referring to their annotations in “Casey at the Bat”), and check that they understand the meaning and message and what emotions will be appropriate when reading it aloud. Students practice reading aloud, and the teacher circulates, giving feedback and checking for understanding. Students then rehearse their poem with a partner and get feedback.

• Lessons 3 and 4 – Students continue to practice reading their poem to themselves, to a partner, and to the teacher, getting suggestions on expression.

• Lesson 5 – Students perform their poem in small groups or for the whole class. Other students rate each presentation using a three-level scale (Whoa, Working, Wow) with the following criteria:

• I recognize the text as poetry.
• The reader understands the poem and is able to read it with emotion.
• The reader is able to make the meaning of the poem clear.
• The reader is fluent and expressive.

Students might also make a video of their performances and watch and critique themselves.

Older students might use the poem “The Raven” to kick off a similar lesson sequence:

www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15638. Younger students might use the Shel Silverstein poem, “Ickle Me Pickle Me Tickle Me Too” available at

www.openculture.com/2012/05/shel_silverstein_reads_poem_ickle_me_pi...

“Toolbox: Poetic Fluency” by Sheila Seitz in The Reading Teacher, December 2013/January 2014 (Vol. 67, #4, p. 312-314), http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.1216/abstract

From the Marshall Memo #517