I organized our school's first Poetry Cafe Night with the help of my teammates. We invited all the fourth graders to attend a night of ...

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

Today I am excited to welcome Kim from English Oh My as our guest blogger. She has some great ideas for teaching students to comprehend poetry in a manageable way. Enjoy! Happy April, and Happy National Poetry Month! Poetry is a timeless genre, and it is a part of most English Language curriculum. When I tell […]

I have to admit - I was never a fan of poetry. In the words of my students, I just didn't "get it." That all changed my junior year of high school. I had what in most of my classmates' minds was the toughest teacher in the school. She certainly wasn't "warm and fuzzy," but she pushed us and challenged us. I fell in love with poetry in her class because she was able to open my mind to it. Sign of a great teacher. When I told my students that we will complete a unit on poetry this year, there were groans aplenty. That just wouldn't do for me - so I worked to create a poetry unit that they would be excited about. We started out reading a lot of funny poems (Shel Silverstein was a favorite), but we also read a lot of classic poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes. The Langston Hughes poems worked SO well since we were studying the Harlem Renaissance in social studies. Cross-curriculum instruction at its best! I taught them the parts of a poem and rhyme schemes, and we had poetry readings - snaps and all! Lots of fun was had by all, but I just wanted them to go a little deeper. Since I only fell in love with poetry once I was able to fully understand it, I had to teach my students to do the same. Cue annotation. I think as teachers of elementary students, we are often a little apprehensive to introduce concepts like "annotation" because they are still young and you just never know how students will perceive a difficult concepts. They ALWAYS manage to surprise me! To teach annotation, I introduced the poem, The Wind Began to Rock the Grass by Emily Dickinson. The students read the poem to themselves, and then I read it out loud to them. Of course, when I asked them what they thought the poem was about - many were unsure. I told them that we are going to annotate the poem, gave them the definition, and then we dived right in. I read the poem stanza by stanza again, but this time we defined words, asked questions, and made comments on the left hand side. On the right side of each stanza, we wrote a one sentence summary. As we defined words, we talked through the words and used context clues. It's amazing how intuitive fifth graders are. They can always figure out the meaning of a word (even though they don't always believe in themselves). We worked through the first three stanzas together, and then I let them complete the last two on their own. As you may guess, they excitement began to build as the poem drew to a close. The light bulbs went off, the choirs began to sing, the end of the tunnel was in sight...you get the idea. Students were SO EXCITED about the fact that they now understood the poem so clearly! This certainly ended up being one of those "it worked!" lessons. Here is another example with the poem, A Bird Came Down by Emily Dickinson. The next day, I asked students to work in partners and gave them a new poem to annotate. I was very impressed with their work, and they were able to see the purpose of annotation and understand why it helps them become better readers and writers. I learned a good lesson too: start annotation at the beginning of the year! :) I use a PowerPoint Lesson and Interactive Notes to teach this entire unit. The lesson teaches students how to annotate slide by slide! Happy Teaching!

I absolutely love teaching poetry! That explains why I teach it ALL year! Each month I focus on TWO types of poetry and then during POETRY MONTH, we review all of our work, create poetry portfolios for a review, and have a POETRY SLAM! Read on for details! 1. BULLETIN BOARD At the beginning of the year, make a bulletin board to display posters of the different types of poetry. Leave a space below each one to place a student example. Review it with your class and tell them by the end of the year, they will have written an example of all the types. For the time being, put a little sign under each type of poetry that says something like, "Under Construction" or "Coming Soon!" I place a large 12" X 18" black piece of construction paper under the posters. 2. MONTHLY POEMS Each month, introduce a new type of poem and teach the rules for that poem. If you created a bulletin board like above, add a student example. The following order works well for upper elementary! August- Couplets and Quatrains September- Acrostic and Cinquain October- Haiku and Humorous November- Diamante and Informative December- Free Verse and Concrete January- Narrative and Lyrical February- BioPoem and Ballad March- Limerick and Parody April- Review and Poetry Portfolios (see below) May- Poetry Slam 3. POETRY AND LYRICS ANALYSIS In addition to introducing a new type of poetry each month, also choose a poem or song to analyze each month. I actually try to do two of these a month - one regular poem and one song to analyze the lyrics. Students love the musical feature and I start to see them wiggle in their seats and try to sing the songs. I allow them to sing and even dance to the songs. Any little thing to get them excited about learning poetry! I love when they say, "My dad likes that music!" or "Who is that?" Use the following elements of poetry when analyzing poems! Alliteration- Ex. Slimy slugs slither slowly on the sidewalk. Imagery- Ex. The thick fuzzy coat was a blessing in the winter blizzard. Metaphor- Ex. A good laugh is sunshine in a house. Onomatopoeia- Ex. Bang, ding, pop! Personification- Ex. The wind whistled its happy tune. Repetition- Ex. Leaving my friends, leaving my home leaving my room, leaving my memories Rhyme- Ex. School, tool, rule Rhyme Scheme- Ex. Roses are red A data-blogger-escaped-comment-StartFragment Violets are blue B Sugar is sweet C And so are you. B Rhythm- (musical quality) Simile- Ex. She was as pale as a lump of sugar. Stanza- (a poetry paragraph) Theme- (the message) Tone- (feeling) Grab these free poetry study cards! 4. POETRY PORTFOLIO At the end of the year, I like to have students create their own Poetry Portfolio. Basically, they get out their notes from throughout the year or I supply them with directions. Since it is a review, I don't usually teach the rules for each of the poems. I either give it as a class project in centers or homework. If you don't have time for your class to write new poems for each different type, save the poems throughout the year and create a portfolio of poems. 5. POETRY SLAM Finish off the year with a Poetry Slam! Oh yeah! Students love to share their work and this way they can show ownership and pride of their hard work. 1. Allow your students to relax around the room and enjoy listening to poetry from their fellow classmates or set up chairs for them. It can be formal or informal! 2. Set up a schedule so students know the order of when to share their poems. 3. Have a special author's chair? Use it! 4. Do you have iPads, tablets, video cameras? Have the student videotape! I have my students rotate. After they present, they go to the video chair. That way each student gets the experience of both being the videographer and the presenter! AND parents absolutely love to see these videos! Thank you for visiting! Come back to get some more amazing ideas from Upper Elementary Snapshots!!!! If you need poetry resources, click below! They are sold separately too. Connect With Me! TPT Store Facebook Pinterest My Blog

I am always surprised how much my students like poetry and even more amazed at the poetry they create during our poetry unit. We start the poetry writing process slowly with an adjective review. The students made a list of … Continue reading →

I love using paint chips! I have used them in the past for books marks, reading incentives, and for brainstorming synonyms. I used them last week to write Color Poems. The kids wrote a metaphor and three similes describing a color. They came out awesome! Check out my color poetry post from last year! I read some trade books and we talked about how colors represent emotions and feelings. I read the books and used the chart. The next thing that the kids did was pick a paint chip. They used the following sheet to brainstorm their ideas. Click for link: I used a sheet from Writing Fix. The kids wrote similes using their senses. They picked three similes that fit their metaphor. (I did conference with them, although the mistakes reappeared!) Here are some published poems:

Are your students bored of poetry? Get kids excited with Poet vs Poet basketball style brackets. Students read poems in competitive match ups, rating the poem quality based on the meaning, mood, form, and language the poet uses. Students learn to analyze poetry, and they become obsessed with their favorite poems. My kids LOVE this activity! JUST ADDED: Version Two Poet vs. Poet with even more exciting match ups! I kept some popular match ups the same, but added new match ups like Edgar Allan Poe vs Emily Dickinson. Choose the original Poet vs. Poet or the Version Two! 2020 Update: Digital Brackets! You can now share the brackets with students through Google Classroom. Students can click and advance poets through the brackets. Each poet is also linked to their poem. Students can click and read the poem saving you from printing the whole packet! Poet vs Poet includes two different versions of 16 poems by 16 different poets in flip book form so students can match up different poems, analyze and rate them, and decide which poet advances to the next round. Choose to implement using a printed packet OR share poems using the digital bracket. Everything you need to implement a fun poetry March madness theme is here: Student Guide 16 flip book style poems (Two versions! Choose your favorite!) Digital brackets with clickable links to all 16 poems. Share with students through Google Classroom and display on Smartboards/Projector screens Rubric rating system for students Short answer practice questions based on poetry match ups Teacher rubric for short answer grading Theme, mood, and figurative language task cards PowerPoint copy of the packet and task cards for whole class instruction Letter to the teacher with ideas for implementation and differentiation Bulletin Board Brackets with all of the poems and poets! Track your students' top picks on a class version of the poetry brackets for even more fun and discussion. Enjoy seeing your students toss around the names of poets as if they are their favorite basketball players! Poems included: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes Songs for the People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Deep in the Quiet Wood by James Weldon Johnson Songs of the Spavinaw by Ruth Muskrat Bronson After the Winter by Claude Mckay Swallows by Leonora Speyer A Day by Emily Dickinson Alone by Edgar Allan Poe If-- by Rudyard Kipling Passers-by by Carl Sandburg By the Stream by Paul Laurence Dunbar Interim by Lola Ridge Willow Poem by William Carlos Williams To the Thawing Wind by Robert Frost If You Should Tire of Loving Me by Margaret Widdemer Bound by Aline Murray Kilmer Check out another favorite poetry activity: Let it Snow: Winter Poetry Analysis For more on your feet products, check out my escape rooms: The Tell Tale Heart Escape Room Escape Room Bundle

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!

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.

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

Explore websites for a constellation research project, ideal for upper elementary learners, to inspire creativity, critical thinking, and a love for astronomy.

I love using paint chips! I have used them in the past for books marks, reading incentives, and for brainstorming synonyms. I used them last week to write Color Poems. The kids wrote a metaphor and three similes describing a color. They came out awesome! Check out my color poetry post from last year! I read some trade books and we talked about how colors represent emotions and feelings. I read the books and used the chart. The next thing that the kids did was pick a paint chip. They used the following sheet to brainstorm their ideas. Click for link: I used a sheet from Writing Fix. The kids wrote similes using their senses. They picked three similes that fit their metaphor. (I did conference with them, although the mistakes reappeared!) Here are some published poems:

From videos to haiku to poetry slams, there's something to pique every student's interest.

Engage students in meaningful poetry reading and writing activities. Here are SEVEN assignments both secondary teachers and students will enjoy.

Give you Poetry Unit a boost with this themed Cafe Poetry Unit. Imagine sitting in a coffee shop with all the sights, smells, and poetry! This complete unit combines 4 of our favorite products Coffee Poetry Posters Coffee Poetry Notes and Presentations Analyzing Poetry Questions and Assessment

Hook your students on poetry this year by introducing them to Langston Hughes, one of America's best-loved poets! In this engaging middle school poetry unit, students will analyze six Langston Hughes poems: "Madam and the Rent Man," "Dreams," "Harlem (Dream Deferred)," "Harlem Night Song," "Mother to Son," and "I, Too." All resources include the following digital versions: Google Slides (link in PDF) Easel Activity (link in My Purchases) This bundle includes the following poetry resources: "Madam and the Rent Man" Poem Activities "Dreams" and "Harlem (Dream Deferred)" Poem Activities "Harlem Night Song" Poem Activities "Mother to Son" Poem Activities and Author Bio "I, Too, Sing America" Poem Activities with Informational Text Using these poetry analysis pages, you'll cover the following reading skills and terms: Inference Characterization Lines & stanzas Sound devices (rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia) Figurative language (simile, metaphor, idiom) Symbolism Imagery Topic & theme Compare and contrast Cause & effect Paired passages (poetry and informational text) These poem activities are a great addition to Black History Month or Poetry Month, and they make excellent sub plans as well as independent activities for distance learning. All you need to provide is a copy of each poem; I can't include them in my resources due to copyright. As a bonus, I've added a tic-tac-toe choice board containing nine writing prompts, all about themes, characters, and real-life issues found in these six poems. Since it is specifically meant to accompany these six poems, this Langston Hughes writing activity is not available individually - only as part of this bundle! Need more ways to engage your middle schoolers with reading? Don't miss these! Emily Dickinson Poetry Analysis Bundle Winter Poetry Activities Ocean Life Nonfiction Bundle - Text Structure & Text Features History Poems with Informational Text Paired Passages

If there’s one genre that intimidates students, it is definitely poetry. Poetry, for some reason, can make students shrink with uncertainty, doubt, and fear before you even begin the unit. However, this collaborative poetry analysis poster project is one that you and your students will absolutely LOVE! When I teach poetry in my classroom, I first like to introduce students to it by teaching them how to read and annotate poetry. By breaking this process down for students, it immediately becomes less intimidating.

Engage high school students in a creative writing assignment that involves writing poetry inspired by nonfiction texts. #highschoolela #creativewriting

This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon. If you use my link, Amazon pays me a few cents, which I use to fund my giveaways! Typically, you probably think of the book, Snowmen at Night, as a book for “little kids.” But this is a fun book to use with the big kids […]

Teaching poetry is my passion and my love. Watching what students can do with words is amazing. Even those students who are struggling with how to write a complete sentence can somehow magically string together words to create the most beautiful poems. One of my favorites is dada poetry. Here's how I do it: 1. Give students a stack of magazines. 2. Give them a time limit to cut out words that appeal to their senses. Be sure to require that they find different parts of speech. 3. Have the class compile a box of "found words." You could categorize them by parts of speech if you want to. 4. Give each student a chance to take a handful (or a specific number) of words without looking. 5. Have each student construct a poem with the found words. I also allow my students to write in articles, prepositions, and conjunctions as well as punctuation as needed. Behold the magic that is created! Stop by to see my poetry resources and ideas at TpT by clicking HERE.

I love using paint chips! I have used them in the past for books marks, reading incentives, and for brainstorming synonyms. I used them la...

I'm a big fan of discovering the magic in the words of a young poet. I think it's harder to find that magic when kids think poetry has to rhyme or when there are lots of rules involved. There's something rather powerful about free verse poetry. It makes for clever poems like these. Having said that, amidst a poetry unit full of free verse, I tried something new this year recommended by a fellow writing teacher, Marie, who loves teaching free verse poetry as well. Have you heard the poem "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon? It's a heart-felt and unique poem that lends itself to imitation even for first graders. Here are a few first grade examples. Below is a template that you're welcome to use. Marie gave me a great one, and I modified it ever so slightly. You'll also find many varieties on the internet. (Click on the picture for your own copy.) I still love free verse the most, but I'm glad that Marie shared this with me. I think these poems will be special treasures for not only the poets but their families as well.

I'm Katie Lyon, a 5th grade teacher, VP, Director of our 1:1 iPad program, and blogger. I share classroom tips, ideas, & resources for the classroom.

Use this resource to review all different kinds of poetry or at the end of your poetry unit. Have a Poetry Cafe where students can share their poems with the class. Poem pages included are: acrostic, alliteration, simile, metaphor, concrete, limerick, bio, couplet, triplet, quatrain, cinquain, haiku, color, and a BLANK page for any other poems. This poetry publishing party pack includes... Poetry Menu - to publish all of their poems in a booklet Digital Poetry Menu - to publish all their poems in GoogleSlides Open Mic Sign-up sheet Coffee cup compliments Delicious donut word choice Speaking reflection napkins Hot chocolate signs Poetry Cafe Invitations Poetry Cafe OPEN sign

Don't let teaching poetry be a chore! Easy to use strategies for any teacher. Learn how to use the tools and forms of poetry to create engaging and fun lessons!

SHOP ALL THE POETRY ITEMS YOUR ONE STOP POETRY SHOP FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY Teacher friends, have you been searching for ways to bring and teach poetry in your classroom? Look no further. I have you covered! For 20 years, I have created engaging and easy-to-use poetry resources that you and your students will love! Every ... Read more

Today was the day! The much-anticipated "POETRY CAFE!" This celebration is always a huge hit in my classroom. I've been having the caf...

As 2015 comes to a close and I think about the new crop of students I’ll get in January, I like to spend some time reflecting on what lessons and activities worked really well over the year. Those lessons, for sure, I want to repeat. I’m sharing 5 lessons that I tried in my junior […]

Practice your free throws and get ready to rumble! It's a poetry tournament to end all boring poetry units. Poems are paired up by theme, type, and literary devices in this March Madness style tournament. After each battle, students cast their vote for which poem should move on in the tournament. Th...

This Poetry & Literary Devices Task Cards allows students to practice using important poetry and literary element words. This is a great way to practice poetry, the basics in figurative language, and sound devices in the classroom. *This set of task cards was made to use with the important words in the Hate That Cat book unit; however, it can also be used as a stand-alone set of task cards. Students will practice the following terms/elements of poetry: ♦ lines ♦ stanzas ♦ rhyme/rhyme scheme ♦ repetition ♦ alliteration ♦ consonance ♦ assonance ♦ onomatopoeia ♦ simile ♦ metaphor ♦ allusion Differentiation could include... ♦ Students can work independently or with a small group. ♦ Small group with teacher assistance ♥ Love the lesson? https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hate-That-Cat-Novel-Study-3913775 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Licensing Terms : By purchasing this product, you own a license for one teacher only for personal use in their own classroom. Licenses are non-transferable, unless you have purchased a transferable license, and therefore can not be passed from one teacher to another. If the teacher who purchased this license leaves the classroom or changes schools, the license and materials leave with that teacher. No part of this resource is to be shared with colleagues or used by an entire team, grade level, school or district without purchasing the correct number of licenses. Copyright Information : © Caught Up In Curriculum Please note - all material included in this resource belongs to Caught Up In Curriculum. By purchasing, you have a license to use the material but you do not own the material. You may not upload any portion of this resource to the internet in any format, including school/personal websites or network drives unless the site is password protected and can only be accessed by students, not other teachers or anyone else on the internet.

In this lesson students will learn about pinwheels and couplets. Then, they’ll complete a brainstorm filled with wishes that they have for their lives. Next, they’ll turn their brainstorm into four different couplets. After improving their couplets, they’ll write their poetry on a pinwheel shape. Finally, they’ll put together a pinwheel filled with poetic wishes! Here are some ways that you might use this resource in your classroom: • Add this poem to your Poetry Writing Unit. • Teach this poem as a celebration of spring or summer. • Align this poem with Pinwheels for Peace (September 21st). • Create poems and display them around the classroom for Open House or Curriculum Night. • Use the pinwheel poems as decorations for a poetry reading or presentation. • Teach this poem to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This FREE lesson and activity includes: • Detailed lesson plan (2 pages) • Pinwheel assembly directions (with step-by-step photos) • Building background (pinwheels & couplets) • Brainstorm Handout • Writing Worksheet • Pinwheel Template – shape and handle Popular Poetry Resources: • Poetry Writing Unit (11 Days) • Poetry Analysis Unit (5 Days) • Doodle and Do Figurative Language Unit • 4 Doodle and Do Poet and Poem Studies • A Year of Poetry Analysis You may also like… 101 Writing Prompts Narrative Writing Unit Memoir Study and Writing Unit Reading Comprehension Skills - MEGA BUNDLE!9 Mini-Units! Following is Fun! Get the inside scoop on all store discounts, free products, and product launches. Just click the green “Follow Me” star under my store name on this page or click the green “Follow Me” star on my store homepage. Let’s Stay in Touch! Blog Pinterest Facebook Instagram *** Click HERE to receive the Brain Waves Instruction Newsletter filled with exclusive FREEBIES and Teaching Tips! Thanks! Brain Waves Instruction