Today, many changes have taken place in how children learn and understand things. Earlier, the concept of going to school and mugging up the subjects was so strong that children were tired of studying. But now, with the introduction of new teaching methods and learning activities, they find learning fun and interesting. As kids’ learning is supported by stories, poems, worksheets and essays, we will see how an English poem will build language competency in children.
As learning has turned online, we can see a decline in reading among children. In a classroom, children had the opportunity to sing the rhymes along with the teacher or read the verses of the poem aloud. But in online learning for kids, we know how difficult it is to make them sit and sing at least the first two lines of the poem. Since poems help in building reading and communication skills in children, we must come up with innovative ways to teach poetry online. If your kids are displeased when they hear it is time to learn an English poem, try out these ideas to develop their interest.
Ways to Teach Poems to Kids Online
We know the struggles behind teaching poems to kids while in a classroom. Though poems for kids are funny and engaging, it will be a challenge to keep their interest alive throughout an online learning class. This is why we must always carry a few activities and exercises on our sleeves to teach poems in an online class.
Haven’t you seen how kids keenly watch animated songs on YouTube without even flashing their eyelashes for a second? So, let us try teaching the poems by sharing funny videos. By watching and listening to these poems, children will quickly learn them and assimilate new words and phrases into their vocabulary. In this way, we can make them listen to a diverse set of poems and slowly, they will appreciate them and learn to write one on their own.
Once they are familiar with a poem, let us create interesting activities for children centring on that particular poem. This could range from finding rhyming words, similes, onomatopoeic words and alliteration. We can also divide them into groups of three or four and assign them simple tasks like getting facts about the poet, making a poster on the figures of speech used in the poem or reciting the poem in a different tone or style. This will pique their interest in learning poems without any compulsion. In addition, we can ask them to do a puppet show or skit based on the theme of the poem and record it so that everyone can see their creativity and language proficiency.
Importance of Teaching Poems to Children
Through poems, we will be able to develop a love for language in children. They will be amused by the way in which the poets play with words to create laughter in children. By introducing an English poem at an early age, children will start to identify words and understand the vocabulary of the English language. Thus, poems must be an integral part of kids’ learning, and we have seen some ways to make it engaging during online learning for kids.
Along with making children experts in the language, poems enable them to be better learners. As an English poem will help them to memorise what they have learnt, it is best that we teach them many poems and rhymes. Children will find the musical structure and the flow of words in the poem easy to follow and understand. Hence, they will learn about sound, pitch, volume and intonation, thus enhancing their speech abilities. Therefore, let us make their classes lively and fun with poems and see how their reading, writing and speaking skills will improve significantly.