How to Teach a Poetry Workshop for Elementary School Students
Teaching elementary students to write poetry is easier than you might think. Children have wonderful imaginations and love to create new things. Your role as an educator is to expose them to poetry. Encourage them to experiment and try out new kinds of writing.
Instructions
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Bring in some of your favorite children's poetry. Be sure to include sound poems, humorous poems, nature poetry and any other kinds of poetry you think your students might like.
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Read the poems out loud in an animated way. This will help your students understand the poetry and hear the music of the language.
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Briefly discuss the poems with your students, such as what they are about and what words rhyme. Don't get too deep into them at first. Elementary school students are sometimes shy about asking questions, so make sure they understand the poems.
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Do a writing activity based on a short poem with a very pronounced style. For example, you can read the students a haiku, explain the style and have them write their own.
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Do other writing assignments using published poems as models. Alternate writing workshop activities that focus on a style with those that focus on techniques. For example, you could follow an activity on writing haiku poetry with one on including sensory details in poems.
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Do more difficult assignments on the board as a class before having the students try them. If you decide to have your students write poems incorporating all five senses, for example, you can have each student contribute an observation about the classroom. Put them up on the board and arrange them into a poem.
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Make your students feel proud of their writing. Give each student the chance to present his favorite poem in front of the class. If your students like the idea, organize a poetry reading for their parents. Collect a few poems from each student and make them into a book at the end of the poetry workshop.
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References
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