Writing+Poetry

**An excellent resource: __Kid's Poetry Teaching Kindergartens to Love Writing Poetry__ by Regie Routman @ 2000 (Scholastic) There are also books for Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and 4.**
==**In this resouces Regie uses children's own original poetry to teach writing fo poetry. The books continue many samples that teachers can use of children's writing to help them teach poetry**. SHE DOES ALL THIS THROUGH FREE-VERSE.==

Regie Routman states: Poetry writing is the surest, easiest way I know to turn kids on to writing. Kids love it. It's fun and easy for everyone (including the teacher). Of all the teaching I do, teaching children to write poetry has been my favourite and most rewarding experience. Students love playing around with words and patterns in their head and on the page; they love the freedom to write as much or as little as they want. They love that a poem can be about anything at all. They appreciate that fewer words convey the message, and that conventions - while important- loom less prominently.

In Regie Routman's books she outlines the steps to teach writing through poetry:

1. **Geting Started: Beginning Poetry into the Classroom.**
 * Before you begin
 * Read lots of poetry
 * Institute "Poet of the Day"
 * Establish a poetry corner
 * Consider poetry notebooks

2. **Beginning to Teach Poetry Writing**
 * **Lesson Framework**
 * Demonstarting poetry writing by:
 * sharing, noticing, and discussing kids' poems
 * teacher writing a poem in front of the class ( modeling)
 * a minilesson on features of poetry ( choosing topics, langauge, ending lines, repetition, line breaks and with spaces)
 * oral brainstorming with students before writing
 * writing a poem independently
 * sharing and celebrating ( consider oral sharing and publishing an anthology)