|
|
Poem
of the Week
I believe that children learn
to spell best when words, spelling patterns, and
rules are presented in context. Each week I
introduce a poem to the class that ties in with a
theme, holiday, science, or social studies unit in
our program. As well, I often choose poems which
foster anti-racist, anti-biased views and positive
relationships and friendships in
children.
|
|
|
Monday:
1. I say the poem to the class.
2. Students do a spelling pretest of 20 words I
have chosen from the poem.
These words are chosen to
teach and reinforce spelling patterns and rules,
punctuation
(e.g. contractions) and
grammar (parts of speech).
3. The Poem of the Week is glued into Communication
books and for homework, students
rewrite misspelled
words five times each and the entire poem in their
homework books.
Throughout the week:
1. The poem is displayed on chart paper and we
recite the poem (shout, sing, whisper etc.)
at the beginning of every
day, before and after recesses and in between
activities. I often
recite the poem when I want
students' attention, as well.
2. As a class, we underline and discuss the
different parts of speech, punctuation,
grammar,
etc. which have been
taught. We also discuss the meaning of the poem,
whether or not it
rhymes, has a beat and
other aspects of poetry such as form, metaphor,
simile and
alliteration.
3. Students are encouraged to study the poem for
homework and to identify in the poem the
parts of speech, grammar,
and punctuation we have learned in class.
4. The Learning Centre teacher and assistant review
the words with students who receive
special education
assistance
Friday:
1. Students complete a Cloze in which letters
are left blank in the spelling pretest words
and
other high frequency words.
There are usually 100-150 blanks. In addition,
there are brief
questions about
comprehension, parts of speech, grammar and
punctuation.
Monday:
1. The marked Cloze is glued into Communication
books and parents sign it.
|
|
POEM
OF THE WEEK
#1
A
POEM IS A LITTLE
PATH
A
poem is a little
path
That leads you through
the trees.
It takes you to the
cliffs and shores
To anywhere you
please.
Follow
it and trust your
way
With mind and heart as
one
And when the journey's
over
You'll find you've just
begun.
Author
Unknown
Spelling
pretest words: poem,
little, path, leads,
through, trees, cliffs
shores, anywhere,
please, follow, trust,
mind, heart, journey,
over, you'll, you've,
just, begun
How
to study the words and
Poem of the Week for
Friday's
Cloze:
1.
Monday night
 write
misspelled words five
times each, pay
attention to spelling
patterns and
rhyming
words
write
the entire poem in your
homework
book
2.
Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday night
recite
the poem, sing it to
family members
study
the pretest words
identify
nouns, pronouns, verbs,
articles, contractions
and compound words in
the
poem
ask
a parent to make up a
practice cloze in your
homework book
|
|
|
|
|
POEM
OF THE WEEK CLOZE #1
A
P_ _ _ IS A LI _ _ _ _
P_ _ H
A
p_ _ _ is a l _ _ _ _ _
p _ _ h
That
l _ _ ds you th _ _ _ _
_ the t_ _
_s.
It
takes you to the c_ _ _
_ _ and sh_ _ _
_
To
a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ you pl_ _
_ _.
F_
_ _ _ _ it and t_ _ _ _
your _ _ _
With
_ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ as
one
And
when the j _ _ _ _ _ _ '
_ _ _ _ _
Y_
_ '_ _ find y_ _ ' _ _
just b_ _ _ _
.
1.
What is the poem
about?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2.
Identify two nouns from
the poem.
_________________,
_________________.
3.
Identify two verbs from
the poem.
_________________,
_________________.
4.
Identify one article
from the poem.
__________________.
5.
Identify one adjective
from the poem.
__________________.
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001 Michael Moore
|
|