Welcome to the weekly Tutor Tuesday blog!
A poem we offer to celebrate April as a month of rhyme
Perhaps it will inspire you to write your own during this time.
We know you are missing your time with your student,
But being together right now –just wouldn’t be prudent.
We are excited to offer this blog as an online classroom,
We are all learning new skills-event if it’s only how to turn on ZOOM!
Recording our literacy lessons on video has been quite a task,
If you could only see the amusing outtakes, but please don’t ask!
Can you tell that our team members love reading out loud?
Even when the audience is a quiet, virtual crowd!
The tutoring team has shared many a talent—though perhaps none a poet,
We hope you have enjoyed this attempt at verse, and we didn’t blow it!
Please meet us back here in another short week,
In the meantime, go outside and enjoy Spring’s peak!
Elizabeth Pawloski,
National Director-Tutoring Partnerships and Expansion
Book Section
Shel Silverstein is one of most the well-known authors of iconic books of prose and poetry for young readers. His works include such modern classics as A Light in the Attic (HarperCollins, 1981), Where the Sidewalk Ends (Harper & Row, 1974), and The Giving Tree (Harper & Row, 1964).
His unique imagination and bold brand of humor is beloved by countless adults and children throughout the world. He died on May 10, 1999.
Stephanie McCreary, Oasis RSVP Grant Manager and her children present a few of their favorite Shel Silverstein poems in this video.
Literacy Learning – Poetry Resources
April is National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry introduced as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. Although poetry is a terrific teaching tool for all students, it’s especially an effective one for our reluctant and struggling readers. Poetry provides a perfect opportunity to introduce your student to the wonders of poetry, as well as the new worlds and experiences it provides. Make sure that you stop by the official website to learn about the celebration and visit the plethora of activities!
Downloadable Resources
You may ask, “Why teach poetry?”
- Poetry Builds Reading, Speaking, & Listening Skills-When children are listening to poems orally, they are building their listening skills. They learn to attend to the words they hear and to think about what those words mean together.
- To Explore Language & Vocabulary-Children can learn about phonemic awareness, phonics and letter sounds by listening for and locating rhyming words. A poem can be used to build vocabulary, teach sentence structure, parts of speech, and many grammar skills.
- To Inspire Writing– When we break poems down into their parts, we learn a lot about how writing comes together. We learn how to follow a pattern and put words in a particular order.
- To Encourage Creative Thinking-Writing poetry lets us get out our feelings and thoughts on while reading it encourages us to connect and find meaning in our experiences.
- To Build a Love for Reading– Learning to read can be hard work, and the books children use as beginning readers often lack that unique ingredient of word play.
“So, what’s the best way to introduce poetry to my student?’
There are so many ways to use poetry with children! Here’s several websites and pieces cited. Please peruse each one and see which is the best fit for you.
The Reading Mama’s website for using poetry with kids
Scholastic-How to introduce poetry
How to teach poetry to elementary students
National Poetry Month is a wonderful reason to check out some great poetry books for boys and girls. Here’s the link to a few websites including some of the best poetry books for kids of all ages.
We are Teachers-Best Poetry Books
Diverse Poetry Books for Kids
Nourishing My Scholar-Best Poetry Books
On a personal note, please consider The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, my very favorite book to use with children when teaching poetry. The book contains 572 poems selected by Jack Prelutsky, author of over fifty publications and Arnold Loebel, of “Frog and Toad” fame. I never encountered a student who didn’t love this book! (Lori Deubner)
Your Oasis Tutoring Team hopes that these virtual lessons and activities bring some comfort at this time and inspire you to celebrate poetry with your student when you’re together again.
Facilitator Shout Out – Ginny Brown, San Antonio Oasis
Ginny has been on staff with Oasis for ten years and moved in the position of Tutoring Coordinator three years ago. One of the reasons Ginny finds contentment in serving as Tutoring Coordinator is seeing the joy and how much it means to Oasis members to work with children and be a part of their lives.
Recently Ginny connected with San Antonio Oasis Tutors by holding a virtual meeting via Zoom. Her agenda included an encouraging message from the Tutor Program Coordinator from Northside ISD. Northside ISD School District is the largest district partnering with Oasis Tutoring in San Antonio. This call gave Ginny the opportunity to connect with tutors and for tutors to connect with each other.
Ginny wanted to pass along this message to tutors,
“You are not forgotten, you are still appreciated, still needed and are still a tutor and friend to your child. This ordeal has not ended that relationship, only temporarily suspended. I would also suggest that you continue to read the weekly editions of Tutor Tuesday to stay prepared and informed of opportunities for when we start back up– and we will! Keep moving forward!!”
Healthy Mind and Body
Relaxing Music
Please comment below and let us know your thoughts!
Until next week!
Oasis Tutoring Team
Love Shel Siverstein and try and use his poems every year with my student.
Didin’t get there this year 🙁
Karla,
Thank you for reading and commenting on the blog. Shel Silverstein is a favorite of so many people, mine too.
I love the way every member of the tutoring team shares her strengths and talents as you put together these Tutor Tuesday’s. Because I tutor in St. Louis, I’ve had a chance to meet the whole team in person, but what a treat it must be for tutors in other cities to get to “see” the team! Thanks to all of you at Oasis for staying in touch and providing such helpful resources! I’m looking forward to the day we can be back in the schools.
I really enjoyed the blog today and the beautiful music video. The Emily Dickinson poem.
My favorite poem book is “ A Child’s Garden Of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson. I found a very old book of these poems in an used book store in NC 3 years ago and grabbed it right up. My favorite poem has always been “The Swing”. There’s a handwritten date in the front of 1947. It’s beautifully illustrated in black and white. I would be reading some of these poems to my two students this month. I have other poetry books for children as well.
For those of you who like Emily Dickinson, my cousin, Martha Ackmann just released her latest book “These Fevered Days”. Ten pivotal moments in the making of Emily Dickinson.
Thank you for sharing your favorite poems. I look forward to reading them.
Haiku
Great information
Now can help me tutor better
For the blessed child.
I always look forward to these weekly blogs. It makes me feel connected & part of a very special group of people. I never thought much about poetry but this has changed my perspective. Thank you.
I don’t always view these on Tuesday, but look forward to them and enjoy seeing friendly faces. Thank you for posting interesting topics and love the relaxing music, too!
Loved this week’s Tutor Tuesday! Poetry can be created in so many ways! Elizabeth, I enjoyed your poem so much! What a fun way to share life’s events during our current situation! I know my students enjoyed creating acrostic poems in February! It was a fun way to incorporate poetry in our Historical Fiction reading unit!