Kids' Poems ─ Teaching Third and Fourth Graders to Love Writing Poetry

Regie Routman shares her delightful selection of free verse poems written by third-and fourth graders that will inspire your third-and fourth graders to think, I can write poems like this too! Regie provides strategies for using kids' poems as models to guide children to write poems about things they know and care about, from eating french fries to secret places and family trips. She describes the way she invites children to study the model poem, beginning by asking kids, What do you notice? She shows how she demonstrates the poetry-writng process to children: thinking aloud and drafting poems about her own life, and then inviting children to write on their own. Includes 20 reproducible poems written and illustrated by third-and fourth graders to share with kids. Perfect for classroom teachers and parents! For use with Grades 3-4.

Regie Routman has been teaching in public schools for almost three decades. She has taught most of the elementary grades and has been a reading specialist, a learning disabilities tutor, a Reading Recovery teacher, a language arts resource and mentor teacher, and a staff developer. Currently, she teaches and consults in schools and districts around the country doing demonstration teaching and conducting workshops. She continues to speak to educators nationally and internationally.

Regie Routman's books are acclaimed by educators as providing a solid, theory-based understanding of language learning along with a wealth of useable ideas and resources. She writes in an upbeat, conversational, practical, and sincere voice from her daily experiences in the classroom. Regie's first book,Transitions: From Literature to Literacy (Heinemann, 1988) has helped countless elementary teachers make the journey to literature-based teaching and more meaning-centered approaches. Her follow-up book, Invitation: Changing as Teachers and Learners K-12 (Heineman, 1991 and 1994) has proven to be an inspiring, invaluable, comprehensive resource for teachers of all grades. Her most recent book is Literacy at the Crossroads: Crucial Talk About Reading, Writing, and Other Teaching Dilemmas (Heinemann, 1996). As cries for "back to basic" teaching have grown louder, this book was written to clarify issues, offer specific suggestions, and provide impetus for taking action to make a meaningful difference in our schools. Her newest book,Conversations: Strategies for Teaching, Learning and Evaluating will be available from Heinemann in autumn 1999.