Top Ten Ideas for Teaching Poetry

April is Poetry Month. It's time to break out a little Silverstein and try a bit of Frost. Bring in the poetry to get the language in so you can get the language out. Poetry is the silver pencil of writers, the golden spoon of language, and the heart and soul of our inner most thoughts.

Here are ten ideas for teaching poetry:

1. Read aloud a poem everyday. In less than a minute you can expose your students to a variety of poets. Try classics, humor, contemporary, cowboy poetry, rhymes, patterns, and more.

2. Poems are meant to be read aloud. Don't leave your kids out. Read a poem chorally and act it out. That's right! Get your kids moving to the poem. Find a great poem and choreograph fun movements to get the brain pumping and the body working.

3. Try out poems for two voices and allow your kids to partner read. Let your students practice their oral fluency with a dramatic reading done in pairs.

4. Poetry performances are an exciting way to get kids interested in poetry. Place students in groups of three and give them a short poem. It's their job to choreograph movements and practice reading the poem aloud. They can read it chorally or share lines.

5. Try writing poems using different patterns. Find great poems with fun pattern students can emulate. Experiment with various poetry patterns and allow students to play.

6. Use images to inspire students to write poetry. Brainstorm words and phrases using their five senses and vivid language. Use similes, metaphors, personification, and alliteration to kick poems up a notch. Write poetry freely!

7. Set up poetry centers where students can read, write, and listen to poetry. Create centers that give kids the opportunity to play with language. Free time to explore poetry in an unstructured environment will give their creativity a boost.

8. Use Valerie Worth's Small Poems to kick off a round of poetry writing. Gather up small items (paperclip, dice, pencil, hair clip, button, etc.) and place them in a bag. Let students draw an item out of the bag and write their own "small poem".

9. You simply can't go a year without getting your kids to write a bio poem. Write it, type it, print it on cute paper, laminate it and send it home for Mother's Day. Bio poems make wonderful keepsakes.

10. End your poetry unit with a special event. Hold a "Poetry Cafe" where students read aloud and perform original poems for their classmates and parents.

For more ideas and resources on poetry, check out Effective Teaching Solution's Poetry Pages.