ES Literacy Reading Grade 4: Poetry

Through their studies in the past few years, your kids have developed a passion for reading poetry! Now you will take their ability to analyze text to the next level.

Poetry is magical, and your job is to inspire your scholars to become avid readers and lovers of poetry! What a great job to have! You are so lucky!

As their teacher, you get to expose your scholars to the wonders of poetry and to poets’ diverse techniques of communication.

Poems are a powerful genre through which you can teach your scholars to become great readers. Poems tend to be short, so the process of discerning their meaning is confined and contained.

Poets are known for using imagery and language in a particularly skillful way. Poems pack a punch, filled with meaning that is transmitted through the poet’s choices, including interesting use of language and punctuation.

Your level of preparation and your clarity of purpose make all the difference. You need a North Star. Talk with your colleagues and make sure you all know what excellent scholar thinking and work looks like for this unit. You need to be striving to get ALL your kids’ work there!

If you do your job well, your scholars will be eager to read and write poetry each day and able to identify the meaning of poems quickly and precisely. They will have an appreciation for how poets choose words, imagery, and other literary devices to convey big ideas.

As in all reading units, your job as a teacher is to ensure that your students are reading at home and at school. Meet with the parents of any scholars who are not reading at home. If you cannot convince parents to ensure that their children are completing their homework, you need to manage up to leadership.

It is your responsibility to ensure that ALL of your scholars are reading 6 days a week at home!

Spend two days on each lesson to give scholars practice.

The first day of a lesson includes direct instruction with a model text.

On the second day, quickly remind scholars of the lesson’s objective and get right to independent reading with coaching.

Lesson 1: Great readers of poetry recognize that they are reading a poem and read it twice, once to understand the literal meaning and a second time to identify the broader meaning. They make mind movies while reading.

Lesson 2: Great readers of poetry use the poem’s title and its relationship to the poem to help them figure out the big idea behind the poem.

Lesson 3: Great readers of poetry identify the tone of a poem and understand how the tone supports the author’s message.

Lesson 4: Great readers of poetry pay attention to the poet’s word choices to understand the poem’s meaning.

Lesson 5: Great readers of poetry identify how the text structure supports the big idea throughout the poem.

Lesson 1

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers of poetry recognize that they are reading a poem and read it twice— once to understand the literal meaning and a second time to identify the broader meaning. They make mind movies while reading.

Success is when scholars are able to read a poem twice to find both the literal and broader meanings.

Lesson 1

Engage — 1 minute

• I’ve watched Finding Nemo so many times. The first time, I thought it was just a movie about a fish and his friend. The second time, I learned it was a great friendship story.
• Great readers of poetry do multiple reads to notice more and dig deeper into the meaning.

Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes

• Read aloud “As I Grew Older,” by Langston Hughes, once, creating a mind movie and identifying the literal meaning. Read the poem a second time, identifying the author’s message.
• Read aloud “Daddy Fell Into the Pond,” by Alfred Noyes, once. Scholars turn and talk about the literal meaning. Read it a second time, and have scholars turn and talk about the author’s message.
• Listen in to understand how well scholars can identify the poem’s literal and broader meanings. Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 20–30 minutes

• Use separate book bins to store the poetry books instead of book baggies. Put the poetry bins on each table for reading time. Scholars choose their poetry books from these bins. Scholars should sustain focused reading for a minimum of 25 minutes. Remind scholars to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message.
• Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
• Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as always making mind movies.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they need to envision more? Do they need to stop after each stanza and think about what the big idea is? Do they need to work on their fluency? Do they stop to figure out the meaning of unknown vocabulary words? Is their oral language development lagging?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying what you taught them.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

• When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
• Scholars share their interpretations of the literal and broader meanings of the poems they read during Independent Reading and explain their reasoning. Partners listen to decide whether they agree or disagree.
• Listen to determine how mind movies help scholars identify the meanings of poems.
• Look for an effective scholar or partnership to model his/their thinking.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

• Bring scholars together at the rug to reinforce today’s objective.
• The scholar shares the poem’s literal and broader meanings. Scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 2

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers of poetry use the poem’s title to help them figure out the big idea behind the poem. Success is when scholars are referring to the poem’s title to explain the poem’s big idea.

Lesson 2

Engage — 1 minute

• The title of anything— movies, books, TV shows, etc.— always gives you a clue to what the story will be about. Poets also choose titles that reflect the big ideas of their poems.
• A poem’s title will always help us understand the message the poet is trying to convey!

Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes

• Reread aloud “As I Grew Older,” by Langston Hughes, and model how the title of the poem helps you figure out the big idea behind the poem.
• Read aloud “Waiting On Summer,” by Ruth Forman, twice.
• Scholars turn and talk about how the title helped them figure out the poem’s big idea. Listen in to understand how well scholars are able to use the title to help them identify the poem’s literal meaning and the author’s message.
• Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 20–30 minutes

• Use separate book bins to store the poetry books instead of book baggies. Put the poetry bins on each table for reading time. Scholars choose from the book bins to select their poetry books.
• Remind scholars to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message. Poems are short, and scholars need to sustain focused reading for a minimum of 25 minutes.
• Remind scholars that they need to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations and are demonstrating strong reading habits.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying what you taught them.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

• Each scholar reads the poem she read during Independent Reading time fluently to her partner and uses the title to explain the big idea. Partners listen to decide whether they agree or disagree.
• Look for an effective scholar or partnership to model his/their reading or thinking during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

• The scholar shares the poem and how the title helped him understand the poem’s literal and broader meanings.
• Scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Lesson 3

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers of poetry identify the tone of poem and understand how the tone supports the author’s message.

Success is when scholars are able to successfully identify the tone of the poem.

Lesson 3

Engage — 1 minute

• So much of enjoying a text comes from how well we, the readers, pick up on the emotions the author conveys. Great readers notice the feelings in poems by using mind movies and thinking about what the words mean.

Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes

• Reread the poem “Daddy Fell into the Pond,” by Alfred Noyes. Identify the words that signal tone and how the tone connects to the author’s message.
• Read both parts of the poem “The Common Egret,” by Paul Fleischman. Scholars turn and talk about the literal meaning. Scholars turn and talk about the tone of the poem and the author’s message.
• Listen in to understand how well scholars are able to identify the tone of the poem and how it supports the author’s message, just as you modeled.
• Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 20–30 minutes

• Poems are short, and scholars need to sustain focused reading for a minimum of 25 minutes.
• Remind scholars that they need to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations and are demonstrating strong reading habits.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying what you taught them.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

• Each scholar reads the poem he read during Independent Reading time, describes the
  poem’s tone, and explains how it supports the author’s message. Partners listen to decide whether they agree or disagree.
• As partners share, listen to determine how well scholars can identify the poem’s tone and explain how the tone helps to convey the author’s message.
• Look for an effective scholar or partnership to model her/their reading of the poem during the Whole-Class Share

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

• The scholar reads the poem, identifies the tone of the poem, and connects the tone to the author’s message.
• Scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers of poetry pay attention to the poet’s word choices to understand the poem’s meaning.

Success is when scholars are able to identify why poets choose to include certain words and how these choices help to convey the poems’ big ideas.

Lesson 4

Engage — 1 minute

• My father always used to say, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” Poets choose their words carefully, and great poetry readers notice how those words build meaning.

Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes

• Reread aloud “The Common Egret,” by Paul Fleischman, and notice the words he chooses. Identify the effects of imagery, rhyme, and line breaks on developing meaning.
• Read aloud “Today is Very Boring,” by Jack Prelutsky, twice.
• Scholars turn and talk about how the poet carefully chooses words to help us understand the poem’s meaning. Listen in to understand how well scholars are able to use stanzas to pay attention to the poet’s word choices to understand the poem’s meaning.
• Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching — Time 20–30 minutes

• Poems are short, and scholars need to sustain focused reading for a minimum of 25 minutes.
• Remind scholars that they need to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations and are demonstrating strong reading habits.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying what you taught them.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

• Each scholar reads the poem she read during Independent Reading time and explains how the poet’s word choices help communicate the poem’s big idea. Partners listen to decide whether they agree or disagree.
• As partners share, listen to determine how well scholars can identify how the poet’s word choices help to convey the poem’s big idea.
• Look for an effective scholar or partnership to model her/their reading of the poem during the Whole-Class Share.

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

• The scholar reads the poem and models how the poet’s word choices support the poem’s big idea.
• Scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

What Does Success Look Like?

Great readers of poetry identify how the text structure supports the big idea throughout the poem.

Success is when scholars are able to identify the poem’s text structure and how it supports the poem’s big idea.

Lesson 5

Engage — 1 minute

• Poets are artists whose medium is the presentation and usage of words. Text structure is one of the tools they use to support their big ideas.

Direct Instruction (Model/ Practice) — 5–7 minutes

• Read aloud “Elevator,” by Sylvia Cassedy, and notice how the poet uses repetition to emphasize how careful the elephants need to be.
• Read aloud “Amelia Cramped,” by Monica Kulling, twice.
• Scholars turn and talk about how the text structure supports the big idea throughout the poem. Listen in to understand how well scholars are able to identify how the text structure supports the big idea.
• Briefly share out two scholar responses.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 20–30 minutes

• Poems are short, and scholars need to sustain focused reading for a minimum of 25 minutes.
• Remind scholars that they need to read each poem a few times to understand the author’s message.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations and are demonstrating strong reading habits.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying what you taught them.

Partner Share — 3–5 minutes

• Each scholar reads the poem she read during Independent Reading time and explains
  how the text structure supports the big idea. Partners listen to decide whether they agree or disagree.
• As partners share, listen to determine how well scholars can identify the poem’s structure and explain how the text structure supports the poem’s big idea.
• Look for an effective scholar or partnership to model his/their reading of the poem during the Whole-Class Share

Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes

• The scholar reads the poem, identifying the poem’s structure and how it supports the poem’s big idea.
• Scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of The Magic of Poetry: Small Packages Filled with Meaning!

As a result of teaching this unit, you, as the teacher, have:

• Given your scholars the tickets to understanding poetry— the ability to read a poem for literal and deeper meanings and to identify the literary devices poets use to convey meaning in their poems!

Your scholars can:

• Use their understanding of the genre and the thinking job to determine the big idea of a poem.
• Read poems fluently with a focus on the author’s rhythm, rhyme, and intended expression.

Celebrate your scholars’ successes by acknowledging and explaining what they can now do as readers as a result of their work over the last several weeks. For example, scholars can read poems fluently and for meaning.

Invite scholars to share how much fun they had reading different styles of poems and getting a chance to share their favorite poems with their classmates.

Reflect on your successes and stretches, as well as those of your scholars. Look at your F&P results. Have your scholars grown as readers over the last month? By the end of this last unit, your scholars should be reading on or above grade level. Scholars must read at home, as well as in school. Are 100% of your kids reading 6 days a week at home? Make sure at-home reading is happening, and meet with families who are falling short to recommit them to this team effort.

Are 100% of your kids reading fluently? Are they using all of the tools at their disposal to figure out the meaning of what they are reading?

Are 100% doing their literacy homework?

Going into the summer, make specific reading goals for scholars. Set a goal for children who are not reading at home. Who will you get to consistently read at home? Set a goal for moving any scholars who are stuck. Why are they stuck? Do they read most or all words correctly? What is their struggle with decoding? Do they understand what they’re reading? Do they understand the big idea? How will you partner with parents to support their growth?

If you are having trouble meeting your goals, do not wait until you have NOT succeeded. Consult your colleagues. Consult your leaders. ASK FOR HELP so you can meet your goals!