Teaching Reading Skills through Poetry

The purpose of this unit is to incorporate poetry into the kindergarten classroom to improve reading skills, encourage language play, and develop stronger relationships with peers and family. It is important to introduce poetry into the primary grades. Often times, poetry is not taught until the middle grades, at which point it is taught only for cognitive skills and these children tend not to develop a love and enjoyment for poetry. When poetry is brought into the primary grades it is used to teach cognitive skills as well as enjoyed for word play. This unit will address how poetry is a perfect way to teach reading skills, encourage language play, and develop stronger relationships with peers and family.