All About Build a Poems
Friends, this is crazy! How in the world haven’t I written a blog post about Build a Poems, yet? Yes; you may have read about them in posts about nursery rhymes or poems for kids, but Build a Poems are so awesome, they absolutely deserve their own post! In this post, I will answer the questions I am most asked about my Build a Poem printable resources, and help you understand how you, too, can use build a poems to teach kids how to read! I feel like a kid in a candy store; I get so excited knowing kiddos are being exposed to poems and nursery rhymes. 🙂 Let’s get started!
What are Build a Poems
Build a Poems are printable resources that help raise the kids’ levels of reading engagement. Kids read or recite the poem, then become immersed in building the poem using large print word cards. So much fun!
Students work together to sequence word cards as they complete the build a poem activity.
What Grades Should Use Build a Poems
Build a Poems are ideal for primary grades. I have used Build a Poems with kids ranging from kindergarten through third grade, and they all love the hands-on poetry experience!
Kindergarten and first graders love the novelty, independence, rhythm and rhyme, and the challenge. Whereas, the second and third graders love the Build a Poems because it’s not a typical activity for their grade level. And, by “not typical”, I mean these grade levels start to lean more towards worksheets and seatwork. Whereas, the Build a Poems allow them freedom to get up and move, work in a small group, and recite poems that are fun and familiar to them.
Whatever the age, students work at their own pace to build the poems; allowing them to focus on building reading fluency without the extra stress of a time-restricted activity. Using poetry and rhymes to get kids excited to read has been my number one success as a teacher!
Free guide to using poetry and nursery rhymes to make learning fun!
What Learning Standards are Covered
Based on the Common Core standards for English Language Arts, Build a Poems cover the following learning skills:
- Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
- Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
- Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
- Recognize and produce rhyming words.
- Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
- Recognize and name end punctuation.
- With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
- Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
- Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
- Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
- Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
What is Included in the Build a Poem Poetry Activities
When you purchase and download my Build a Poem activities, you will get a full-color poem page, and the large-print word cards. Year after year, I would find myself spending so much time writing every word of these poems onto sentence strips, only to lose them and have to rewrite them all over again. Now, you will have the poem page and the large print words right at your fingertips. If a word card shows up missing, you can simply reprint that word card.
We all know how easy it is to lose pieces of a kindergarten language arts center. But, don’t worry, I’ve thought all of that through, and have created well organized poetry centers for the entire school year.
When creating these resources, I made sure to to remember teachers time! Each poem’s word cards are bordered in the same color as the full-page poem. The word cards also have the same poetry graphic clipart. The clipart will save you from the “oh, Mrs. _____, I found this word card under the carpet.”, and now you have no idea which poem it belongs to, moment. Now, you can simply look at the graphics on the word card and know which poem it belongs to. No more incomplete pocket chart poetry centers!
Kids will get excited to read as they engage in this interactive poetry activity. Build a poems are a class favorite!
Do I Need a Pocket Chart to do the Poetry Center
No, you do not need a pocket chart to complete the build a poems. However, the pocket charts are extremely helpful when presenting the poems, doing mini-lessons with word work, and modeling how to build the poem during a whole group or small group poetry lesson.
In fact, my sweet friend from KinderImpressions had her kindergarten students build the poems on the floor. The kids have plenty of room, and it allows them to be out of their traditional seated area. Actually, by allowing students to build the poem on the floor, you can have multiple poetry centers going at once. This is a great activity to have your students working on while you pull guided reading groups.
If you are looking for a black pocket chart, like the one in my Build a Poem video, and the one I shared on my Teachers on a Budget facebook group, you can grab one HERE.
How do I incorporate Build a Poems into my Daily Classroom Schedule
Build a Poems can be used in daily language arts center rotation, as well as integrated into your poem of the week schedule. Whether it was reading a printable poem, illustrating a poem, or completing the Build a Poem, kids are exposed to poetry everyday of the week. I created a poem of the week schedule that was easy to integrate into my language arts block time. You can get the daily schedule with activities and lessons, a checklist on how to use poetry to get kids excited to read, and printables to set up your poetry notebook with my FREE guide, below.
Get your free guide to learn how to get kids excited to read using poem and nursery rhymes.
Can This be a Year-Round Poetry Center
Yes. Once I saw how engaged my students were with the pocket chart poetry center, I created Build a Poems to last the entire school year.
After prepping and storing the build a poem activities, you will have everything at your fingertips to quickly swap out the poems week after week. In fact, I had student helpers remove the word cards and poem, then game them a new set to set up (scramble the words) for the following week. Less work for you, keeps the kids occupied, and it gives them a sense of ownership in the classroom learning environment.
How Do I Store and Organize Build a Poems
There are lots of ways you can store and organize your build a poems. In the past, I used to keep the word cards and poems inside a sheet protector, all stored together in a binder. However, as my poetry collection grew, the binders were getting too full.
I now store all of my build a poem word cards in the colorful Iris storage containers, and keep the poems in a file folder. For example, I have a separate folder for my nursery rhymes, Fall poems, Thanksgiving Poems, Winter Poems, and so on. Then, I invested in a separate Iris container for each seasonal bundle and nursery rhymes. This is working out fantastic. Simply use velcro dots to adhere the title card to the front of each case, and you’ll always be organized and ready to go!
These colorful storage containers are perfect for storing and organizing your build a poems.
Look What Other Teachers are Saying About Build a Poems
Sandra G. said: “Was so much fun for my kinders! Thanks”
Jo Anna A. said: “Thanks for saving me so much work!”
Rebecca C. said: “I am switching to only your Build a Poems next year for one of my centers! It’s going to be great and so easy to do once they are all prepared! :)”
Buyer said: “My students and I loved these poetry center cards. They fit so well into my nursery rhyme theme unit.”
Melissa Danilucksaid: “Thank you so much for this awesome resource! My students are going to love their poetry center now!”
In this Build a Poem video, you will see how the kids work together to complete the poetry activity.
Where Can I Get the Build a Poem Resources
You can get check out the Year Round Bundle, HERE. I also like to incorporate my favorite nursery rhymes at the start of the year.
Thank you for taking time to learn more about my absolute favorite activity to do with the kiddos! Build a Poems are interactive, engaging, and build many early reading and language skills.