EDUCATION
Poetry in Primary Education
Poetry can be an invaluable tool in primary education. It allows the child to play with words, to have fun with them, and to think of them much more dynamically than other forms of literature allow. Poetry can be something very meaningful and individual. But it can also be something very social, something a child can read aloud or share. There are numerous benefits to introducing a child to poetry, some of which I will list below:
In basic Language structures…
Poetry helps build phonemic and syllabic awareness while also having the potential to enhance the child’s alphabetic principle, vocabulary, fluency, self-expression, and writing skills.
In the comprehension of language…
Introducing a child to poetry at an early age could significantly enhance a child’s reading capabilities and comprehension.
In how a child understands and uses language…
Poetry demands a much greater attention to detail than most other writing forms. It encourages the child to think about brevity and precision, especially when the poem has a set structure, like a Haiku or Tanka. It can also introduce them to abstraction via the many different poetic effects like metaphor or simile.
In Second Language acquisition…
In nearly every language, there are rhythmic patterns and measures. Poetry provides a perfect staging ground where the reader can experiment with different rhythms, making it much easier to identify and imitate them when learning a new language.
But it has much more to offer…
Poetry can enhance a child’s thinking skills, encouraging them to see patterns and make connections in their learning. It also can help a child acquire social skills, and it may even prove helpful to their psychological and mental well-being.
Children’s poetry is one of the most accessible forms of literature there is. If a child is a struggling reader, a ten-lined poem appears much less daunting than a twenty-thousand-word book. There is also much less risk of alienation with a poem; if a child has a bad experience with a poem, all they’ve lost is a few minutes. They are less likely to be discouraged.
Bibliography
Cousins, S. (2017). ‘The Use of Poetry in a Spiral-Patterned Methodology for Research about Love in Early Childhood’. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 30(4): 323–339.
Hadaway, N, L., Vardell, S, M. and Young, Terrell A. (2001). ‘Scaffolding Oral Language Development Through Poetry for Students Learning English’. The Reading Teacher’ 54(8): 796–806.
LaBonty, J. and Danielson, K. (2004). ‘Reading and Writing Poetry in Math’. Reading Horizons, 45(1): 39–54.
Maynard, S., Davies, J, E. and Robinson, R. (2005). ‘Poetry for pleasure: promoting poetry to children in public libraries’. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 37(1): 35–43.
Stange, T, V. and Wyant, S, L. (2008), ‘Poetry Proves to be Positive in the Primary Grades’, Reading Horizons 48(3): 201–214.
Perfect, K, A. (1999). ‘Rhyme and Reason: Poetry for the Heart and Head’. The Reading Teacher 52(7): 728–737.
Pietropinto, A. (1975). ‘Monsters of the mind: Nonsense poetry and art psychotherapy’. Art Psychotherapy 2(1): 45–54.
Pramling, N. (2009). ‘Introducing poetry‐making in early years education’. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 17(3): 377–390.
Rieder, J. (1998). ‘Edward Lear’s Limericks: The Function of Children’s Nonsense Poetry’. Children’s Literature, 26, pp.47–60.
Stange, T, V. and Wyant, S, L. (2008). ‘Poetry Proves to Be Positive in the Primary Grades’. Reading Horizons 48(3): 201–214.
Steinbergh, J, W. (1999). ‘Mastering Metaphor through Poetry’. Language Arts 76(4): 324–31.
