Mentor Monday 3/31/2014-Visualizing Poetry

I am once again linking up with Emily at The Reading Tutor/OG for Mentor Monday.  This week's topic is Visualizing and since April is almost here, we are also focusing on poetry.  These two really go hand in hand as poetry is all about the senses! I am sure most of you are familiar with Jack Prelutsky and his fabulous, funny poetry books.  Have you seen a Pizza the Size of the Sun?  I grabbed this old favorite off my shelf today to see just how many poems I could easily "visualize" and use in the classroom.  Of course, there are A LOT!!   Here are a few you might want to try:

• My Elephant is Different--in this poem, the speaker describes in detail how his/her elephant is different from most elephants (from its short, fuzzy ears to its blue behind--kids will love that part!).  What a great chance to allow students to visualize just how different this elephant is!  After reading it out loud once, you could have students draw what they are visualizing as you read it again (possibly a few times).  Then, they could compare their drawing to another student's drawing or even compare it to a picture of an actual elephant!

• Miss Misinformation--This funny poem is about a teacher who knows it all....but, it is all wrong.  For example, she says you can measure with octopus and the moon is chocolate pudding.  So many fun things for your kids to visualize and imagine!

• I Made a Perpetual Motion Machine--Get your kids to think more scientifically and visualize at the same time.  The girl in this poem has made a "perpetual motion machine" out of things like skateboards, bicycle parts, and shopping carts.  While they are visualizing this poem, the kids could create their own machine and give it a name and/or purpose.  Let them share with the class about how this machine would look and work.  

• I'm Wearing an Enchanted Hat--Everyone likes hats!  In this poem, a girl is wearing an "enchanted hat" made of pillowcases, bandannas, rags, and socks.  In actuality, her hat is made of everything she touches.  She just keeps adding on to her hat and therefore has everything she needs at any time.  How much fun would that be to visualize!?  Does it actually look like a hat?  Read just the first paragraph to the students and have them visualize and draw the hat.  As you continue reading the poem, kids can add things to their hat.  At the end, show the picture from the book 
• and see how it compares to their own.

There are many other poems you can use for this reading strategy.  After practicing while reading poems, students can try their hand at writing poetry, making sure their readers can visualize what they are explaining!  Have fun visualizing with your kiddos!  I can't wait to hear some of your great ideas for poetry and visualizing!

Until next time,