Poetry in PYP 1/2: Learning to Express Ourselves
By Ms. Bridget Schwab, PYP 1/2 Teacher
In PYP Grade 1/2, our current Unit of Inquiry is How We Express Ourselves. Through this unit, students are learning that art and writing can help us share our ideas, feelings, and experiences. One of the ways we are doing this is through poetry.
In our poetry lessons, students are learning about rhythm, simple structure, and figurative language. Poetry gives students the chance to play with words, try new ideas, and enjoy writing in a fun and supportive way.
We began our poetry unit by writing poems about silly animals. Students used rhyming words and practised the glued sounds (ing, ang, ung, ong, onk, unk, ank, ink) they have been learning in phonics. This helped students connect their sound learning to their writing while keeping the activity playful and engaging.
In our third poem, students practised using similes. We started with the phrase “Quiet as a Mouse” and used it to build a short poem. Students then wrote their own poems by comparing themselves or an action to an animal or object. This gave students a clear starting point while still allowing them to be creative and express their own ideas.
For our second poem, students used Christina Rossetti’s “Mix a Pancake” as inspiration. They wrote descriptive poems about how to make a food that is important to them and their culture. This activity gave students a chance to share something special about themselves and their families while practising descriptive words and rhythm.
We will continue exploring poetry during this unit, and I look forward to seeing students grow in confidence as writers. We hope to share some of their poems during our Literacy Week in March. Overall, this poetry unit has helped students learn that writing can be expressive, meaningful, and fun.
