Second graders in Ms. Jennifer Corrado's class at Cornwell Avenue School in West Hempstead have been participating in reading, writing and reciting poetry during the month of April, which is National Poetry Month.
Students have been immersed in the poetry of many well-known poets such as Amanda Gorman, Kwame Alexander, Douglas Florian, Sara Coleridge, Langston Hughes and Eloise Greenfield. They have collected mini anthologies and published poetry and written their own using inspiration from mentor poets, repetition, rhythm and rhyme.
Ms. Corrado explained that one of the best ways to experience poetry is through movement and play. She said that children learn best through playful interpretations of the content they receive, and by making the rhythms tactile and visual, students get a deep understanding of the work and have fun whole doing it.
Ms. Corrado’s class incorporated learning, poetry and play with a “poetry parachute.” Students learned a poem about spring that utilized a variety of literacy devices, language and rhythms. Using a parachute, children have better access to following the beat because it is a tactile experience. Moving while reciting poetry allows readers to integrate the words that craft the poetry they learn. Students Alyssa Pearlman and Sara Rodriguez both agreed that the “poetry parachute” was creative, fun and a nice way to share with others.
Second graders welcomed in students from special needs classes to join in the experience in their own unique way. National Poetry Month at Cornwell Avenue concluded with children taking their poetry show on the road and sharing the fruits of their poetry harvest with students and staff around the school.
“Poetry is power. It gives children a voice they didn't know they had,” Ms. Corrado said.
