Easily Add Poetry Recitation to Your Homeschool

When my son was in second grade, I decided to give weekly poetry recitation a try. I wanted poetry to have a bigger place in our homeschool, but I honestly had no idea how much fun the two of us would have!

Practice became a bright spot in our day. And when he recited a poem from memory? That proud smile was worth every minute.

Our routine was simple: choose a poem, spend a few minutes with it each day, and recite it when he was ready. We found plenty to enjoy and talk about, with a few opportunities for spelling, copywork, and other language arts practice, too.

Choosing a Poem for Recitation

Our first poem was just one stanza. I wanted my son to experience success before asking him to tackle anything longer.

For your first few poems, look for ones that are short, easy to understand, and enjoyable to read aloud. A funny poem, a familiar subject, or a lively rhythm can make practice something to look forward to.

I often chose poems that fit the season or a nature topic we were studying. You can also let your student choose from a few poems you’ve selected. Having a favorite makes it much easier to want to read it again!

Our Weekly Poetry Recitation Routine

Here’s how a typical week looked in our homeschool. You can follow the same pattern during morning time, as part of language arts, or whenever a few minutes fit into your day.

{The 1st poem of the year was just one stanza.}

Monday: Read and Understand the Poem

First, I read the poem aloud. Then I asked him to tell me what it was about in his own words.

That’s narration, and it gave me a chance to find out whether he understood the poem before he began memorizing it. Was something funny happening? Could he picture the scene? Was there a word or phrase that didn’t make sense?

We talked through unfamiliar vocabulary and any confusing lines. Then he read the poem aloud to me once.

If your student isn’t reading independently yet, you can read a line and have them repeat it after you.

{I often choose poems that go with a season or nature topic we’ve been studying.}

Tuesday–Thursday: Practice a Little Each Day

Over the next few days, my son read the poem to himself and aloud. As the words became familiar, he covered part of the page and tried saying a line or two from memory.

We paid attention to the poem’s rhythm, too. Hearing the beat and noticing the rhymes often helped him remember what came next.

You don’t need to memorize the whole poem at once. Try practicing the first line or two, adding another small section, and then saying those parts together. When a word slips away, a quick peek at the page or a prompt from you can keep things moving.

Most days, a few minutes is plenty.

{The 3rd poem of the year was a bit longer than the first two.}

Friday: Recite the Poem

By the end of many weeks, my son was ready to recite his poem from memory. If he needed more time, we kept practicing.

One of his longer poems took two weeks because it included several unfamiliar words. There was no reason to rush through it just to finish on Friday.

He especially enjoyed reciting in front of a video camera and watching himself afterward. You might have a student who would love to do the same! Others may prefer reciting to you, sharing with a sibling, or calling a grandparent.

Start with an audience that feels comfortable. Saying a familiar poem aloud gives students a chance to practice speaking clearly and using expression.

{I love his smile at the end of this video.  This 4th poem gave him a bit of a challenge at first, so he was very proud to have made it through.  Oops, we forgot to brush his hair this day!)

Optional Language Arts Lessons

Sometimes a poem led naturally to a short language arts lesson.

We might notice rhyming words, talk about how punctuation affects the way we read a line, or discuss a particularly interesting description.

He loved hearing, “Get out the whiteboard!” That meant I was going to challenge him to spell a few words from the week’s poem. Occasionally, we used a stanza for copywork, too – usually about once a month.

These were little extras when they fit. We didn’t do all of them with every poem, and you don’t need to either. Reading, enjoying, and practicing the poem can be enough.

{Poem #5 – even longer.}

Let Poetry Recitation Grow Slowly

As he became more comfortable, I gradually chose longer poems. By the end of the semester, he was reciting four stanzas!

That growth was exciting to watch, but a longer poem doesn’t have to be the goal every week. Some short poems have challenging vocabulary or tricky phrasing. Others are simply too good to pass up.

Choose poems that offer a manageable challenge, and give your student time to enjoy them. You can also revisit an old favorite occasionally. It’s fun to discover how much comes back after hearing the first line.

{His final poem of the semester took two weeks to memorize because of the new vocabulary.}

This post contains affiliate links.

Poetry Recitation Resources

Most of our first semester’s poems came from an old favorite: Childcraft’s Poems and Rhymes. It was a wonderful fit for my son because it offered plenty of poems with subjects and lengths that suited him.

You may already have a poetry collection on your bookshelf. If not, check your library or browse these collections for poems your family might enjoy:

• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
• A Child’s Garden of Verses
• The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury
• A Child’s Book of Poems
• Where the Sidewalk Ends

 

The Poetry for Young People series is another option, especially when you’d like to spend time with one poet. Collections include poems by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and William Butler Yeats.

You don’t need to work through a book in order. Browse, read a few poems aloud, and choose one that catches your student’s interest.

Why Make Time for Poetry?

Poetry gives us so much to enjoy in a small amount of reading. A few lines can tell a story, paint a picture, make us laugh, or describe something familiar in a way we’ve never considered.

Reading a poem several times gives us a chance to notice more of those details. Recitation takes that familiarity a little further, until we can carry the words with us and enjoy them without opening the book.

And, as I discovered with Eli, there’s a special satisfaction in reaching the last line and realizing, “I did it!”

Choose one short poem and read it together. That’s enough to begin.

How do you use poetry in your homeschool? I’d love to hear!

&

If you need more ideas for poetry study, I’ve pinned some great ideas on my Poetry Pinterest Board!