Reading and Discussing Poetry
in the Primary Classroom

Usually I write about writing poetry in this space, but lately, as I’ve been preparing materials for various spring school visits and Young Authors Conferences, as well as working on a book proposal about reading poetry in the classroom, I’ve been thinking a lot about how teachers can read poetry to young kids in a way that makes those kids eager to listen to and love poetry.

I offer this info because I think many teachers are uneasy with poetry. Let’s face it, when there are no right or wrong answers, it’s hard to teach something. So what I encourage teachers to do is to simply expose young kids to poems—lots of poems!

Teachers are constantly expected to teach more and more material, and poetry often falls by the wayside. But poetry belongs in the classroom! It improves kids’ reading, fluency, and comprehension skills. It exposes them to the richness of language, and the wide variety of words people use to express themselves.

Read this entire column here in a .pdf file.