Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a “Backward” Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
If you like poetry, wait till you try backward poetry! Young writers read Shel Silverstein's "Backward Bill" before writing their own funny poems that are full of backward imagery and phrasing.
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a Funny Epitaph Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
What can happen if you eat too much cafeteria food? Or wear dirty clothes every day? Or talk back to your mother? Use a lesson on humorous poems as a way for students to practice silly rhymes as fictional epitaphs.
Interactive
ReadWriteThink

Theme Poems

For Students K - 5th Standards
Continue celebrating Poetry Month with an interactive whose focus is writing shape, or theme, poems. Young poets choose from nature, school, shapes, sports, and celebration themes. Then, they brainstorm words that have to do with the...
Activity
Poetry4kids

Writing Riddles

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
What's got 60 eyes, 150 fingers, and an endless number of ideas? Your language arts class! Challenge young writers to come up with clever riddles with an online poetry lesson.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science

For Teachers 1st - 12th Standards
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Geography 360°

Poetry Writing

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Put the tips and tricks in this guide into practice in order to encourage your pupils to blossom into poets. A wonderful reference material for teachers, this packet includes definitions of poetic terms and forms as well as step-by-step...
Writing
Curriculum Corner

My Book of Poems

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
Copy all pages to create a book of poems during a poetry study. From alliteration to cinquain to acrostic poem, your class won't run out of templates for writing poems! Each sheet serves as a template for an entire book of poems. Other...
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Valentine’s Day Acrostic Poem

For Students 1st - 3rd Standards
Be mine! Young poets use the provided instructional activity to craft a Valentine's Day acrostic poem for the word heart.
Lesson Plan
2
2
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Magical Musical Tour: Using Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Language arts learners don't need a lecture about poetry; they listen to poetry every day on the radio! Apply skills from literary analysis to famous songs and beautiful lyrics with a lesson about literary devices. As...
Activity
Poetry4kids

Rhythm in Poetry: I Am the Iamb

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
It's fun to write a poem with iambs! Practice using iambs in all types of different poems with an online poetry lesson.
Printables
Curated OER

The Common Core Literacy Standards - Grade 3 Posters

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Brighten your third grade classroom with this series of colorful Common Core displays. Including all of the English Language Arts standards and substandards, each with supporting illustrations and examples, this resource provides clear...
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a “Roses are Red” Valentine’s Day Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Compose a Valentine's Day poem! Practicing their rhyming skills, scholars follow the traditional format to create a happy poem for a friend or family member. 
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write Funny Poetry — Chapter 1: Writing Poetry

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Do you wish you could write poetry that makes people laugh? Now you can! Check out the first chapter in a poetry writing series that emphasizes the importance of connecting subject matter to a light, bouncy meter.
Activity
Poetry4kids

Evoking the Senses in a Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Budding poets choose a topic for a sensory-filled poem. Authors describe that topic using detailed language based on the five senses. Then, switch the senses to create a fanciful poem intended to add a touch of fun to the objective. 
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Recite a Poem like an Expert

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Don't just read a poem, recite a poem! Add speaking skills to a poetry unit with an activity that promotes successful poem recitation. Scholars choose a poem then recite it with the help of several tips and videos. 
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write an Acrostic Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Acrostic poems are perfect for any topic! A quick tutorial guides learners into writing acrostic poems with the basics and key examples.
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write an “I Can’t Write a Poem” Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Ever have students complain that they don't know how to write a poem? Turn those complaints into magnificent works of writing with an independent poetry lesson about not being able to write poetry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biographical Poems

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students write a biographical poem about themselves. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, write an autobiographical poem and a biographical poem about a famous person using a template form, and display the poems side-by-side.
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write Funny Poetry — Chapter 3: Choosing a Topic

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Nothing's better than a really funny poem! Help young writers craft their funny poems with a lesson on one of the most challenging parts of writing: picking what to write about.
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write Funny Poetry — Chapter 4: Making It Funny

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
You've got your topic—now how do you make your poem funny? Explore ways to make a poem humorous, including puns, exaggeration, silly words, and surprising endings, with a helpful poetry lesson.
Lesson Plan
National Council of Teachers of English

Writing Acrostic Poems with Thematically Related Texts in the Content Areas

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 
Activity
Poetry4kids

Playing With Your Food Poem Lesson

For Students 1st - 8th Standards
What's more fun than playing with your food? Writing a poem about it! A quick and straightforward lesson guides young writers through the steps of writing a funny, well-structured poem about combining sports and food.
Interactive
ReadWriteThink

Diamante Poems

For Students 3rd - 12th Standards
The blank page can be a huge hurdle to overcome when writing a poem. Take that hurdle away with an interactive format that enables pupils to write elegant diamante poems. After they add the first and last words in two separate fields,...
Interactive
ReadWriteThink

Acrostic Poems

For Students K - 12th Standards
What is an acrostic poem? It is one of the many forms of poetry that expresses a particular thought, idea, emotion, or feeling. Play with an interactive that allows young poets to craft a topical acrostic of their choice using an online...