Students read about the four elements of poetry: form, theme, purpose, and mood. They are given several questions to ask themselves about each element as they begin to write their own successful poems.

Middle schoolers explore poetry by completing a webquest in which they hear poets reading their own work. Later, they examine the dramatic impact of reading poetry out loud. Finally, they practice reading poetry aloud and performing.

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure instructional activity, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make...