This month our poetry teatime theme was all things Jane Yolen. Jane Yolen is a fabulous author who is most well known for her "How Do Dinosaurs..." books. The kids had a blast reading poems she had written as well as her books that are poetry with pictures.
We discussed how poetry could be in many different forms and talked about other places we might find poetry. Some of our favorite Jane Yolen poems are:
Jane Yolen Poetry Teatime Snacks
Inspired by our favorite dinosaur books, we cut crumb cake into dinosaur shapes. If you have time, baking is a fun activity to get your kids involved in before poetry teatime. But, you can simply purchase cakes and cut out the dinosaur shapes with cookie cutters.
Some of the moms brought other snacks for the kids to enjoy. These teabag cookies were a huge hit. They were so cute and the kids thought they were delicious. You can find the recipe and a free printable at Joybilee Farms.
Jane Yolen Poetry Teatime Decorations
We kept with the dinosaur theme and decorated the tables with dinosaurs large and small. Jane Yolen books were set out on the tables as well as our teapot clock and adorable heart tea cozy.
Poetry Teatime Activities
Analyzing Poetry with the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer
Recently, I was reading in The Writer's Jungle about creating graphic organizers to help students with their writing. I started thinking that maybe these principles could be applied to poetry. So, we tried them out at our Poetry Teatime.
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I started by reading a poem to the children. The poem I decided to use was Caged Bird by Maya Angelou. After the children had an opportunity to hear the poem I asked them to try to fill out the graphic organizer. I explained what each of the parts meant (theme, voice, mood, and meter).
Then I reread the poem. The children were able to get more meaning during the second reading. The moms were impressed at the insight the kids had about this poem. We discussed it at length before moving onto the second sheet of the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer.
Writing Poetry with the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer
After spending time analyzing poems, the children were ready to write poems of their own. We used the second part of the graphic organizer to come up with writing ideas. They came up with their own theme, decided on the mood and even came up with a rhyming meter. Once all their ideas were organized, they were able to write some pretty awesome poems!
Download the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer
If you would like to try out the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer at your next Poetry Teatime, subscribe below.
If you are already a subscriber to Hide The Chocolate, you can find the Poet-Tree Graphic Organizer in the Chocolate Closet along with other free printables.
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Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
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