Learning Outcomes

Poetry can all too often be perceived as problematic and is sometimes used solely as a way of exploring structure and identifying language features. This chapter addresses the teaching of comprehension skills through the use of poetry, building upon children's dialogue to explore meanings and suggesting ways in which you can develop comprehension through close examination of words and phrases that may initially lie beyond children's understanding.

This chapter will allow you to achieve the following outcomes:

• know how to structure and scaffold discussion to extend children's comprehension;
• understand how poetry can be used to explore authorial intent with children;
• develop teaching strategies that will facilitate and aid reading comprehension.

Teachers’ Standards

Working through this chapter ...