Book Review

Kids’ Poems: Teaching Kindergartners to Love Writing Poetry, by Regie Routman, 2000

Regie Routman’s name has come up several times in our Oregon Writing Project over the past few weeks as we talk about literacy in the primary grades, so I was happy to read one of her books. There are four books in this Kids’ Poems series by Routman; the other three are for grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 and 4.

This is the second book about teaching poetry in the primary grades that I chose to read and review for this class and I was hoping to get some new and additional information out of this book. In comparing the two books (The other book was Teeth, Wiggly as Earthquakes by Judith Tannenbaum.), I found that there were some similarities, but Routman’s book is more detailed and digs deeper, so it was definitely worth the read.

The first chapter is called “Why Poetry Writing in Kindergarten?” Routman said she began trying poetry in kindergarten in the mid-nineties, in response to teachers who wanted to build interest about writing in their kindergartners. These teachers were doing journal writing with their students, as well as offering writing options at choice time, but no one was choosing it. After they started writing poetry, teachers described the renewed excitement and creative energy they witnessed. One teacher said, “Of all the writing I’ve ever done with kindergartners, poetry has been the most successful.” Routman lists some of the advantages of writing poetry in kindergarten, which include: It’s short and sweet so even young children can be successful, it inspires a love of language, it invites careful word choice, it is creative and open-ended, and it is conducive to collaboration.

It helps if the children have a rich background of literacy experiences and vocabulary before they attempt to do their own writing. For this reason, and because they are older and more able to work independently, Routment recommends waiting until springtime to introduce poetry writing in kindergarten. She suggests a three week time frame for introducing poetry, with about three to four sessions each week; an hour should be allocated for the first session. Routman lists the following steps for introducing poetry writing in kindergarten:
- Read some poems that have been written by kindergartners. Teachers may use some of the many examples in this book and/or they should begin to keep a collection of copies from their own students through the years. After reading the poems, ask: “What do you notice? What do you like?”
- Next, the teacher demonstrates poetry writing, thinking aloud while she composes a poem: “Hmmm, I wonder what I should write about. I know, I could write about ____ or ____. I think I’ll choose ____. Let’s see . . . what could the title be?” etc.
- Then the class writes a poem collaboratively to practice the process.
- Finally, after some quick brainstorming for ideas, children are ready to write their own poems. Routman has the children compose their poems orally, before they sit down to write, which keeps the ideas flowing and inspires other children. It helps to have other adults in the room to listen to the oral compositions. When they go to their seats, the children already know what they will write which keeps them engaged and productive. Later the children can share their poems with the others, which is a vital step in the process.

I am eager to try this process, just as Routman describes it. I am especially interested in this idea of oral compostion before the children go off to write their poems - that sounds both pracal and wise. I love the fact that they will be energized and ready to write immediately; my only question is whether the children will actually remember their poems when they sit down.

In subsequent sessions the teacher does not need to go through every step of the initial process, but she/he should always include one or two of the elements: read examples or have a teacher demonstration or write a group poem collabortatively. Each session should include brainstorming and oral composition prior to writing.

One of the most emphasized strategies in this book is sharing other kindergartners’ poems. The crucial message to the children is, “You can do this, too.” This is also a good instructional opportunity to notice and discuss elements in the poems such as effective titles, word choice, repetition and use of white space.

When I began reading this book I noticed that the first page in the book is a “Summary of Instuctional Plan for Poetry Writing in Kindergarten.” Just as Routman intended, this summary is a good reference to use after reading the book, as a quick review and reminder for the teacher. I will be referring to this page because I plan to purchase Kids’ Poems and use it with my students. The message I got from Regie Routman through her book is “You can do this, too.”