Poetry Cafe

It is that time of year again.  Time to celebrate our poetry writing through a Poetry Cafe.  This is often a highlight of the year for both my students and myself.  First grade poetry simply makes my heart melt.  I have the students create individual poetry books filled with poems that have gone through the writing process. The students write 4-6 grade level appropriate poems that they write over the month of January. Having it this time of year keeps my focus on details and level of fun high. We all know fun= crazy times high levels of engagement.  No winter blues in my class!  To the left our scaled back version of the Poetry Cafe.







Last year I blew up the poetry cafe by making it a night where students read a poem in front of all the families.  We had it in the library with decorated tables, treats, coffee, hot chocolate and a sound system.  This year I had to down scale due to other professional commitments taking up so much time.  I realized that no matter how big or small I make special events in my mind, they are just as special and memorable for the students.  Here are a couple pictures from last year's event.

coffee, cider, & hot chocolate

delicious treats

student created flowers for tables

My original inspiration for this event came from the third grade teacher extraordinaire Beth Newingham.  She is so talented and last year I wanted to replicate her idea at a first grade level.  She has her blog posted on Scholastic.