Learning Activity

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 1

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3

Overview

This introductory activity will introduce students to poetry terms such as phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression. The teacher will read a poem aloud to the students to demonstrate the application of these poetry terms.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.3

Apply oral literacy skills by participating in a variety of oral language activities.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.3

Vocabulary

  • Oral language activities
  • Oral literacy skills

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Oral literacy skills include speaking, listening, and comprehending.
  • Oral language activities are those activities in which speakin, listening, and understanding are required.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Apply oral literacy skills when participating in various oral language activities, such as plays, dramas, choral readings, oral reports.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can learn, practice, and apply oral literacy skills by participating in a variety of oral language activities.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.11

Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.11

Vocabulary

  • Reread
  • Grade-appropriate poetry
  • Phrasing
  • Rhythm
  • Rhyme
  • Meaningful expression

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The features of poetry include phrasing, rhythm, and rhyme.
  • Words rhyme if their vowel and ending sounds are the same (example: ham, Sam).
  • Rhythm is a steady beat made by stressed syllables in spoken words.
  • A phrase is a group of words.
  • Strategies to show meaningful expression, including making appropriate changes in voice, pitch, and expression while reading poetry orally.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry.
  • Practice rhyming, stressing syllables that create rhythm, grouping together words in phrases, and meaningful expression when reading poetry.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings.
  • They can reread poetry to practice their use of phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Phase

Before/Engage
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Students will apply oral literacy skills by participating in choral reading.

Students will read grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Activity Details

1. The teacher should present the slideshow to students.

2. Slides 2-6 will provide students with definitions of poetry, phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression. The teacher can add additional information or demonstration if desired. 

3. The teacher will display the poem, The Snowbird's Song from ReadWorks.org, for all students to see. 

4. The teacher will read the poem aloud, directing students to listen for the application of the words discussed previously (phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression).

4. The teacher and students will read the poem together (either choral reading or the students can repeat lines/phrases after the teacher). The teacher should direct students to use phrasing and meaningful expression while reading the poem. 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher will listen to students read the poem aloud to determine if students are reading with appropriate phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Acceleration

For an extension activity, students can write a poem using "The Snowbird's Song" as a model.

Intervention

Students who require additional intervention will receive small group support from the teacher. The teacher can provide support in decoding multisyllabic words and reading fluently.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

16 to 30 Minutes

Related Learning Activities

Learning Activity (Before)

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 1

Learning Activity (During)

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 2

Learning Activity (After)

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 3

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

ReadWorks is a website that provides K-12 teachers with free literacy resources (About ReadWorks). ReadWorks has literary and informational texts on a variety of subjects and reading skills. You may narrow your search using grade level or Lexile level, making this website a wonderful tool for differentiation. Students will complete their work digitally, and you will provide their scores and feedback digitally. This makes it easy to go paperless for this activity.

Prior to implementing this activity, you will need to sign up for an Educator Account on ReadWorks. Use the Find Content tab to search for the informational article that will be used during this activity, The Snowbird's Song. You can click the blue button in the top right corner to enable "Projector View."

The students will need to understand the application of phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 1 Google Slideshow

The Snowbird's Song from ReadWorks.org

Student digital devices to access poem on ReadWorks.org or printed copies of the poem from ReadWorks.org

Digital Tools / Resources

Learning Poetry With the Snowbird: Part 1 Google Slideshow
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1b75HLJ-R0qMNQgA7wT_fToBRj4G0rmE3EYaJyS4…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

habradley
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