TEACHING POETRY TO YOUNG LEARNERS: WHY AND HOW?

While reading poetry, readers encounter new combinations of words, words that denote as well as connote and in order to understand it, the readers must go far beyond the information given in order to make cognitive or emotive meaning out of it. Also, poetry proves to be effective in enhancing reading skills in young children. The rhyming patterns and lyrical quality in poetry provides cues to a reader for predicting words and phrases. Poetry calls for interesting post-reading activities than can engage young learners in meaningful ways of expressing themselves through writing. This paper is an attempt to discuss the ways in which teaching poetry can help in affective, cognitive and literacy development of young learners and to suggest steps towards harnessing its potential in the classroom