POETRY CAN BE USED TO TEACH READING

Through most of her school career my daughter struggled to read because of a learning disability. Even the familiar stories that she loved were difficult for her.

Quite by accident, in a high school drama class, she discovered Shakespeare. While many students struggled with the bard's words, she found in them a doorway into the literary worlds previously denied her. Their rhythm was her key to unlock that door.

Poetry, with its meter, with its rhythm and rhyme, has been a gateway to the world of reading for about as long as reading has existed.

"Nursery rhymes" have made us laugh, taught us our colors and numbers, provided nurturing time with loving family as well as a blueprint of how to be . . . well, us. They can also aid students who struggle with reading.

Five little monkeys sitting in a tree

Teasing Mister Alligator: "can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Along comes Mister Alligator quiet as can be and
SNAP!

Four little monkeys sitting in a tree

Teasing Mister Alligator: "can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Along comes Mister Alligator quiet as can be and
SNAP!

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree

Teasing Mister Alligator: "can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Along comes Mister Alligator quiet as can be and
SNAP!

Two little monkeys sitting in a tree

Teasing Mister Alligator: "can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Along comes Mister Alligator quiet as can be and
SNAP!

One little monkey sitting in a tree
Teasing Mister Alligator: "can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Along comes Mister Alligator quiet as can be and
SNAP!

Missed me!

SOME SOURCES:

Using Poetry to teach reading.

Poetry teachers dot com.
Giggle poetry.
Five Little Monkeys, courtesy of: Smart-Central.com.