Why do you write poems with your students when you could be teaching phonics? Because poetry is playing tag with words, chasing them through your mouth, and your ears, and your eyes until you capture them with your pencil and wrestle them onto the page. Poetry squeals with delight and leaves us all breathless–we can’t wait to write again tomorrow.

Why do you write poems with your students when you could be teaching phonics? Because poetry lets us build words like they are made of Legos. We fit the pieces we already know and figure out which new pieces to push in. Sometimes our word buildings fall down and we pick up the pieces and try again, using what we know to help us expand and stretch. Poetry comes in all sizes so we can start small, building confidence and skills until we are ready for the 1000-brick set.

Why do you write poems with your students when you could be teaching phonics? Because writing with young poets is like planting a garden. You amend the soil, plant plenty of seeds, and make sure the watering system is functioning. Pay attention, pick out the weeds when they creep in, and be ready for fresh ideas ready to harvest. Don’t tend too closely, let their roots dig deep and spread wide. Give them space to explore and experiment. Let them loose and watch them bloom.

Together we become a community of writers. We cheer each other on, prop up those who are drooping, lean in to those who have found the sunny spot. Some days we race each other to the finish line, other days we meander uncovering new word combinations, new ideas, new understandings as we listen and learn from each other. Mostly we breathe in the energy and joy of writing and exhale poems.