Ideas for Teaching Poetry

Getting students involved with poetry requires a little creativity and gives them the chance to explore poems as more than just rhyming words on a page.

The Basics

To prevent boredom but still expose students to key poetry terms, have a Term of the Day (or two) posted on the board. Help students identify the term in teacher-selected poems that properly demonstrate its use, but allow no more than 10 minutes for this exercise. As a recap at the end of class, have the students create a "class definition" of the term in their words, along with an example to post in the classroom for easy reference.

Songs as Poetry

Tell students that for the next class meeting, they must bring the lyrics of a favorite, school-appropriate song. After the Term of the Day practice, guide students through a teacher-selected popular song (have lyrics pre-printed as well as an audio recording). Help students find the poetic elements and analyze why the song works as a poem. Put the students in small groups to do the same with their chosen songs.

Illustrating Poetry

When working with figurative elements or poetry with particularly vivid descriptions, have students create a poem collage that illustrates the images in the poem. To practice citation techniques, instruct students to also properly quote the lines they have chosen to illustrate. In subsequent classes, work up to more abstract verses that require the students to delve deeper into tone and mood for their illustrations.

Poet's Cafe

Have the students obtain copies of a poem they enjoy and wish to share with the class. (Have several poetry anthologies on hand for this purpose or provide library time.) Instruct students in proper poetry reading techniques and then have the students recite their poem for the class. Create a cafe atmosphere with a stool or stage area and refreshments for the audience. Invite other classes to a show that includes your best poetry recitations.

Sidewalk Poetry

On a nice day, provide lots of chalk and take your students outside to create a sidewalk poetry display. They can use their poet's cafe poem, a poem from an assigned poet or style or a work of their own. Spend the period decorating the sidewalks with the poetry, citations and your students' reflections and artwork inspired by the poetry. Invite other classes to visit your display before the next rain!

Poetry Portfolio

Assign a poetry portfolio in which students must analyze a set number of poems, compose their own poems using the poet's style and create original poems in given formats with the assigned terms. Allow students the freedom to explore and borrow from the poetry masters, provided they give credit to the original authors.

References

• Blaine, Kathy et al. Participating in the Poem, 2006.
• Poetry Lesson Plans by NCTE
• More Lesson Plans by Education World

Resources

• Reading Poetry Aloud
• Fun Tips from Poets.org
• National Poetry Recitation Contest
• More poetry lesson plans from NCTE
• Resources for Teaching Poetry