In this week's fluency readings, one quote particularly stood out to me in the article, "Creating Fluent Readers", by Timothy Rasinski. The quote reads, "I see many teachers converting their classrooms into poetry cafés and readers' theatre festivals on Friday afternoons to give students the opportunity to perform the assigned texts they have diligently practiced during the week." I see this as being a great way to get children to practice reading aloud, which I learned helps with fluency, and a better option than the normal "sit in your desk and wait to be called on both voluntarily and involuntarily" approach. This is something children can expect to happen each week and gives them motivation to practice reading aloud!
Below are some pictures of a class who implemented a poetry café setting in their room. It's a great fun and creative way to encourage young (and old) children! Here is a link to help you create your own
poetry café! I wonder what else a teacher can do to help children practice fluency in a fun way?
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Poetry%20Cafe.htm
I love the pictures from the poetry cafe! You can tell that the teacher put a lot of effort into it, which makes the kids take it seriously and appreciate it as well. I agree with your statement that this could definitely be applied to all grade levels. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I think this is a great idea to help encourage children with practicing literacy! The way the teacher set up the room made the environment very inviting for the children to really get into character.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lot of fun! This is a great link to show others how to implement such a beneficial activity in the classroom! I love the props that they even gave the children to make it even more like a real poetry cafe! I think younger children would love getting to wear the sunglasses and hat! I think what else is so great about this is that the day is predictable so they always know when they are expected to read aloud...but in a fun way rather than being called on.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of the poetry cafe! It is a great way to get kids envolved and to help with fluency. Children are always excited to share their own work and this is also a good way to get them to practice writing as well.
ReplyDeleteI love this poetry cafe. It is really similar to the "Rootbeer lounge" I had in my classroom. Thanks for sharing these photos!
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