Five Reasons Why You Should Read Poetry to Your Child
By: Mary Gallagher
Tags: Education, Poetry, Childrens Books, Parenting, Literacy

Read poetry to develop phonemic awareness

Long before children can learn to read by decoding phonetic elements in a word, we lay the foundation for reading success by developing their phonological (or phonemic) awareness. Phonemic awareness is the best predictor of reading success that we have. Let me say that again– phonemic awareness is the best predictor of reading success. Isn’t that a good enough reason to read poetry to your child?

Using rhyming poetry will help develop this skill in your pre-readers. There’s a reason Mother Goose, Dr, Seuss, and nursery rhymes have stood the test of time! Let’s take this common nursery rhyme for example:

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,

his wife could eat no lean,

and so between the two of them, they licked the platter clean.

Just unpacking this simple nursery rhyme we see how children are being introduced to the short ‘a’ sound, rhyming word families like ‘at’ and the long ‘e’ vowel pattern of ‘ea’. Hearing these sounds and playing with them in language will go a long way to help them be successful when it’s time to read these words and decode the patterns.

Read poetry to develop your child’s fluency

Another benefit of reading poetry is that it helps slow or stilted readers develop fluency. Fluency is more than just the ability to read quickly, but when schools are only focused on fluency rate, your child can conclude that reading well is about reading fast. You can use poetry to model phrasing, the rhythm of reading, and expression. It is impossible to read poetry without infusing it with expression. Take this excerpt from a poem by Jack Prelutsky, for example:

The Bogeyman

BY JACK PRELUTSKY

In the desolate depths of a perilous place

the bogeyman lurks, with a snarl on his face.

Never dare, never dare to approach his dark lair

for he’s waiting . . . just waiting . . . to get you.

He skulks in the shadows, relentless and wild

in his search for a tender, delectable child.

With his steely sharp claws and his slavering jaws

oh he’s waiting . . . just waiting . . . to get you.

I bet you were reading that with expression in your head, weren't you?

There is also rich vocabulary in poems like these — vocabulary your child will not see in a boring fluency passage or decodable phonics reader! This type of exposure to poetry helps build your child’s imagination and ability to visualize while he reads — an important skill for comprehending what he reads.

Read poetry because it’s fun and interesting

Children who are reluctant readers will often only read if something really, really interests them. Poems can spark interest in reading for the child who has been trained that reading is boring. Shake things up with poetry. Read all types of poetry and let your child try his hand at writing poems too! If your child likes silly, funny, or humorous poetry (which many grade-level children do), go for Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein.

Photo by Robyn Budlender on Unsplash

Read poetry because it’s short and quick

Our reluctant readers will groan and moan when faced with a page of text or long paragraphs, but reading a poem makes the words slide along quickly and smoothly. Use poetry that interests your child if they are easily intimidated by long chunks of text or shut down when faced with too many words on a page. When you don’t have a lot of time for reading aloud (which I hope you do daily!) a poem or two is a great option. Keep poetry books handy and grab one when you are in a hurry. Don’t worry about reading them over and over — that’s what poetry is for and children love to hear their favorite stories again and again and again and again…

Read poetry to encourage repeated readings

Children need to reread text in order to be able to read it fluently. Poetry is made to be read over and over again so it’s an ideal tool to use to help develop your child’s fluency and comprehension skills. In fact, the more you read a poem, the more fun it becomes!

Read poetry often, introduce it early, and let your child reap the many benefits from poetry!

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