Literacy

World Poetry Day 

World Poetry Day happened this week on Tuesday the 21st of March. Poetry is a much loved and essential part of the school curriculum that students enjoy participating in. To celebrate this occasion, the Literacy newsletter this week will have a poetry focus.

The Power of Poetry

Teachers view poetry as being a powerful method to improve reading and writing. Some of the benefits of learning about poetry include:

• It motivates students to read. Whilst poetry is often short, poetry is still packed with important literary elements such as characters, narrative structure, new words, and sometimes rhyming that can help children build foundational and more advanced literacy skills. 
• It teaches young readers about speech. Reading poetry helps children about voice, pitch, volume, and inflection. While these are mainly functions of speech, they’re also incredibly important for children learning to read. 
• It builds vocabulary. Like any form of reading, poetry can introduce children to new words. 
• It encourages creativity. Children have wonderful, active imaginations. Poetry can help children tap into their creativity by encouraging them to think about the new and unexpected relationships between words. 
• It is enjoyable to read aloud. Reading poetry aloud, just like reading other genres aloud, can help children improve their literacy skills. When kids read aloud, they think more deeply about the sound of the words they’re saying and therefore improve their reading skills. 

Reference- Ally Bush from Reading Partners

Poetry in our Library

Our Library has a whole section devoted to poetry. The books range from the clever and zany Dr Suess picture books to Banjo Paterson's ballads, such as the Man from Snowy River. Encourage your child to visit this section and try exploring some of these texts.  

Some books from our Library that your child might like to read are: 

All Right Vegemite written by June Factor - This book is about lots of poems that are funny and rhymes. For example: It’s hard enough to find friends, it’s hard enough to find hope, but it’s harder still to find a towel when your eyes are full of soap. It is really fun and I give it a 6 star rating. 

Review by Binoy R

The Man From Snowy River written by Banjo Paterson - The rhymes were creative and it told a good story. The pictures looked like old paintings which looked really good with the poetic story. I liked the book. 

Comment by Mason L 

Green Eggs and Ham written by Dr Seuss - This classic story is about Sam I am trying to make the guy eat green eggs and ham. It contains lots of rhyming words and some made-up words. Everyone should read it at least once in their life. 10 out of 10! 

Review by Chloe S and Milla S

Unreal, Banana Peel by June Factor and Peter Viska - This book has incredibly good poems that rhyme about completely different things that some people will find funny for example this one: Waltzing Matilda boos for St Kilda up with Fitzroy and down with Geelong. I give this book 5 stars for its incredibly good poems and creative adjectives you should TOTALLY read this book.

Review by Olivia B

Writing Poetry

Over the course of a Vermont student's time at school, they will typically learn how to write the following types of poems:

• Haikus
• Acrostics
• Couplet poems 
• Free Verse 
• Ballads
• Limericks
• Cinquain

Your child may mention these at home. If you are wanting to learn more about what they are or try writing some with your child at home, the following website has some guides. 

https://poetry4kids.com/lessons/poetry-writing-lessons/

Winter by Cooper C and Cara L                            Nature by Lucas R and Will O

                                                               Puppies by Kate W   

Writing Competition! 

All students have the opportunity to participate in the 2023 Schools Poetry & Short Story 'Cool Writings' Writing Competition! Students are invited to enter a16 line poem OR 500 word short story that they have written at home. There is no theme! Entrants are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and write on ANY TOPIC and in ANY STYLE. There are some great prizes on offer. Entry is FREE and all entries must be in by the closing date of 23 April 2023! For more information and to download the entry form, visit the website below. 

https://www.write4fun.net/competitions/74

Please note, entry forms still have original closing date of 26 March 2023 on them. The competition HAS BEEN EXTENDED to 23 APRIL and all entries will be accepted up to this date. 

If your child would like some support or help writing it, please ask them to come and see Mr Hoskin at lunchtime. 

Fortnightly Segments 

Comprehension questions to ask at home

This fortnight’s questions are (these could relate to poetry or narrative text types):

• Choose a feeling or emotion expressed in the book. Describe a time you felt that way. 
• What is the text theme or moral of your text? 
• Can you think of any events in your life that have a similar theme, plot or event? 

Writing Challenge

If your child enjoys their writing and is keen to write for enjoyment at home, below is a prompt that you could ask your child to write about. 

Write a poem where a boring, everyday experience gets turned into a big adventure.