Curated OER
I Can Write a Poem
Using an outline, learners write a poem. The poem is focused on highlighting their experiences. This is a great way to combine language arts and an exploration of self esteem.
Curated OER
Biographical Poems
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.
Curated OER
Poetry Passport
Passport photos are notoriously unflattering but here's an activity that encourages youngsters to create a poetic picture of themselves using each category on the passport as a prompt for a poem.
Scholastic
Sky
Lead your class through a writing exercise that explores personification. After listening to the teacher read a poem that personifies the sky, they go step by step through the writing their own personification poems.
Curated OER
Poetry Slam!
Create poems without writing! Young poets create poems using words cut from newspapers, read their poems aloud, and compile them in a book. This lesson plan allows the teacher to view each learner's creative process and assess their...
Curated OER
Poetry: Walking With My Iguana
Bring a little excitement to your next poetry analysis lesson plan. Using the highly energetic poem "Walking With My Iguana," learners consider poem structure and rhyme. They listen to the poem, discuss the rhythm and tone with their...
Poetry4kids
Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan
Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five similes and...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" By Alberto Ríos
Scholars examine a colorful and detailed picture, then view an engaging video in preparation for reading the poem "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" by Alberto Ríos. Learners discuss their observations, feelings conveyed, and the...
Curated OER
Sound poems
Third graders write a class poem based on the use of sound to create effects. They investigate use of onomatopoeia and how to write in a tight structure.
Curated OER
Giving with Imagination
Demonstrate gift giving as an act of caring about someone versus gifts for show (or gifts from the purse). Elementary learners practice giving gifts from the heart by creating a poem for someone special to them.
Baylor College
Body Strength
Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...
Curated OER
Definition Poems
“Hope is a tissue, wiping away your problems and fears.” Use a Definition Poem Web worksheet to model for your class how to craft a free verse poem based on an emotion. After brainstorming topics, groups use the sheet to make comparisons...
Curated OER
Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Poetry Society
The Jumblies
Who would ever think to go to sea in a sieve? Only Edward Lear's Jumblies! The poem "The Jumblies" is the inspiration for these poetry reading and writing activities that ask learners to think about how strangers are different, consider...
Curated OER
"The Big Orchard Book of Funny Poems"
Students read and analyze various poems from the book "The Big Orchard Book of Funny Poems." They clap to the rhymes, identify patterns, compare and contrast poems, and write an alternative poem based on the poem "Christine Crump."
Curated OER
Acrostic Book Report
Students read the story Wild Horse Winter and construct acrostic poems. In this poetry lesson, students use adjectives and events in the text to develop an acrostic poem.
Curated OER
Annotating Poetry
Use text marking and highlighting to explore the structure of a poem. After listening to Allan Ahlberg read "Please Mrs. Butler," learners locate stanzas and patterns on their copy of the poem using the text marking technique. Class...
Curated OER
A Handmade House Book with Student Writing
Use this lesson for your bookmaking project. First, young writers work on making an accordion fold house book. After composing a variety of pieces of writing, they can use their book to store their writing. The structure is ideal for a...
Curated OER
Lesson: That Long Jakes
Cross-media analysis takes time and attention to detail. The class analyzes the painting Long Jakes and the poem "Backward Bill." They pay attention to the similarities and differences in each piece, looking for details that describe the...
Curated OER
Personal Poetry Books
Students work in the classroom and in the computer lab to produce a Personal Poetry Book.
Curated OER
Ocean Life Poetry: Limericks & Cinquain Poems
Young oceanographers conduct independent online research to learn about ocean life, explore limerick and cinquain poem structure and syllabication, and produce poetry that conveys the information they found. Links don't work, but it's...
Curated OER
Poetry Beyond Words: Creating Poetry with Linguistically Diverse Students
Models of and directions for how to write 20 different types of poems are featured in an NCTE resource. The introduction to each form highlights the embedded concepts. For example, tongue twisters encourage poets to use alliteration and...
Curated OER
Discussing Poetry In Class
Students investigate syllabic metre and rhyming techniques by analyzing poetry. In this language arts activity, students read the poem Considering the Snail and discuss the nature and mood of the poem with their classmates. Students...
ReadWriteThink
Alliteration All Around
Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem, write an...