Happy National Poetry Month!
Spring just seems like the perfect time to celebrate a lovely art form and there are a few programs that help us create this art form digitally! During April, all of our K-5 Students will create a variety of poems. These poems will be on display at our Tech Fair....naturally!
Word Magnets: I've always had word magnets on our fridge for my girls. We arrange sweet messages, craft notes, and doodle other quirky stuff...it's fun! When I searched for a digital version for K-5 Students, I was actually surprised at the limited amount and quality of offerings for such a program. I sometimes think that this is one of the few but cool ways to get kids creating...writing....tinkering! At any rate....this year, we will use "Kids Magnetic Poetry Kit" (http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Kids/kit). Simply put, arrange the tiles of words, select 'more words', then save, print and share. My wish is for a true 'kid-friendly' view, final product and experience. Make it pleasing for kids to be on the site! I do appreciate that there are no pop-up ads to contend with and the words are 'safe' for my K-5 friends...Thank You!
Another program that I've happened up recently was Poetry Splatter by Reading is Fundamental (http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet/gamestation/poetrysplatter.htm) This actually separates the 'form' poems by age appropriateness...ages 3 up to 14. When you access a poem and click on 'Splat', a set of words are dropped to work with by matching the colors of the borders to the blank lines that appear in the poem. It's like a 'Mad Lib'. My wish for this program is that since it is like a 'Mad Lib', that it would allow the 'poet' to create their own words to insert on the lines...just an idea. Still....it's fun and has fun results.
Read-Write-Think (www.readwritethink.org) is a true winner here! Theme poems, Acrostic Poems, Diamante Poems....all are so easy, with a fresh layout and a nice print-out all make for a pleasant Student experience. The Theme Poem program, I've used with Kindergarten through 2nd, although it's a little tricky for my K-Friends. I've modified the 'poem' idea for them, to jot words that describe the theme'd picture or think of things you can do with that theme. This seems to work better for them. The Acrostic Poems are best for 2nd Graders and up and the Diamante for 4th and up.
Roses are red and violets are blue...
Elana Moore
