Teaching Poetry

Expand your children's literary horizons by teaching poetry, adding a variety of reading and writing exercises to your language arts curriculum.

Fill notebooks with creative poetry.

Ideally, the emphasis for younger students should be on enjoying and appreciating poetry. As students get older, they can begin to delve into poetry analysis, such as identifying poetic devices and themes. For maximum enjoyment and learning opportunities, encourage your children to both read and write poems when you are teaching poetry.

Understanding the following terms can help develop a vocabulary for discussing poetry:

• Alliteration
• Imagery
• Metaphor
• Rhyme
• Rhythm
• Simile
• Stanza
• Theme
• Verse

For reading assignments, poems can easily stand alone, but it's also possible to include poems as part of the readings in homeschool unit studies. Reading poetry out loud can help your children appreciate the lyrical language, the flow of the words, and the impact of rhyme.

While all poetry can be read aloud, some poets create works featuring parallel lines of text. Oral performance can then add extra depth to the poetry by bringing out the contrasting voices.

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Eric Beddows is one of the most noted books of this type. This 1989 Newbery Award-winning title depicts the insect world in two-column poems with intertwining voices. Math Talk: Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices by Theoni Pappas explains math concepts in a similar style.

Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices, also by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Beppe Giacobbe, ups the ante by presenting poems to be read out loud by two, three or four performers. This title includes three poems focusing on everyday life, although sometimes with a twist, such as when ghosts watch a family prepare dinner and reminisce about the things they can no longer enjoy.

For another unique take on poetry, give your children the opportunity to read novels in verse, books that present a narrative through a series of poems. Witness and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse both combine poetry and historical fiction. Out of the Dust, the 1998 Newbery Award winner, depicts the life of a young girl growing up during the Depression. Witness describes a 1920s town as it reacts to the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Make Lemonade series by Virginia Euwer Wolff follows an inner-city teenager as she struggles to improve her life with a good education and details the lessons she learns about life along the way. Sonya Sones has also written several young adult books that tell coming of age tales through poetry.

• Children usually love humorous poetry. The works of Shel Silverstein are a popular choice in teaching poetry.
• You may want to introduce poetry through a familiar poem, such as a favorite rhyming children's book or an iconic title like "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".
• When introducing poetry analysis, don't focus on too many aspects at once. Instead, present a single poem with a clear theme, an interesting metaphor, frequent use of alliteration, and so on.

Poetry offers a unique way for children to present their thoughts. When writing a poem, they can play with words, create images and express complex ideas in just a few words.

When teaching poetry, asking your children to write within formal poetry forms can stretch their creative writing muscles. For some children, writing to a set form can also be a safety net, making the plunge into poetry less daunting. Some forms include:

• Acrostic
• Bio poem
• Cinquain
• Haiku
• Limerick
• List poem
• Sestina
• Shape poem
• Sonnet

Take full advantage of the resources available in your community and online when teaching poetry.

• Visit your local library for a wide variety of poetry books. Poetry may be located in the non-fiction section or among the picture books.
• Attend a poetry performance to see literature in action. Look for readings at bookstores, universities and coffee shops.
• The Academy of American Poets offers a wealth of resources, including poems, biographies of poets, audio files of poems, and ideas for teaching poetry. The organization also sponsors National Poetry Month in April of each year.

However you choose to incorporate poetry into your home school lessons, take some time to explore the form and have fun!

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