Poetry Fun and a FREEBIE

Hello there! Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? I'll be honest--it wasn't until I started teaching did I learn this!

Poetry is something that I expose my little friends to all the time! Every chance I get, I use it! Science, math, shared reading--all the time, ya'll! They always love it! Plus, reading it often helps build fluency!

When it comes to teaching my friends to write poetry, we typically start with sensory poetry because it is easy for them to relate to and write.

Here are a few examples that we made in class together. They always have so much fun being creative!

Want to try this with your class? Go for it! Grab this FREEBIE to get your little ones started.



If you love this freebie, take a peak at this Poetry unit.  It's perfect for K-2 learners!

Have a super weekend!!!

Do You Know Your Doubles?

One of my favorite things about teaching primary students is that they're not "too cool" for music in the classroom. I have a song for EVERYTHING and my students love singing along.

Math fact fluency is never easy to learn, or teach! A couple months ago, my students were busy learning strategies to help them add and subtract fluently. One of our favorite strategies was learning our doubles facts. Of course we made up a song to go with it!

In celebration of learning our doubles facts, we made a music video. Making a music video using Power Point is very easy. Just make a slideshow, then hit record, and let your students sing away! The sound quality might not be the best, but your students won't mind one bit!

If your students are learning their doubles facts, you can snag this foldable freebie! Or, you can stop by my blog, Learning with Lizz, and read more about my class' double fact learning {HERE}.

How do you use music in your classroom? I'd love to read about your ideas!

Snowman Poetry: What's it all about? Plus a freebie!

Hello Primary Buddies! This is Chrissy from Buzzing with Ms. B and we're back!

Back to school, that is. I thoroughly enjoyed my break - family, delicious treats, and The Blacklist, 24/7. I probably gained nine pounds in two weeks due to excessive Reese's stuffed in my face and that apple pie the hubby demanded.

Oh, yes, I am now paying the price.
Anyway, I thought I'd share a poem freebie with you today and a handy strategy for teaching poetry!

I wrote this poem a couple of years ago because my students were struggling to differentiate possessive nouns from plural nouns. But it works for more than just that!

Grab it free on TPT

We frequently use poetry for word work, but we can get so much more mileage out of a poem if we take the time to do some comprehension work with it. One strategy my primary teachers have used is gathering evidence to decide what the poem is mostly about. Sounds simple, but how many kids would say the poem above is all about a snowman melting, when most of the poem is about building the snowman? They often remember the last lines they read!

1. On chart paper, the teacher creates a blank bubble map. Each student has a copy of the poem with the title whited out or cut off. 

2. Each pair of students receives a post-it to record one piece of evidence that shows what they think the poem is about. These are direct lines or phrases from the poem that they think are important.

3. The teacher collects these post-its and sticks them onto the map. Then she reads them all aloud and gives the partners one minute to decide what they think the poem is mostly about. We're looking for a sentence that encapsulates the topic or event of the poem. 

4. Then, the class creates a new title for the poem using what they think it's mostly about.

It's surprising what a challenge this can be for our struggling readers, but with practice, they are able to decide the topic of the poem using evidence. 

Be sure to grab your Snowman poem freebie above!

Have a Happy New Year!