POEMS
FOR
R E P E AT E D R E A D I N G S
American Heritage
BY
ELSIE WALUSH
The Declaration of Independence,
The Constitution with its Bill of Rights:
These are the bulwarks of our heritage,
These are our nation’s guiding lights.
Freedom of speech, freedom of press,
Freedom to worship as we please,
The right to assemble, the right to petition,
Are some of the freedoms we recite with ease.
The right to life, the right to liberty,
The right to pursuit of happiness,
The right to equality, the right to security,
The right to live without undue stress.
But what of the many other rights,
Not written in our laws—
The right to labor, the right to suffer,
The right to fight for freedom’s cause?
For these are rights our forefathers chose,
When they laid our country’s foundation,
And these are the rights we must assume
To preserve our precious nation.
Perfect Poems With Strategies for Building Fluency: Grades 5-6 © Scholastic Teaching Resources
57
Instructional Routine
POEMS
BY
AND
PHRASING
LEE BEN
NETT
HOPKINS
In the city
I live in—
city I love—
afternoons puls
e
with
STEP 1: Distribute copies of the poem or write the poem on
chart paper. As an alternative, make a transparency of the
poem and show it on the overhead projector.
In the city
I live in—
city I love—
nights shimmer
with lights
competing
with stars
above
unknown heig
hts.
for Building Fluenc
y: Grades 5–6
Scholastic Teach
ing
Resources
people hurrying
,
scurrying—
races of face
s
pacing to
must-get-there
places.
ON OF
AT T E R N S
PHONICS P
AND
Perfect Poems
With Strategies
In the city
I live in—
city I love—
as dreams
start to cree
p
my city
of senses
lulls
me
to sleep.
40
DS
SIGHT WOR
r Seen?
Have You Eve
POEMS
TO
GNITI
BUILD RECO
L
TIONA
Resources
—TRADI
ing
Scholastic Teach
STEP 4: Assign the poem to partners, small groups, or
individuals based on the goal of each poem. For example,
poems designed for repeated readings should be assigned to
individuals, whereas poems for choral readings should
be assigned to small groups.
With Strategies
y: Grades 5–6
for Building Fluenc
?
on a river bed
seen a sheet
Have you ever from a hammer’s head?
Or a single hair mountain any toes?
a
of
foot
Has the
en hose?
a pair of gard
And is there
k its eye?
dle ever win
fly?
Does the nee
g of a building
win
the
sn’t
Why doe
a parasol?
le the ribs of
all?
Can you tick
k of a tree at
trun
the
n
Or ope
?
going to bite
h of a rake ever left or right?
Are the teet
any
ds of a clock
Have the han plot be deep and dark?
?
en
bark
gard
h’s
Can the
the birc
the sound of
And what is
Perfect Poems
STEP 3: Do an echo reading of the poem. Read aloud each
stanza and have students repeat using the same pace,
accuracy, and expression.
B U I L D I N TO
N AT I O N
In the city
I live in—
city I love—
mornings wak
e
to
swishes, swa
shes,
sputters
of sweepers
swooshing litte
r
from gutters.
Use the following routine for introducing
each poem.
STEP 2: Read aloud the poem. Highlight one or two aspects
of fluency, such as intonation or phrasing. Discuss these
aspects of fluency and model them using selected
sentences or phrases from the poem.
TO
City I Love
44
STEP 5: Provide time throughout the week for students to
practice reading aloud their poems. Circulate and listen in.
Provide feedback on key aspects of fluent reading. Then, allow
students to share their readings at the end of the week.
S TO
BUILD
Pa u l
BY
RECO
MEIS
Oh, he
ca
So a lo me from M
t
in
He co of people sa nesota,
ul
y.
In less d chop a hu
ndred
than ha
trees do
lf a da
wn
y!
He wa
s famou
His m
s as a lu
us
He ha cles were lik mberjack,
uled a
e rock
s!
heav
With Ba
be, his y load of lo
gs
big blue
ox!
Tall Pa
ul
Chopp Bunyan,
ing do
wn thos
In the
forest
e
tre
es!
with hi
He clea
s
red th
e way giant axe,
with ea
se!
Oh, Pa
ul was
Full of
qu
energy ite a logger
,
He co
and pe
ul
p!
In just d walk across
one gi
a
riv
er
ant ste
p!
Oh, Pa
ul coul
Just as
d lift a
ea
m
They sa sy as a wink ountain
!
y he du
Just so
Babe co g the Great
La
uld ha
ve a dr kes
Tall Pa
ink!
ul
Chopp Bunyan,
in
In the g down thos
fo
e
He clea rest with hi trees!
s
red th
e way giant axe,
with ea
se!
GNIT
ION
OF
PHON
ICS
PAT T E
Bunya
H
GOL
RNS
AND
SIGHT
WORD
S
n
DIS
H
Schola
stic Tea
ching
Resour
ces
Perfect
Poems
With Stra
tegies for
Buildin
g Fluenc
y: Gra
des 5–6
Above all, have fun with the poems in this book. Poems are
like language amusement parks; they represent the works of
those playing with language in rhythmic and creative ways.
Sharing the joys of written language with students is a
wonderful and valuable gift.
POEM
53
Perfect Poems With Strategies for Building Fluency: Grades 5-6 © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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