DigiLit Sunday: Five Poetry Stops You'll Want to Share with Students

Shared Reading
Shared reading has evolved with the introduction of technology to our classrooms.  A big book is no longer the only way to gather students to read a text together.  Now it is possible to project small books to make the print large enough for others to see, or to project a piece of writing from the internet to read together.

As a primary teacher, I find shared reading to be one way to help bring students to a text they might otherwise be unable to read.  By making it familiar, it is possible for young readers to be able to read the text independently later.  Additionally, shared reading helps build reading vocabulary, improve fluency, and brings joy to reading.  It allows students to think deeply and discuss their reading together.

What better genre than poetry for shared reading with its rhythm, occasional rhyme, and wondrous word choices?  Poetry is perfect for these shared reading opportunities.  Reading poems together and then having them available for students to reread helps to increase the volume and complexity of reading students can accomplish independently.

There are many sites available to find poetry for students.  Since it is National Poetry Month, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Websites for Shared Poetry Reading
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater:  The Poem Farm  If you don't know Amy's website, go there right now.  You'll be amazed.  Get a cup of coffee because you'll want to spend some time meandering around The Poem Farm.  Amy has so many poems that could be used for shared reading.  During April, she's featuring her Sing That Poem! project.  If you go to her Find a Poem tab, you can search by technique or topic for a poem to share.  In addition to the variety of poems she shares, there is often a SoundCloud link that would allow readers to listen to her read the poem.  She also shares the thinking and craft decisions behind much of her poetry, making her site useful for many focus lessons in writer's workshop.

Laura Purdie Salas:  Writing the World for Kids  For National Poetry Month, Laura is sharing a quick tip for teachers or others sharing poetry, and then a poem to read each day of the month.  Browse around for a bit to discover other poetry and interesting poetry information.

Irene Latham:  Live Your Poem  For National Poetry Month, Irene is featuring her ARTSPEAK series where she is writing about images found in the online collection from the National Gallery of Art.  Additionally, Irene shares many poems across the year and other important poetry information.  You can listen to her read her poems on SoundCloud as well, if you click SoundCloud in her sidebar.

Poetry Minute Poetry Minute is a site organized by Kenn Nesbitt.  This site is full of tiny treasures.  You can search for poetry by author or by category.  Kid-friendly, this site will provide a variety of poetry for shared reading with students.

Giggle Poetry  Looking for poems to share with your students, stop by Giggle Poetry which features Poetry Class (my favorite link as there is a bit of information about the type of poem, a little writing advice, and then some examples), Poetry Fun, Poetry Theatre, and Word Games.

Follow Cathy 's board Poetry Sites for Shared Reading on Pinterest.

Please share your favorite poetry sites for shared reading with students in the comments below.

As part of a continuous collaboration among educators interested in digital learning, Margaret Simon hosts a weekly Digital Learning round-up on her blog:  DigiLit Sunday.  Stop by Reflections on the Teche (today's link-up) to read, discover, and link.