YEAR LONG 3rd Grade Choral Reading + Vocabulary Poem Book

****I will update the poem book each year to allow for the book to match the calendar so holiday/seasonal poems can be done during the appropriate time.

This book serves as both a fluency and vocabulary builder! I have used this for several years in my classroom and my kids really enjoy it. It also contributes to my students' overall reading level improvement and having everything in one place makes it so easy to stay organized!

What's included:
36 vocabulary rich poems that are aligned with holidays and events.
36 graphic organizers that will allow students to dig deep into four words from the poem.

How it can be used:
In my class, each Monday we'd start our reading block by introducing a new poem. The kids love discovering a new poem each Monday. I start by reviewing why we read the poems and what skill we are working on. "Fluency: to read like we speak. Not reading like a robot" This gives them purpose for why they are reading the poems.

I read the poem alone the first time it's read so students can read along silently, reading each word, even unfamiliar ones and listen to me model fluency with this particular poem.

The second time, I invite my students to choral read with me, students aren't required to read aloud if they are comfortable yet on the first try, but they must read along. The students who are reading aloud are encouraged to read as one voice, it should sound as though we are all reading at the same rate and with the same prosody.

We do this daily, throughout the week, . Every Tuesday and Thursday after choral reading we pull two words from the poem and highlight them. We discuss the meaning and they work together as a group to make their sentences and find antonyms and synonyms and share their picture. It has been found through conversation and interactions with the words, they become learned vocabulary.

I have seen many successes come from using this strategy in my class. Once procedures are learned, each activity takes 5 minutes or less. It is a quick and engaging way for students to learn fluency and gain some vocabulary!