From videos to haiku to poetry slams, there's something to pique every student's interest.
I love teaching poetry and can't wait to share these fun ideas with you! This post is full of ways you can make poetry fun in your middle school classroom.
I've put together 30 poetry activities for reading poetry, writing poems, and incorporating poetry into your other subjects and lesson plans.
Try these fun poetry activities for high school students and engage even the most reluctant learners in creative thinking and poetry writing!
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
Use this great list of poetry read aloud books for your upper elementary classroom during National Poetry month or anytime!
5 ways to make poetry fun and accessible for your middle and high school students: you CAN make poetry fun while keeping the rigor level high.
Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute Podcast :
Have your students ever described poetry as boring or confusing? It is common for them to feel overwhelmed by poetry because it is so different from other styles of writing. In order for students to move past this attitude, they need to feel confident in their ability to read and write poetry. In this blog post, you will learn how you can instill the love of poetry in high school students. I will also share some of my students' favorite activities for teaching poetry in high school.
Struggling with how to teach the elements of poetry without overwhelming your students? This step-by-step guide for middle school teachers will simplify the process!
During poetry stations, students move around the classroom doing various activities related to poetry. The station activity in this blog post has students read an engaging poem and respond to the poem in an unconventional way. If you’d like to replicate this activity in your classroom here are the s
Help your students to finally grasp what it means to peel back the layers of challenging poetry analysis with Poetry Autopsies! In this Poetry Autopsy collaborative analysis project, students work together to first paraphrase Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "Annabel Lee" on the surface level of a giant poster. Then, students literally peel back the layers of their collaborative poster answering higher-level analysis questions. This project is engaging, standards-based, and helps prepare students to answer questions they might encounter on high-stakes tests. Keep things simple with the engaging tools provided or add to the autopsy excitement by providing your students with face masks, surgical gloves, and blue tablecloths from the Dollar Store! This will be a poetry activity your kids will never forget! This lesson will take approximately two 40-60 minute class periods, depending on the skill level of your students. Included in this product: A two layer collaborative poetry analysis poster that can be printed at school on regular computer paper! A full answer key. A 5 page student packet with a copy of the poem, poetic terms reference sheet, and complete directions for the autopsy. Individual student reflection to hold each student accountable and to take the guess work out of grading a group project. Teacher instructions. A rubric for easy grading. Check out more engaging poetry activities from Read it. Write it. Learn it. Poet vs. Poet March Madness Poetry Task Cards to use with any poem! Poetry Escape Room
Roundup with lots of Montessori-inspired poetry activities for a poetry unit or for individual poetry activities at home or in the classroom.
Are you wanting to teach poetry to your children or lead a poetry class for your co-op? Here are some great poetry activities for early elementary homeschoolers! First Things First Read poetry out loud (everyday if you can). Maybe this goes without saying, but it is so important that I’m saying it anyways! More than anything, your …
Are you a fan of The Giving Tree? Use these free worksheets & poetry study printables to use alongside Shel Silverstein Poems.
Analyzing poetry is a skill all our students need to develop. While students are required to investigate poems often, poetry analysis is still something that many students struggle with. That's why I'm a big fan of practice! I love to give students lots of opportunities to closely read and analyze poetry. (And I've put together a FREE one-pager that students can use with any poem!) POETRY ANALYSIS TIPS When putting together a poetry analysis lesson, here are some tips I follow: ✔ TIP 1: Select a poem that is long enough for students to adequately investigate, but not too long to make the process overwhelming. ✔ TIP 2: Provide students with background information about the author of the poem. This helps to build context and connections to the poem. ✔ TIP 3: Choose a poem with at least one form of figurative language for students to identify and describe. ✔ TIP 4: Have students read the poem multiple times. You might read the poem out loud first. Then, students might read the poem in a small group or with a partner. Finally, students can read the poem independently. ✔ TIP 5: Give students tasks that become more complex with each reading. POETRY ANALYSIS TASKS Then, when I'm actually teaching an analysis lesson, here are 4 analysis tasks that work with ANY poem (Don't worry, you can download the entire lesson for FREE here.): Task 1: Reflect After students read a poem, have them reflect on what the poem made them think about and how the poem made them feel. When students share what the poem make them think about they'll be able to pull main ideas from the text. Then, when they share how they felt, they'll need to think more deeply about the poem. Task 2: Visualize When students have completed a second reading of the poem, have them select a line or lines from the poem that helped them create a mental image in their minds. Students should write the lines down. Then, have students doodle an actual illustration to portray the words in the poem. Task 3: Figurative Language Share the definition for a type of figurative language found in the poem with students. Then, have students read the poem a third time. As they read, encourage them to be on the lookout for an example of the figurate language. Once students find an example have them write it down before explaining its meaning. Task 4: Theme Once students read the poem for a final time, have them respond to a short answer question that requires them to identify the theme of the poem. As students write their analyses, encourage them to include direct quotes from the poem. These analysis tasks build in difficulty and encourage students to naturally dive deeply into the text. If you're looking for poems for students to analyze, check out my favorite poems to teach here: ⭐ 5 Favorite Poems for Middle School ⭐ Funny Poems for Kids ⭐ Poems that Teach Growth Mindset ⭐ 20 Poems and 80 Analysis Tasks Download the FREE Doodle One-Pager HERE. Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth P.S. Check out these 5 fun ways to teach poetry!
Do you have students who struggle writing poetry? I always have several each year. A few activities that have been extremely effective with both struggling writers and those who love creating original poems have been the more "hands-on" activities. When your students are struggling writing, have them: 1. Write "chance" poems. They choose pre-selected words and put them into any order they wish. I have had students who hate to write come up with some amazing poems this way. The retail kits for magnetic poetry (which is practicing chance poetry) are pretty expensive. You can create your own using a digital kit, or simply cut words from newspapers and magazines (see below). I had students make these years ago and store them in plastic bags. ONLINE ACTIVITY: They can create their poems using an online program like the one found on MagneticPoetry.com. 2. Create a "Dada" poem. "Dada" poems stem from the Dadaism art movement of the early 20th century. The anti-establishment movement often parodied art, or perhaps "found" art in everyday objects and images. Whether you consider their works art or not, they certainly paved the way for modern movements. One "Dada" poem your students can create is to draw words from a bag at random. As they draw them, they place the words in the poem in the same order as drawn. That's it. When they want the poem to end, they stop drawing words. A second "Dada" poem is a "sound" poem. Your students can create a poem using only sounds and record it for the class. Most of the sound poems created during the Dada movement were nonsense, not really words at all. However, beat-box artists practice a form of this, and while it may be nonsense, it's still interesting and can be catchy. ONLINE ACTIVITY: Students can use the website Incredibox to mix different beat-box sounds. 3. Have your students create "redacted" poems. "Redacted" poems are similar to "chance" poems, except they cross-out (or redact) words on a page, rather than pick and place the words. I've seen many beautiful examples on Pinterest using book pages. However, articles from a newspaper or magazine work just as well. (See my examples below.) Students can either use markers or colors to cross-out the words they do not want to include, or use white-out/liquid paper. The samples shown here came from the following publications: Entertainment Weekly, Car and Driver, MacLife, and Helzberg Diamonds. For reluctant boys, provide them with a short advertisement from one of their favorite magazines. Many of my male students like hunting/fishing, sports, and cars. When given a short grouping of words about something they like, they'll most likely enjoy it. The only problem I consistently face with them is keeping it school appropriate. Girls typically write more about love and heartbreak. I have found jewelry ads to be most effective for them because they will contain more words like "love," "sparkling," and "irresistible." All of these activities are featured in my "Poetry 9-1-1: First Aid for Writing Poetry" packet, which also contains over 40 formulas for writing original poems. You can also get the presentation Write Like Poets that has students write parody poems and many other formulas while learning more about famous poets and movements. I recently updated it with redacted poem page activities. And if you are looking for additional poetry resources, I have over 35 poetry downloads, including many freebies. Click on the links below to check out my teacherspayteachers store.
We’d love for you to join us this year on an inspiring journey through 48 engaging nature stories. Click here to view the book listThe Peaceful Press Nature Book Flood is a 184-page digital resource that includes 48 picture book suggestions, weekly prompts for science and nature play, crafts, rec...
Fun poetry activities for the Secondary ELA classroom that get kids writing poetry and learning about the tools poets use to create poems.
Teaching slam poetry doesn't have to be boring! These 12 slam poetry ideas will help your middle school and high school students ROCK slam poetry...
Check out these poetry activities for upper elementary that your students will love! This post includes a FREE poetry types booklet and a FREE poetry terms Bingo board!
Great Ideas And Tips For Teaching Poetry. Poetry reveals many aspects of life that they may not get to experience or witness first hand. Poetry may speak some ‘truth’ about how others live and that helps build empathy with our students. Read on for 6 ways you can set your students interest ablaze for poetry! Grades 4-12 | Middle School ELA | High School English
Hi, all! Long time, no blog. This quarter has been a crazy one full of extra-curricular activities, illness, and big decisions. I’m back today though because I COULD NOT WAIT to share with you about our classroom poetry café! We’ve been planning this for weeks… My students worked extremely hard all ... Read More about Classroom Poetry Slam
Which number do you see? This set is ideal for introducing numbers in the first class! The large cards allow children to learn numbers in a creative imaginative, symbolic and meaningful way. These "Hidden numbers" cards can be printed recto verso in order to have the image on the front and the beautiful poetry on the back. The children can guess the hidden number observing the image. They can read the image on many levels (counting elements, listening to the poetry, finding numbers in shape and geometry); each child sees something different and when this happens is really magical! The "Hidden numbers" document can be printed in A3 format. The resolution and quality of the drawing are high (were originally made on A3 paper). Ideal to hang in the classroom after guessing, drawing and number writing. The small cards (8,5x11cm) can be introduced in a second moment to exercise and memorize the numbers and symbols. For example the children pick a card and have to say the number and show it with their fingers as fast as possible. This material is made by a Waldorf teacher with lots of love, first for the pupils, now for you. In proceeding to the command you will have: -two pdf documents that group the digit posters (to be printed in A3, A2, or A4 size) - numbers 1 to 9 -one pdf document that includes the small cards (to be printed in A4 size and cut them out) - numbers 1 to 10 You can then directly access the documents by following these steps: 1. Log in to your Etsy account. 2. Click on “You” (top right) 3. Choose “Purchases and reviews” 4. Find the order. Click on “Download Files” (to the right of the order) 5. The file will go to your “Downloads” folder Please leave me a comment if you are interested in buying the finished cards and how big would you like to have them. Thank you! Note on authors copyright: this material cannot be copied or disseminated I also offer support and advice about planning a Steiner - Waldorf curriculum at home or in small school realities :) please contact me if you need. www.amaeducation.one
Teaching blackout poetry is an engaging way to help spruce up your poetry unit. Show a few examples, and your students will be eager to create a blackout masterpiece of their own. Keep reading to learn what blackout poetry is and just what you need to do to teach it. So, you’re thinking about teaching… Read More »A Beginner’s Guide To Teaching Blackout Poetry
If you're doing a poetry unit and you want a quick hook, a writing assignment to help students start enjoying poetry in just half an hour, it's time to try blackout poetry. Read through this quick post to give you tips and ideas for using blackout poetry successfully with your ELA students.
A collection of different poetry lessons, activities, and projects, plus a TDA essay, digital escape room, and final test!
This week we celebrated Choose Respect Day at our school to combat bullying. It was a very powerful day which included Choose Respect t-shirts for everyone, a wonderful play put on by the Grade 6 class (I definitely teared up it was so great!), and a few adorable, thoughtful crafts! Check out the picts below! Students had to brainstorm positive ways to be respectful and decorate their t-shirt with them. Also, we made handprints with a cross in the middle. Black tempura paint, white acrylic paint, flourescent pink paper and squares of black construction paper were all that was required. They turned out beautifully. Thankfully, I had a lot of help with the hand print portion! Black paint is hard to get off! Thanks to the amazing crew of teachers and staff at St. Joseph School! We are an amazing team! This coming Monday my little nutty crew:) is in charge of the assembly. Our virtue is perseverance! It's a BIG word for grade 1 but they pull it off! We created some I Can poetry and read with the proper tone it is really cute!! I CAN paint. I can't read hard books, YET!! I can dance, I can ride my bike. I can sing. I can't whistle, yet!! You can learn about perseverance in my new packet of printables and activities. It features the activity above, as well as a T-shirt inspired craftivity like we did for Choose Respect Day! This is just a little hint as to what we have been up to for Career Day! More pictures and ideas to come in the next post! Stay tuned!!!
Do you want to motivate your students to learn poetry elements? Analyze lyrics from a variety of artists! There are ten songs to analyze. My students loved it and so will yours. Also included are links to the songs to listen to them, links to the lyrics, and a general list of questions to analyze poetry elements with any song. It is now available for Distance Learning through GOOGLE SLIDES and POWERPOINT where students type in their answers. Use the PDF if you are printing, because it has lines for students to write the answers. Are you looking for a Poetry Bundle? POETRY BUNDLE
Whether you want to sneak in more poetry activities, challenge your students with dynamic text sets, or engage listeners with with podcast stories, this poetry and podcast pairing resource has you covered! Just hit play and watch students' minds get to work synthesizing nonfiction stories with classic poetry. You will get: ⭐ 10 podcast and poetry pairings ⭐ 10 corresponding podcast coloring pages ⭐ Detailed answer keys for all ❤️ This resource is perfect for sub plans or disruptive school days ✅ The paired podcasts have easily accessible transcripts ✅ This resource is editable to fit your needs ✅ This resource can be used digitally or in print!
Learn all about Blackout Poetry, with tips and tricks for incorporating this engaging strategy in your ELA classroom.
Have your students ever described poetry as boring or confusing? It is common for them to feel overwhelmed by poetry because it is so different from other styles of writing. In order for students to move past this attitude, they need to feel confident in their ability to read and write poetry. In this blog post, you will learn how you can instill the love of poetry in high school students. I will also share some of my students' favorite activities for teaching poetry in high school.
Are you looking for some practice with writing with similes and using other figurative language? My students love to write about their "pet peeves" using creative (and often hilarious) similes and other figurative language. Students brainstorm all of the things that irritate them and then create a poem filled with similes and other poetry devices to describe their irritation. Pet Peeve Poetry is always one of their favorite poetry activities in our poetry unit! Are you looking for a digital version of this activity? Click HERE. This resource includes the following 10 pages: Clear assignment sheet Brainstorming page Student examples Poetry Analysis Activity—using the example poems included Answer Key for Analysis 3 writing templates—they’re quote bubbles and look great cut out and put on a bulletin board. Self–Assessment Grading Rubric Teacher Grading Rubric (could also be used for Peer Assessment) Easy to differentiate! **PART OF MY POETRY PACKAGE AVAILABLE ON TPT - CHECK OUT THE FULL PACKAGE FOR GREAT SAVINGS! Poetry Activity Bundle Check out some of my other poetry assignments by clicking the links below. Imagery Poem Worksheet Hero Music as Poetry Poetry, My Life in 30 Words Figures of Speech Worksheet Figures of Speech Poster Figurative Language / Poetry Terms Flip Book! (C) Addie Williams, Addie Education
Enjoy this delightful collection of nature poetry for kids, with 22 nature poems available as a free, printable PDF download.
From videos to haiku to poetry slams, there's something to pique every student's interest.
Let's talk about teaching adjectives. Specifically, how you can build interest and engagement by incorporating art and poetry into your lesson.
Download This Writing Worksheet (PDF) When it comes to writing dialogue, you could do worse than follow the rules of Just a Minute: no hesitation, no repetition, no deviation. Theatre scripts provide excellent inspiration for good dialogue, being composed of little else, and having been written with speech at the forefront, without film’s excessive reliance on visual…
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Are you a fan of The Giving Tree? Use these free worksheets & poetry study printables to use alongside Shel Silverstein Poems.