First Grade Poetry Reading Celebrates Cherished Family Members

A poetry reading in Amanda Falcone’s first-grade class last month wasn’t just an opportunity for Waverly students to dazzle family members by demonstrating their budding literacy and public speaking skills. 

It was also a chance for the youngsters to think about the people who have made a profound impact on their lives. 

Falcone’s class celebrated “Special Persons Day”—an event that sees first graders show their appreciation for the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings who play an integral role in their lives. Students chose two “special people”, penned poems about how much those people’s presence has meant in their lives, and read those pieces aloud in front of their classmates as well as those they were honoring with their poems.

The entire process—from the writing of the poems to the public delivery of the odes—highlights the immense growth that the youngsters have made this year, not only in their literacy skills, but also in their self-confidence. 

“It was a wonderful culmination activity; this year, the students have been learning ‘trick words’—sight words they have to learn, memorize and spell, and every stanza ends with ‘I wouldn’t be me without you’, so we explore the idea of how someone being a part of your life can impact you, the person you are, and the person you will grow into,” said Falcone. “It’s a really nice, sweet activity that showcases all of the reading and writing we’ve been doing this year.”

Falcone noted that the event was especially poignant for her—as an educator—to see the strides her first graders have made, both academically and in terms of their greater understanding of the world around them.

“Listening to those poems is so special because you can see how meaningful it is for their special people; watching the tears in some cases form in these family members’ eyes, watching their first graders stand up there like a big kid presenting something in front of a large group,” she said. “It makes me feel so proud of the little humans they are growing into.

“They’re becoming their own people,” she added. “They were all so nervous to do it, so we did a practice round to prepare. We had around 40 people, so it was a big group; I’m so proud of them, but they are so proud of themselves that they were able to stand up there and present in front of that large group.”