poetry assignment 6th grade

Free Printable Poetry Worksheets for 6th Grade

Explore the world of poetry with our free printable Reading & Writing worksheets for Grade 6 students. Dive into creative expression and discover the beauty of language with these educational resources from Quizizz.

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Explore printable Poetry worksheets for 6th Grade

Poetry worksheets for Grade 6 are an excellent resource for teachers looking to enhance their students' reading and writing skills. These worksheets provide a variety of engaging activities that focus on different aspects of poetry, such as rhyme, rhythm, and figurative language. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can help their students develop a deeper understanding of poetry and its various elements. Additionally, these worksheets can be used to support the teaching of other language arts subjects, such as fiction writing. By exposing students to different forms of creative expression, teachers can foster a love for literature and encourage their students to become well-rounded readers and writers.

Quizizz is an innovative platform that offers a wide range of resources for teachers, including poetry worksheets for Grade 6. This platform allows educators to create interactive quizzes and games that can be used to supplement their existing lesson plans and engage students in the learning process. In addition to poetry worksheets, Quizizz also offers resources for other subjects, such as reading and writing, fiction writing, and more. By incorporating Quizizz into their teaching strategies, educators can provide their students with a fun and interactive way to learn and practice essential skills. This platform is an invaluable tool for teachers looking to enhance their students' learning experience and help them succeed in their academic endeavors.

11 Poetry Lesson Plans For Middle School

Teach your students what a poem is as well as all the important information necessary while  teaching poetry, like: vocabulary, sound devices, types of poetry, figurative language, how to analyze a poem, and how to find rhyme scheme.

In this resource, you will receive a packet of graphic organizers/guided notes along with a Powerpoint lesson that teaches the following terminology:

poem, speaker, line, stanza, quatrain, couplet, cinquain, tercet, refrain, symbol, theme, mood

tone, imagery, juxtaposition, oxymoron, pun, paradox, allusion, proverb, foot, iamb, iambic pentameter, enjambment, anaphora, metonymy

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

simile, metaphor, personification, idiom, hyperbole, irony

SOUND DEVICES

rhyme, rhyme scheme, slant rhyme, rhythm, meter, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, repetition

TYPES OF POETRY

narrative, lyrical, haiku, ballad, sonnet, limerick, free verse, acrostic, concrete, blank verse, blues poem, elegy, ode, prose, villanelle

HOW TO ANALYZE A POEM

HOW TO DETERMINE RHYME SCHEME

Students LOVE reading and analyzing  Kobe Bryant’s “Dear Basketball” Poem.  In this activity, they will complete a  Poem Analysis & Compare/Contrast Paired Text Activity.  The paired text students will look at is Michael Jordan’s 2003 Retirement Letter, also titled  “Dear Basketball.”

In 2015, Bryant announced his retirement through “Player’s Tribune” in a poem titled “Dear Basketball.” In the poem, Bryant shares his love for the sport with the world. Bryant later earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for “Dear Basketball” in 2018.

Included in this lesson:

• Anticipation Guide
• “Dear Basketball” poem by Kobe Bryant, analysis and answer key
• Paired Text Excerpt of Michael Jordan’s letter: questions and answer key
• After Reading Poem — Creative Writing Activity

This lesson is a  poem analysis of “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost . This is a perfect side activity for the novel  The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton!

This activity also works  on its own  if you are looking just to teach about the poem itself. Your students don’t have to be reading  The Outsiders.

In Chapter 5 of The Outsiders, Ponyboy recites the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” This poem plays a major role in the novel as it represents the universal message to stay gold and stay pure. Have your students analyze the poem and build their comprehension; it will make analyzing the theme of the book much easier later on! The poem analysis will touch on important literary elements such as: rhyme scheme, tone, theme, metaphor, alliteration, allusion, imagery, and personification.

To enhance their learning and make the lesson more engaging, students will also study a poem with a similar theme. Students will listen to the Bob Dylan song, answer the questions, analyze the lyrics, and then compare and contrast the themes present in both texts.

In this Poem Analysis and TDA Essay (Text Dependent Analysis),  students will first read and answer questions for  the poem “Out Out—” by Robert Frost.  Students will then write a TDA based on themes and figurative language in the poem.

In this lesson plan:

• Full Poem “Out Out—” by Robert Frost (1916)
• Poem Analysis Questions that concentrate on poetic devices (alliteration, allusion, theme, mood, tone, dialogue, connotation, rhyme scheme, juxtaposition) with ANSWER KEY
• TDA Text Dependent Analysis Prompt and worksheets for writing
• TDA Prewriting, planning, brainstorm Graphic Organizer for Students
• TDA Rubric and Grading guidelines based on: content, focus, organization, style, and conventions

Students will  write their own original poems  with this lesson and activity created for middle school students (6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th grade).

Make  writing poetry  fun for students by giving them choice! Students will first learn about five different types of poems. Then, they will choose 3 of the 5 poems they’d like to write. Students will write their rough drafts in a packet, and then finalize their work on blank pieces of paper which result in beautiful wall art for your room.

In this ELA resource, you will receive:

• Powerpoint presentation that includes examples and definitions of the following 5 types of poems:  Haiku, Acrostic, Concrete, Limerick, and Free Verse
• Student packet that includes: directions, requirements, and examples of all 5 poems
• An example final draft of a limerick with colored illustration

Teach your students all about  Blackout Poetry with this fun lesson and activity!

In this resource, you will receive:

• Teacher Guide
• Powerpoint lesson on Blackout Poetry with step by step directions for students to create their own blackout poems in a variety of ways
• 10 Examples of blackout poems
• 40 Pages of printable texts your students can use to make their own poetry
• Editable word document Rubric and Prompt for students

This  Poetry Packet  includes 5 Poems your students will read and analyze. The poems included are suggested for a  Middle School Poetry Unit : 7th, 8th or 9th Grade ELA.

This packet is a wonderful tool because you can have students complete the analyses of the poems in a variety of ways: whole-class, independently and/or collaboratively.

The poems included in this packet are:

• “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
• “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
• “We Wear The Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• “We Never Know How High We Are” by Emily Dickinson
• “The Gardener” by Robert Louis Stevenson

In this packet, students will work on poetry skills such as: rhyme scheme, rhyme, allusion, imagery, assonance, consonance, alliteration, hyperbole, theme, tone, mood, author’s purpose, personification, and connotation.

Your students are going to love this  Poetry Digital Escape Room!  Students will read and analyze the poem  “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost.

They will solve puzzles in this peaceful scene of snowy woods, glistening mountaintops, and a beautiful, serene frozen lake. In this  360°  digital escape room, students will try to escape the woods before the sun goes down! This activity is designed to work for a laptop, tablet, or smart phone.

This game requires reading comprehension strategies, knowledge of poetic devices, and critical thinking skills. Watch the preview video and see exactly what’s inside the digital escape room!

Included in this download are teacher instructions, student instructions (digital), the master lock graphic organizer, answer keys, the full text of the poem, and a reflection sheet (optional).

PLEASE READ: While using this resource, you must have a wi-fi connection and the ability to access the following sites: Google Forms and Kuula.co. Please check that these websites are not blocked by your district’s filter before purchasing. Your students do not need to have a Google account.

Assign your students  a one pager poetry analysis project  and have your students share their understanding of ANY POEM by imaginatively blending their written ideas with colorful images from the text. You can pick one poem for your whole class to use or have all your students pick their own individual poems! Students’ artwork make for unique and creative analyses of the literature and also make great bulletin boards!

Included in this purchase is:

• Student directions for the one pager project
• Rubric for the one pager project
• Example one pager (based on the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas)
• 10 BLANK TEMPLATES (printable — optional)
• EDITABLE word document so teachers can modify instructions or rubric

Students are encouraged to include several of these literary devices, poetic devices (sound devices), and figurative language elements into their final projects: metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, imagery, pun, oxymoron, paradox, idiom, allusion, symbolism , assonance, consonance, alliteration, anaphora, rhyme, rhyme scheme, repetition, onomatopoeia, cacophony, mood, tone, and theme.

This resource includes a  Poetry Assessment for upper middle school  students (7th, 8th, or 9th grade ELA). You will receive a printable PDF copy as well as an  EDITABLE  word document in case you would like to make modifications. A detailed answer key is also included!

The format of this test includes:

• 8 fill-in-the-blank questions with a word bank
• 6 matching questions with poem types
• 5 matching questions with sound devices
• 5 matching questions with figurative language
• A poetry analysis of two poems: “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Sara Teasdale and “Nature” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Students will answer 5 multiple choice questions regarding each poem
• 1 constructed response where students will compare the themes of each poem in a fully developed paragraph

(35 questions in total)

The Poetry Test covers the following terms:

narrative poem

lyrical poem

acrostic poem

alliteration

onomatopoeia

personification

Have your students create a collaborative poster and learn about  Robert Frost  in a fun and engaging way!

Your students will create an author biography by researching Robert Frost and establishing his profile on a poster.

Students will learn about Frost and his body of work as an influential author.

Additionally, they will learn the importance of collaboration and effective communication. This project is perfect for  National Poetry Month.

Project Steps:

1) To construct the author study poster, your students will work in groups to conduct research on Robert Frost.

2) Students will then transfer their findings to boxes on the poster.

3) Next, they will work together to color or paint the pieces of the poster.

4) Lastly, students will tape together the final product.

The poster is made up of six pieces of paper, which can be printed on regular copy paper or card stock.

Once taped together, the final product will be  28″ x 15″  and can last a lifetime if you laminate it!

This resource includes the following:

• Step by Step Student Directions (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Project Rubric (PDF & editable word document)
• Author Study Graphic Organizer for Students (PDF & editable word document)
• 6 Blank Coloring Pages that come together as one beautiful poster (PDFs)
• Robert Frost Author Study Answer Key
• Example of Final Project: Completed Text & Fully Colored Body

Check out more from my LITERARY LEGENDS Collection:

• Emily Dickinson
• Langston Hughes
• George Orwell
• William Shakespeare
• Walt Whitman

This resource is a  FULL POETRY UNIT for ELA grades: 7th, 8th, or 9th!  You will get a collection of different lessons, activities, and projects, plus a TDA essay, digital escape room, and final test! I’ve also included an example schedule for teachers to follow day-by-day!

Included in this  middle school poetry unit bundle:

• Introduction to Poetry Lesson & Guided Notes
• Kobe Bryant “Dear Basketball” Poem & Paired Text Michael Jordan Letter
• “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost Poem Analysis and Paired Song
• “Out Out” by Robert Frost Poem Analysis and TDA Essay
• Writing Poetry/Writing Workshop: Haiku, Concrete, Acrostic, Limerick, Free Verse
• Blackout Poetry Lesson and Project
• Poetry Packet — 5 Poems to Analyze
• Poetry Digital Escape Room — Robert Frost Poem Analysis & Comprehension Game “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
• Poetry One-Pager Project and Poem Analysis for ANY POEM
• Editable Poetry Test/Assessment for 7th, 8th, or 9th Grade Poetry
• Robert Frost Author Study: Collaborative Poster Project
• Teacher guide with day by day schedule for 3 weeks of Poetry

This bundle is so diverse and your students will get to analyze at least 12 different poems!

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Teaching a 6th Grade Core Knowledge Poetry Unit

I’ve always struggled with teaching poetry and felt nothing but dread and trepidation toward the 6th-grade Core Knowledge poetry unit each year. My discomfort stems from high school and college-level English courses in which I felt there was only one correct answer to questions about poetry. The likelihood of my interpretation being incorrect was HIGH, and in turn, this made my excitement and willingness to engage LOW.

In my own classroom, I felt comfortable teaching poetry only when I held the answer key firmly in my hand and could guide students to the correct answers with little breadcrumbs I’d found in the teacher’s guide!

Answer Keys No More

At the end of the last school year, I was bound and determined to make my poetry unit feel like a slam dunk just like my narrative and informative units. So I spent a significant amount of time with a list of poetry recommended for 6th graders that would offer a unique balance between fun, diverse, thought-provoking, and challenging poems. I turned to the poetry list from “ What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know ” by E.D. Hirsch and the Core Knowledge Series.

The list invites sixth graders to read poems from well-known poets such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Rudyard Kipling, and more.

As I began building out a unit for my 6th graders, I knew that while I wanted them to do important work, I also wanted them to love the experience and come away with their own understanding and connections. So I vowed to do away with the answer key and instead focus on making the experience of reading poetry a very personal one. As it should be.

I decided to use foldables so students could build a mini-poetry portfolio in their interactive notebooks and also because my students beg for hands-on activities. I wanted each poem students encountered to have a quick “how-to” reading guide that would help them focus on what to do during a first read, second read, and so on. I also wanted each poem to contain only open-ended questions where a wide-range of answers could be accepted.

Here’s What We Did

In the beginning, we spent at least three days with each poem. The first day we would read for the gist and acknowledge gut reactions, questions, and confusion. We would spend ample time researching under the pretense that we were detectives trying to solve a puzzle. Our research would obviously include vocabulary, but it would also include snippets about the poet, the time period in which the poem was written, the historical context, and any other references we could find. We tried to finish our first day with the poem by reading it a second time with our newfound understandings so we could understand the key ideas .

On our second day, we would take a look at the poem through a different lens. This time, we were looking at how the poet conveyed his or her message. Particularly, the craft and structure of the work. We would look at the physical structure (length, stanzas, lines, rhyme scheme, meter, etc.) and we would look at the poet’s language. We would discuss our various interpretations and why the poet made the choices they did, and then we would shift into uncovering meanings. I encouraged students to share their thoughts no matter how different from others they may seem.

Our third day (if needed) was often spent wrapping up the poem and possibly doing a fun extension task. Some days this looked like crafting our own poem in response, while other days this might have been listening to a different version of the poem and comparing the two. (The Raven, The Walloping Window-Blind)

We did not use an interactive foldable with every poem because some days we needed to read poetry for no other purpose than to enjoy it. Some days I wanted to change it up, and some days I could tell my kids needed me to change it up.

Check Out My 6th Grade Core Knowledge Poetry Foldables

If you are interested in checking out the poetry foldables I created and used with my students, you can access a freebie for the Chippewa poem A Song of Greatness here .

Other poems included in the unit are:

• Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
• Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
• I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud by William Wordsworth
• Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
• The Walloping Window-Blind by Charles E. Carryl
• A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Woman Work by Maya Angelou
• A Narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
• There is no Frigate like a Book by Emily Dickinson
• All the World’s a Stage by William Shakespeare
• If by Rudyard Kipling
• Apostrophe to the Ocean by Lord Byron

If you are interested in implementing the entire unit, you can purchase all 15 poem foldables at a 20% discount here .

I’d love for you to tag me in any pictures you snag of your students engaging with these poetry foldables at @heynatayle. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a note if you have any questions about the poetry foldables or how I use them!

Poetry Center

Five Poetry Lesson Plans for 6th-12th Grade Students

Do you know creative pre-teens and teens who will be home until in-school instruction resumes? Do you want to inspire a youth to work on their reading and writing, while also reflecting on their lives and how they move through the world? Are you a young person looking for a fun project or a teacher seeking an engaging assignment? I'd like to suggest these five lessons plans, crafted by Writing the Community teaching artists. While they were originally developed for 6th-12th grade students in classroom settings, they're easily adapted for all ages (grown ups, too!) and for at-home poetry projects. Happy writing! (And if you'd like more inspiration, be sure to check out our lesson plan archive. )

Place Poems

Poets explore ideas of place and safety, practice meditation, and write a place-themed anaphora poem in this lesson plan, developed by Teré Fowler-Chapman and inspired by Octavia Butler's essay "A Few Rules for Predicting the Future."

Restrictions and the Unreliable Translator: A Multi-Modal Approach

Gabe Dozal's lesson plan is premised on the idea that "restrictions in creative output can produce unexpected results." This mutilingual lesson plan uses music and Charles Bernstein's homophonic translation exercise to encourage literary experimentation and language play.

Thanks Be to All Things: A Gratitude Workshop

Drawing on research around the connections between gratitude and mental health , Logan Phillip's workshop is centered on collaboration, cultivating thankfulness, and practicing the art of noticing. While it was originally written for a group of young people, with some creativity it can be adapted for individuals and poets of all ages! The extension activity encourages writers to tackle odes, inspired by Pablo Neruda , Evie Shockley , and Pat Mora .

They Never Had It Made

This lesson plan, written by Lisa M. O'Neill and inspired by Nikky Finney's "He Never Had It Made," asks poets to write about a person in their life who overcame obstacles, and to practice using sensory language and vibrant details in their writing. Be sure to check out O'Neill's blog post about Nikky Finney's visit to her class , too!

Letter to Younger/Future Self

Teré Fowler-Chapman's lesson plan invites students to write an epistolary poem to their younger or future selves, reflect on the past and/or imagine the future, and practice using literary devices . Before writing, youth read two poems for instruction and inspiration: Patrick Rosal's “Children Walk on Chairs to Cross a Flooded Schoolyard” and Evie Shockley’s “from The Lost Letters of Frederick Douglass."

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6th Grade Poetry Lesson Plans

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6 Free Poetry Center Activities {Sixth Grade}

Make poetry fun with poetry center activities . Here is a free set of center printables to set up 6 poetry centers for sixth grade. Students will read poetry, create poems of different kinds and use technology to write a poem . Even if students aren’t very comfortable with their own poetry writing skills, they will have six opportunities to prove to themselves that they are highly capable!

Featured From Teaching Idea Tuesday

Poetry centers free download.

Writing lots of poetry in a variety of ways will keep students on their toes. Use the free printable directions to set up and direct students how to complete each center. Students can complete a holiday or color poem online, compose a DaDa poem and a biography poem. Reading poetry, completing a word search and compose a poem based on a dice roll is also included.

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Leslie {aka the original Teach Junkie} loves learning new things to make teaching easier and more effective. She enjoys featuring creative classroom fun when she's not designing teacher shirts, making kindergarten lesson plans or planning her family's next trip to Disney World.

Poems for 6th Graders

Table of contents.

• Lend a Hand by Anonymous
• Evening Hymn by Anonymous
• The Carpenter's Shop by Amos Russel Wells
• Popping Corn by Anonymous
• Amazing Grace by John Newton
• Keep A-Pluggin' Away by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• My Friend by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
• The Brown Thrush by Lucy Larcom
• The Sandpiper by Celia Thaxter
• The Old Oaken Bucket by Samuel Woodworth
• There is no frigate like a book by Emily Dickinson
• King Solomon and the Ants by John Greenleaf Whittier
• When We Two Parted by George Gord, Lord Byron
• Contentment by Edward Dyer
• Autumn by Thomas Hood
• Winter by Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty
• The Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey
• The Sermon of St. Francis by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• All Creatures of Our God and King by Francis of Assisi
• Grandfather's Clock by Henry C. Work
• The Two Kinds of People by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
• The Fountain by James Russell Lowell
• A Maple Leaf by Margaret E. Sangster
• A Bird came down the Walk (XXIII. IN THE GARDEN.) by Emily Dickinson

Lend a Hand

Lend a hand to one another In the daily toil of life; When we meet a weaker brother, Let us help him in the strife. There is none so rich but may, In his turn, be forced to borrow; And the poor man's lot to-day May become our own to-morrow. Lend a hand to one another: When malicious tongues have thrown Dark suspicion on your brother, Be not prompt to cast a stone. There is none so good but may Run adrift in shame and sorrow. Lend a hand to one another: In the race for Honor's crown; Should it fall upon your brother, Let not envy tear it down. Lend a hand to all, we pray, In their sunshine or their sorrow; And the prize they've won today May become our own to-morrow.

There is no Frigate like a Book

There is no frigate like a book To take us lands away, Nor any coursers like a page Of prancing poetry. This traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of toll; How frugal is the chariot That bears a human soul!

The autumn is old; The sear leaves are flying; He hath gathered up gold And now he is dying: Old age, begin sighing! The vintage is ripe; The harvest is heaping; But some that have sowed Have no riches for reaping:— Poor wretch, fall a-weeping! The year's in the wane; There is nothing adorning; The night has no eve, And the day has no morning; Cold winter gives warning. The rivers run chill; The red sun is sinking; And I am grown old, And life is fast shrinking; Here's enow for sad thinking!

A Maple Leaf

So bright in death I used to say, So beautiful through frost and cold! A lovelier thing I know to-day, The leaf is growing old, And wears in grace of duty done, The gold and scarlet of the sun.

Popping Corn

One autumn night, when the wind was high, And the rain fell in heavy plashes, A little boy sat by the kitchen fire, A-popping corn in the ashes; And his sister, a curly-haired child of three, Sat looking on, just close to his knee. Pop! pop! and the kernels, one by one, Came out of the embers flying; The boy held a long pine stick in his hand, And kept it busily plying; He stirred the corn, and it snapped the more, And faster jumped to the clean-swept floor. Part of the kernels flew one way, And a part hopped out the other; Some flew plump into the sister's lap, Some under the stool of the brother; The little girl gathered them into a heap, And called them a flock of milk-white sheep.

The Carpenter's Shop

I am a tool in the Carpenter's hand, And obedience only is mine. Never a whit may I understand The Carpenter's vast design. Mine to stay if He bids me stay, And go if He bids me go; Mine to plod in the same dull way Steadily to and fro. Mine to present a handle firm, And an edge that is sharp and true; Mine to achieve in my destined term, Just what He would have me do. The Nazareth shop in the centuries dead Has sunk from the sight of men. O joy if my life by the Carpenter led, May restore that shop again!

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believed! Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures. Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail And mortal life shall cease; I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine.

Keep A-Pluggin' Away

I've a humble little motto That is homely, though it's true, — Keep a-pluggin' away. It's a thing when I've an object That I always try to do, — Keep a-pluggin' away. When you've rising storms to quell, When opposing waters swell, It will never fail to tell, — Keep a-pluggin' away. If the hills are high before And the paths are hard to climb, Keep a-pluggin' away. And remember that successes Come to him who bides his time, — Keep a-pluggin' away. From the greatest to the least, None are from the rule released. Be thou toiler, poet, priest, Keep a-pluggin' away. Delve away beneath the surface, There is treasure farther down, — Keep a-pluggin' away. Let the rain come down in torrents, Let the threat'ning heavens frown, Keep a-pluggin' away. When the clouds have rolled away, There will come a brighter day All your labor to repay, — Keep a-pluggin' away. There'll be lots of sneers to swallow. There'll be lots of pain to bear, — Keep a-pluggin' away. If you've got your eye on heaven, Some bright day you'll wake up there, Keep a-pluggin' away. Perseverance still is king; Time its sure reward will bring; Work and wait unwearying,— Keep a-pluggin' away.

When first I looked upon the face of Pain I shrank repelled, as one shrinks from a foe Who stands with dagger poised, as for a blow. I was in search of Pleasure and of Gain; I turned aside to let him pass: in vain; He looked straight in my eyes and would not go. "Shake hands," he said, "our paths are one, and so We must be comrades on the way, 'tis plain." I felt the firm clasp of his hand on mine; Through all my veins it sent a strengthening glow. I straightway linked my arm in his, and lo! He led me forth to joys almost divine; With God's great truths enriched me in the end, And now I hold him as my dearest friend.

Now no plumed throng Charms the wood with song; Icebound trees are glittering; Merry snowbirds, twittering, Fondly strive to cheer Scenes so cold and drear. Winter, still I see Many charms in thee, Love thy chilly greeting, Snowstorms fiercely beating, And the dear delights Of the long, long nights.

The Brown Thrush

There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree; "He's singing to me! he's singing to me!" And what does he say, little girl, little boy? "Oh, the world's running over with joy! Don't You hear? Don't you see? Hush! look! In my tree I'm as happy as happy can be!" And the brown thrush keeps singing, "A nest do you see, And five eggs hid by me in the juniper tree? Don't meddle! don't touch! little girl, little boy, Or the world will lose some of its joy! Now I'm glad! now I'm free! And I always shall be, If you never bring sorrow to me." So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, To you and to me, to you and to me; And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, "Oh, the world's running over with joy! But long it won't be, Don't you know? Don't you see? Unless we're as good as can be."

The Sandpiper

Across the lonely beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I, And fast I gather, bit by bit, The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry. The wild waves reach their hands for it, The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, As up and down the beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I. Above our heads the sullen clouds Scud, black and swift, across the sky; Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds Stand out the white lighthouses high. Almost as far as eye can reach I see the close-reefed vessels fly, As fast we flit along the beach, One little sandpiper and I. I watch him as he skims along, Uttering his sweet and mournful cry; He starts not at my fitful song, Nor flash of fluttering drapery. He has no thought of any wrong, He scans me with a fearless eye; Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong, The little sandpiper and I. Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night, When the loosed storm breaks furiously? My driftwood fire will burn so bright! To what warm shelter canst thou fly? I do not fear for thee, though wroth The tempest rushes through the sky; For are we not God's children both, Thou, little sandpiper, and I?

His bridle hung around the post. The sun and the leaves made spots come down; I looked close at him through the fence; The post was drab and he was brown. His nose was long and hard and still, And on his lip were specks like chalk. But once he opened up his eyes, And he began to talk. He didn't talk out with his mouth; He didn't talk with words or noise. The talk was there along his nose; It seemed and then it was. He said the day was hot and slow, And he said he didn't like the flies; They made him have to shake his skin, And they got drowned in his eyes. He said that drab was just about The same as brown, but he was not A post, he said, to hold a fence. "I'm horse," he said, "that's what!" And then he shut his eyes again. As still as they had been before. He said for me to run along And not to bother him any more.

The Old Oaken Bucket

How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view! The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew! The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it, The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell, The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it, And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well— The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well. That moss-covered vessel I hailed as a treasure, For often at noon, when returned from the field, I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure, The purest and sweetest that nature can yield. How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing, And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell; Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing, And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well— The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket arose from the well. How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it As poised on the curb it inclined to my lips! Not a full blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it, The brightest that beauty or revelry sips. And now, far removed from the loved habitation, The tear of regret will intrusively swell. As fancy reverts to my father's plantation, And sighs for the bucket that hangs in the well— The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket that hangs in the well!

King Solomon and the Ants

Out from Jerusalem The king rode with his great War chiefs and lords of state, And Sheba's queen with them. Proud in the Syrian sun, In gold and purple sheen, The dusky Ethiop queen Smiled on King Solomon. Wisest of men, he knew The languages of all The creatures great or small That trod the earth or flew. Across an ant-hill led The king's path, and he heard Its small folk, and their word He thus interpreted: "Here comes the king men greet As wise and good and just, To crush us in the dust Under his heedless feet." The great king bowed his head, And saw the wide surprise Of the Queen of Sheba's eyes As he told her what they said. "O king!" she whispered sweet, "Too happy fate have they Who perish in thy way Beneath thy gracious feet! "Thou of the God-lent crown, Shall these vile creatures dare Murmur against thee where The knees of kings kneel down?" "Nay," Solomon replied, "The wise and strong should seek The welfare of the weak;" And turned his horse aside. His train, with quick alarm, Curved with their leader round The ant-hill's peopled mound, And left it free from harm. The jeweled head bent low; "O king!" she said, "henceforth The secret of thy worth And wisdom well I know. "Happy must be the State Whose ruler heedeth more The murmurs of the poor Than flatteries of the great."

When We Two Parted

When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, Colder thy kiss; Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this. The dew of the morning Sunk chill on my brow— It felt like the warning Of what I feel now. Thy vows are all broken, And light is thy fame; I hear thy name spoken, And share in its shame. They name thee before me, A knell to mine ear; A shudder comes o’er me— Why wert thou so dear? They know not I knew thee, Who knew thee too well— Long, long shall I rue thee, Too deeply to tell. In secret we met— In silence I grieve, That thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive. If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee?— With silence and tears.

Contentment

My mind to me a kingdom is; Such perfect joy therein I find As far excels all earthly bliss That God or Nature hath assigned; Though much I want that most would have, Yet still my mind forbids to crave. Content I live; this is my stay,— I seek no more than may suffice. I press to bear no haughty sway; Look, what I lack my mind supplies. Lo, thus I triumph like a king, Content with that my mind doth bring. I laugh not at another's loss, I grudge not at another's gain; No worldly wave my mind can toss; I brook that is another's bane. I fear no foe, nor fawn on friend; I loathe not life, nor dread mine end. My wealth is health and perfect ease; My conscience clear my chief defense; I never seek by bribes to please Nor by desert to give offense. Thus do I live, thus will I die; Would all did so as well as I!

Grandfather's Clock

My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf, So it stood ninety years on the floor; It was taller by half than the old man himself, Though it weighed not a pennyweight more. It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born, And was always his treasure and pride, But it stopped short ne'er to go again When the old man died. In watching its pendulum swing to and fro, Many hours had he spent while a boy; And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to know And to share both his grief and his joy, For it struck twenty-four when he entered at the door, With a blooming and beautiful bride, But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died. My grandfather said that of those he could hire, Not a servant so faithful he found, For it wasted no time and had but one desire, At the close of each week to be wound. And it kept in its place, not a frown upon its face, And its hands never hung by its side. But it stopped short never to go again When the old man died.

The Inchcape Rock

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, The Ship was still as she could be; Her sails from heaven received no motion, Her keel was steady in the ocean. Without either sign or sound of their shock, The waves flow’d over the Inchcape Rock; So little they rose, so little they fell, They did not move the Inchcape Bell. The Abbot of Aberbrothok Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock; On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung, And over the waves its warning rung. When the Rock was hid by the surge’s swell, The Mariners heard the warning Bell; And then they knew the perilous Rock, And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok The Sun in the heaven was shining gay, All things were joyful on that day; The sea-birds scream’d as they wheel’d round, And there was joyaunce in their sound. The buoy of the Inchcpe Bell was seen A darker speck on the ocean green; Sir Ralph the Rover walk’d his deck, And fix’d his eye on the darker speck. He felt the cheering power of spring, It made him whistle, it made him sing; His heart was mirthful to excess, But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness. His eye was on the Inchcape Float; Quoth he, “My men, put out the boat, And row me to the Inchcape Rock, And I’ll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok.” The boat is lower’d, the boatmen row, And to the Inchcape Rock they go; Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, And he cut the bell from the Inchcape Float. Down sank the Bell with a gurgling sound, The bubbles rose and burst around; Quoth Sir Ralph, “The next who comes to the Rock, Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.” Sir ralph the Rover sail’d away, He scour’d the seas for many a day; And now grown rich with plunder’d store, He steers his course for Scotland’s shore. So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky, They cannot see the sun on high; The wind hath blown a gale all day, At evening it hath died away. On the deck the Rover takes his stand, So dark it is they see no land. Quoth Sir Ralph, “It will be lighter soon, For there is the dawn of the rising Moon.” “Canst hear,” said one, “the breakers roar? For methinks we should be near the shore.” “Now, where we are I cannot tell, But I wish we could hear the Inchcape Bell.” They hear no sound, the swell is strong, Though the wind hath fallen they drift along; Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock, “Oh Christ! It is the Inchcape Rock!” Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, He curst himself in his despair; The waves rush in on every side, The ship is sinking beneath the tide. But even in his dying fear, One dreadful sound could the Rover hear; A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell, The Devil below was ringing his knell.

The Sermon of St. Francis

Up soared the lark into the air, A shaft of song, a wingéd prayer, As if a soul released from pain Were flying back to heaven again. St. Francis heard: it was to him An emblem of the Seraphim; The upward motion of the fire, The light, the heat, the heart's desire. Around Assisi's convent gate The birds, God's poor who cannot wait, From moor and mere and darksome wood Come flocking for their dole of food. "O brother birds," St. Francis said, "Ye come to me and ask for bread, But not with bread alone to-day Shall ye be fed and sent away. "Ye shall be fed, ye happy birds, With manna of celestial words; Not mine, though mine they seem to be, Not mine, though they be spoken through me. "Oh, doubly are ye bound to praise The great Creator in your lays; He giveth you your plumes of down, Your crimson hoods, your cloaks of brown. "He giveth you your wings to fly And breathe a purer air on high, And careth for you everywhere, Who for yourselves so little care!" With flutter of swift wings and songs Together rose the feathered throngs, And singing scattered far apart; Deep peace was in St. Francis' heart. He knew not if the brotherhood His homily had understood; He only knew that to one ear The meaning of his words was clear.

All Creatures of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! Refrain: O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou rushing wind that art so strong, Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! Refrain Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. Refrain And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! Refrain Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! Refrain

The Two Kinds of People

No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean, Are the people who lift and the people who lean. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox The Two Kinds of People “

There are two kinds of people on earth to-day; Just two kinds of people, no more, I say. Not the sinner and saint, for it's well understood, The good are half bad and the bad are half good. Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man's wealth, You must first know the state of his conscience and health. Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span, Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man. Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears. No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean, Are the people who lift and the people who lean. Wherever you go, you will find the earth's masses Are always divided in just these two classes. And, oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween, There's only one lifter to twenty who lean. In which class are you? Are you easing the load Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road? Or are you a leaner, who lets others share Your portion of labor, and worry and care?

The Fountain

Into the sunshine, Full of the light, Leaping and flashing, From morn till night! Into the moonlight, Whiter than snow, Waving so flower-like When the winds blow! Into the starlight, Rushing in spray, Happy at midnight, Happy by day! Ever in motion, Blithesome and cheery, Still climbing heavenward, Never aweary; Glad of all weathers, Still seeming best, Upward or downward, Motion, thy rest; Full of a nature Nothing can tame, Changed every moment, Ever the same; Ceaseless aspiring, Ceaseless content, Darkness or sunshine Thy element; Glorious fountain! Let my heart be Fresh, changeful, constant, Upward like thee!

In the Garden

A bird came down the walk: He did not know I saw; He bit an angle-worm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew From a convenient grass, And then hopped sidewise to the wall To let a beetle pass. He glanced with rapid eyes That hurried all abroad, — They looked like frightened beads, I thought; He stirred his velvet head Like one in danger; cautious, I offered him a crumb, And he unrolled his feathers And rowed him softer home Than oars divide the ocean, Too silver for a seam, Or butterflies, off banks of noon, Leap, plashless, as they swim.

Evening Hymn

Come to the sunset tree, The day is past and gone; The woodman's ax lies free, And the reaper's work is done; The twilight star to heaven, And the summer dew to flowers, And rest to us is given, By the soft evening hours. Sweet is the hour of rest, Pleasant the woods' low sigh, And the gleaming of the west, And the turf whereon we lie, When the burden and the heat Of the laborer's task is o'er, And kindly voices greet The tired one at the door. Yes, tuneful is the sound That dwells in whispering boughs: Welcome the freshness round, And the gale that fans our brows; But rest more sweet and still Than ever the nightfall gave, Our yearning hearts shall fill, In the world beyond the grave. There, shall no tempests blow, Nor scorching noontide heat; There, shall be no more snow, No weary, wandering feet; So we lift our trusting eyes From the hills our fathers trod, To the quiet of the skies, To the Sabbath of our God.

Related Poems

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Interactive Poetry Activities Your Students Will Love

Do you want to make poetry so fun and engaging that your students will ask for more? Here are some simple activities to get you started.

1. Blackout Poetry

There are so many reasons blackout poetry is great: kids love it, it's creative, and it forces you to clean the falling-apart books from your classroom library without the guilt of tossing them in the trash.

What is blackout poetry? It's simple. Rip out the pages of old books. Give the students some basic instructions, then watch the creativity flow!

Sample Instructions:

Blackout Poetry Examples:

2. Poet VS Poet

College basketball's March Madness is the perfect time to pit poet against poet for some exciting classroom debates, but any time of year teachers can create a similar feel by putting poets head to head and comparing their power.

Kids love competition. Creating competition with poetry naturally adds excitement and connects a sometimes intimidating genre with something familiar.

How do you implement a poet vs poet match up in your classroom? You could use an already created tool ( see Poet Vs Poet here ) or create your own match ups. For example, after a simple lesson on figurative language, ask your students to read the poetry of two different poets and rate their use of metaphors, similes, personification, and imagery. As a class, debate the poet's ratings using text based evidence.

If you are at all familiar with the basketball brackets of March Madness, poetry brackets work the same way (and you can find and download blank brackets by doing a simple Google search). I like to start with a sweet sixteen of poets, then narrow down to an elite eight, a final four, a championship, and a winner. Poets advance by having classes vote on the better poet in each match up. The reward of listening to kids debate poet's skills like the poets are athletes is worth any time it takes setting up this activity.

3. Found Poems

Found poems give language to students who may struggle to find the right words. Found poetry is easily accessible, hands on, and fun. Easy to set up, all you need to do to implement found poetry in your classroom is gather together stacks of old magazines, scissors, glue, and colorful paper.

First, instruct students to find powerful words in the pages of magazines, cut them out, and make piles on their desk. You could also assign cutting out powerful words from old magazines for homework and save yourself the time and mess in your classroom.

Next, students arrange and rearrange the words on their desk into meaningful poetry. This is a great opportunity to reinforce the power of form, shape, and line breaks in poetry and encourage students to be thoughtful in their choices. Talk to your students about choosing the best words, eliminating unnecessary words, and playing around with word choice.

Finally, instruct students to glue their poem into place on a colorful piece of paper and decorate your room with the beauty and power of poetry.

4. Poetry Escape Room

A poetry escape room is the most engaging and fun way to introduce or review poetry with your students. Escape rooms by nature are hands on and engaging. Combine the fun of an escape room with poetry and your kids will be hooked. (Check out the poetry escape room I did with my students here.)

Escape rooms, or breakout rooms, are a new trend similar to scavenger hunts. In a poetry escape room, students put together clues based on poems, poets, figurative language, poetry form, rhyme scheme, or any other poetic element. Then, students work to unlock the clues using their poetry knowledge.

Poets are experts at hiding meaning within the lines of their poetry, so use that to create clues that ask students to interpret, make inferences, and analyze. Escape rooms are a great method of turning tasks that can be intimidating to kids and making them into interactive challenges that students are motivated to engage in.

To create a poetry escape room, first choose the poetic elements or reading skills you want to target, a specific poem you want students to read and reread several times in different ways, or a theme or poet to design your escape room around.

Next, gather the materials and tasks that you would normally share with students in a traditional format, but think of creative ways to turn the tasks into clues. For example, if you want students to identify the figurative language in a poem, create task cards that students have to place in the order that those poetic elements appear in the poem. Hide small letters on the task cards so when students place the cards in order, the next clue appears. See the example below:

Get creative and hide clues within poems with bold words, put clues on task cards that students have to place in a certain order based on analysis, or choose clues based on symbolism or inferences that students can find only when they do a close read of the poem.

Although escape rooms require a lot of preparation and thought, the end result is worth the time. Students will be more engaged, thoughtful, and active in reading poetry than you could ever imagine. Escape rooms are a great way to review poetic elements or kick off a new study of poetry when you really want to catch students' attention and get them motivated.

Check out my step by step guide to creating your own escape room here .

5. Poetry Mash Up

Create a poetry mash up by writing poetry forms on slips of paper and placing them in one jar, types of figurative language and placing them in a second jar, and sound elements and placing them in a third jar. Pass the jars around the classroom and have students choose from each one, writing a poem based on what they chose.

For example, a student might choose haiku (poetry form), imagery (figurative language), and onomatopoeia (sound element). That student would then be challenged to write a haiku with imagery and an onomatopoeia. There are endless combinations and kids will have a blast writing, sharing, and seeing what poems are created in your poetry mash up.

Play over and over and model your poetry writing with students as well. Have fun laughing at the ridiculous and enjoy the surprise when students create some really amazing pieces with different combinations of poetic elements.

Making poetry fun and hands on is not only possible, but with a little creativity, it's really easy to implement at any level. Help your students to find the joy in creating magic with only a few words in different shapes and forms. Take the intimidation factor out of poetry by connecting poetry to fun challenges, familiar activities, and hand on learning.

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ELA  /  6th Grade  /  Unit 11: Poetry (2020)

Poetry (2020)

Students are exposed to poetry as an art form full of aesthetic qualities, rhythmic elements and poignant themes, and consider how the genre differs from prose in structure, form, purpose, and language.

This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 6th Grade English course.

• Text and Materials

Unit Summary

In this unit, students will fall in love with poetry as an art form full of aesthetic qualities, rhythmic elements, and poignant themes about the human experience. Students will examine the works of great poets such as Nikki Grimes, Gary Soto, and Maya Angelou as they think about how poetry differs from prose in structure, form, purpose, and language. In the second half of the unit, students will continue their year-long conversation about heroes as they dive into personal poems about admiration and honor. Whether the poems focus on everyday heroes, such as one’s mother, or traditional heroes from history, students explore how poets reveal deep emotions about people who were influential in their lives. 

Significantly, in this unit, students move beyond literal meanings of words to figurative ones as they review how to analyze metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperboles from previous years. Toward the middle of the unit, students are pushed even more to explain the themes of poems. Unlike in texts from the elementary years, the themes are often subtle and developed over the course of the text rather than obvious and revealed early on in the text. This unit allows for students to read three poems in one sitting and then practice identifying each poem's theme in the same lesson. This target task often requires students to apply the strategy/skill learned during the lesson to a new poem. This kind of immediate practice and application is not possible when students have to identify a theme in a novel that is read over many weeks, because the theme is often only apparent at the end. Moreover, students are challenged to analyze how imagery, figurative language, contrast, and repetition help to crystalize the deeper message of the poem. In the culminating project of the unit, students will incorporate their knowledge of literary devices in their own personal poems about heroes who have influenced their lives. 

By the end of the unit, students will have a rich tool kit of craft moves that writers use to create vivid descriptions and enhance the meaning in texts. This will be particularly advantageous as they dive into the next unit , House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a book rich with figurative language and imagery. 

Texts and Materials

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Core Materials

Poem:  “Tamara's Opus” by Joshua Bennett (Disability Studies Quarterly, 2016)

Poem:  “Invitation” by Shel Silverstein

Article:  “What Is a Poem?” by Debbie McCarson

Poem:  “A Poem is a Busy Bee” by Charles Ghigna

Poem:  “I, Too” by Langston Hughes

Poem:  “At the Library” by Nikki Grimes

Poem:  “A Simile Like Love, A Metaphor is Love” by Allen Steble (PoemHunter.com, 2009)

Poem:  “What is the Sun?” by Wes Magee (PoemHunter.com, 2016)

Poem:  “Love That Boy” by Walter Dean Meyers (PoemHunter.com, 2014)

Poem:  “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou (PoemHunter.com, 2016)

Poem:  “The Walrus and the Carpenter” by Lewis Carroll (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “Rocking” by Gabriela Mistral (PoemHunter.com, 2015)

Poem:  “The Drought” by Gary Soto (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “The Dawn's Awake!” by Otto Leland Bohanan

Poem:  “Waiting” by Nikki Grimes

Poem:  “Song To Woody” by Bob Dylan

Poem:  “I Ate a Spicy Pepper” (Kenn Nesbitt, 2017)

Poem:  “Sick” by Shel Silverstein

Comic:  Peanuts (April 4, 1999) by Charles Schulz

Comic:  Peanuts (October 19, 1997) by Charles Schulz

Comic:  Peanuts (Nov 16, 1977) by Charles Schulz

Poem:  “Cynthia in the snow” by Gwendolyn Brooks

Song:  “Cats In The Cradle Lyrics”

Song:  “Circle Game lyrics”

Poem:  “A Red Palm” by Gary Soto

Poem:  “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

Poem:  “Oranges” by Gary Soto (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  ““Hope” is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “You Learn” by Jorge Luis Borges

Poem:  “Jorge Luis Borges: Aprendiendo” by Jorge Luis Borges

Poem:  “Instants” by Jorge Luis Borges

Poem:  “Moments” by Mary Oliver

Poem:  “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas

Poem:  “The Bean Eaters” by Gwendolyn Brooks

Poem:  “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks

Poem:  “Alone” by Maya Angelou (poets.org)

Poem:  “A Poem is a Little Path” by Charles Ghigna

Poem:  “The Life of Lincoln West” by Gwendolyn Brooks (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Poem:  “Harriet Tubman” by Eloise Greenfield

Poem:  “Frederick Douglass” by Robert Hayden (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Poem:  “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman (Poetry Foundation, 2017)

Song:  “I Sing the Battle”

Poem:  “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes

Poem:  “When Ure Hero Falls” by Tupac Shakur (PoemHunter.com, 2011)

Poem:  “Rock Me to Sleep” by Elizabeth Akers Allen

This assessment accompanies Unit 11 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.

Download Content Assessment

Intellectual Prep

Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit

• Read and annotate the “Why This Unit?” and “Essential Questions” portion of the unit plan. 
• Read and annotate the text with essential questions in mind.
• Make a poetry packet by combining all the poems. 
• Determine an approach to reading and annotating poetry that you want your students to internalize. Consult with the teachers from the previous grades if possible in an effort to be consistent. 
• Take unit assessment. Focus on questions 8, 16, 18 (tone); 9, 14, 15 (figurative language/metaphor); and 10, 11, 13 (theme/central idea). Write the mastery response to the short answer and essay question. Determine how you will grade each one. 
• Unit plan lessons that align directly with test questions: 
• Definitions: lessons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
• Tone: lessons 6, 8, 15
• Metaphor: lessons 3, 5
• Theme: lessons 9, 10, 11, 13 
• Free Verse: lesson 2
• Repetition: lesson 11
• Point of View: lessons 12, 13 
• Heroization (essay on test): lessons 5, 13, 15
• Essential Questions: lessons 1, 4, 5, 7, 13 
• Grade Target Tasks from Lessons 1, 3, 8, 10, and 13.

Essential Questions

The central thematic questions addressed in the unit or across units

• What does poetry offer the reader that prose cannot?
• Does a visual or audio presentation of a poem enhance or detract from the meaning of a poem? 
• How do poets heroize the influential people in their lives? 

Writing Focus Areas

Specific skills to focus on when giving feedback on writing assignments

For all genres of writing, students will practice the habit of dissecting the prompt by breaking it into parts in order to fully grasp the question. In literary analysis writing, students will focus on organizing their writing in the outline and draft stages with a special focus on compare-and-contrast prompts. Students will continue to tackle writing clear thesis statements that thoroughly answer all parts of the prompt. They will also work on supporting their claims with direct quotations. In their culminating project, students will write personal poems about their heroes, in which they will work to maintain a point of view of their choice, incorporating figurative language and imagery. 

Narrative Writing Focus Areas

• Maintains one narrative point of view to develop the character, setting, or plot 
• Includes two examples of figurative language that help the reader imagine the scene
• Uses one example of imagery that enhances the tone and meaning of the poem

Spiraling Literary Analysis Writing Focus Area

• Creates a draft and outline that supports a compare-and-contrast prompt
• Thoroughly addresses the prompt through a thesis that is clear, complete (answers the whole question), and compelling
• Supports each claim with at least one direct quotation from the text 
• Uses paragraphs to separate the different parts of the essay

Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text

Literary Terms

poetry, prose, verse, stanza, line, rhyme scheme, free verse, literal language, figurative language, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, sound device, imagery, sensory details, theme, subtle, repetition, speaker, narrative point of view, first person, second person, third person, limited, omniscient perspective, heroize, mood, repetition, contrast, rhyme scheme, compare and contrast, tone

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students teacher tool.

Content Knowledge and Connections

Fishtank ELA units related to the content in this unit.

• Maya Angelou
• Poetry vs. prose
• “Tamara's Opus”
• “Bennett video”
• “What Is...”
• “A Poem is...”
• “Invitation”
• “I, Too”

Differentiate between prose and verse. 

Explain the purpose of verse form according to the article.

Explain how the visual and aural depiction of the poem enhances or detracts from the meaning.

RI.6.6 RL.6.7 RL.6.9

• “At the Library”

Differentiate between verse and free verse. 

Explain the purpose of rhyme scheme in a poem.

RL.6.4 RL.6.5

• “A Simile...”
• “What is the Sun?”
• “Love That...”
• “When Great...”

Explain the difference between metaphor and simile. 

Explain the literal meanings of similes and metaphors.

• “The Walrus...”
• “Walrus video”
• “Rocking”
• “The Drought”

Identify and interpret the literal meaning of personification in a poem.

Explain how personification affects the mood in a poem. 

Explain how the visual and aural depiction of the poem enchances or detracts from the meaning.

RL.6.4 RL.6.7

• “The Dawn's Awake!”
• “Waiting”
• “Song To Woody”
• “Song to Woody”

Identify and analyze the metaphors, similes, and personification in a poem. 

Interpret the poem "The Dawn's Awake" beyond its literal meaning in the context of the Harlem Renaissance.

• “I Ate a Spicy Pepper”
• “Sick”

Identify and explain the purpose of hyperbole in a poem. 

Explain how hyperbole affects the tone of a poem. 

• “Cynthia in...”
• “Lyrics 1”
• “Cat's In...”
• “Lyrics 2”
• “Circle Game”

Identify and explain the purpose of sound devices (onomatopoeia and alliteration) in poetry. 

Explain how the aural depiction of the poem enhances or detracts from the mood.

• “A Red Palm”
• “Oranges”
• “Wild Geese”

Identify and explain the purpose of imagery in a poem. 

Explain how imagery affects the tone of a poem. 

• ““Hope” is the thing with feathers”
• “Caged Bird”

Identify and explain the theme in the poem. 

• “You Learn”
• “Jorge Luis Borges”
• “Instants”
• “Moments”

Identify and explain how the poet develops the theme.

• “Phenomenal Woman”
• “Alone”
• “Do not go...”

Explain how the poet uses repetition to convey the theme.

Explain how repetition enhances the speaker’s tone in the poem. 

• “The Bean...”
• “Mother...”
• “We Real Cool”
• “The Life of Lincoln West”

Identify the narrative point of view of the poem.

• “Paul Revere’s Ride”
• “Harriet Tubman”
• “Frederick Douglass”
• “O Captain! My Captain!”

Explain how the narrative point of view affects the theme of heroization in the poem. 

RL.6.2 RL.6.6

• “I Sing the Battle”
• “Let America...”

Analyze the effect of contrast in a poem.

Explain how Kemp and Hughes develop themes in their poems.

• “When Ure Hero Falls”
• “Rock Me to Sleep”

Compare and contrast how poets develop tone in poetry.

Write a poem about a hero that uses a specific point of view, figurative language, and imagery to convey a clear tone and theme.

W.6.3 W.6.3.a W.6.3.d

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Common Core Standards

Core standards.

The content standards covered in this unit

Language Standards

L.6.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.6.4.a — Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

L.6.4.b — Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).

Reading Standards for Informational Text

RI.6.1 — Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.6.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

RI.6.6 — Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

Reading Standards for Literature

RL.6.1 — Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.6.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

RL.6.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

RL.6.5 — Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

RL.6.6 — Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

RL.6.7 — Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they "see" and "hear" when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

RL.6.9 — Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Speaking and Listening Standards

SL.6.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.6.4 — Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

SL.6.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Writing Standards

W.6.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

W.6.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

W.6.3.a — Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

W.6.3.d — Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.

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Find Poetry resources | TPT

Learn more about poetry resources.

Poetry encourages students to engage with language, explore their thoughts and feelings, and connect with the broader human experience. If you’re a teacher or parent looking for printable and digital poetry resources, look no further. TPT has an extensive collection of resources, created by other teachers, that are designed to help with any need across grade levels.

If you want to make poets out of younger students in elementary grades, then acrostic poems or fill in the blank poems are the perfect place to start. (In fact, many poetry resources on TPT include templates so your students can easily get started producing their own poetry, whether it’s a haiku, or limerick.) For older students in middle and high school, you can find an array of resources to teach them about everything from iambic pentameter, figurative language, to famous poets from history. With plenty of TPT resources at your fingertips, you can sharpen your students’ poetry skills in no time.

Fun and engaging poetry activities to try

Teaching students about poetry can be an engaging and creative experience. Here are a few ideas for poetry activities that you can find on TPT to help you introduce and explore the world of poetry with your students:

Poetic Device Scavenger Hunt

Distribute some poems and have students identify and highlight poetic devices like similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and imagery. Discuss what these are and the overall impact on the reader's experience.

Poetry Analysis Jigsaw

Divide students into small groups, assigning each group a different poem. Have each group analyze the assigned poem's themes, tone, and literary devices, and present their findings to the class.

Poetry Slam or Performance

Organize a poetry slam where students can perform poems they’ve written themselves or those written by famous poets. This will help build confidence and strengthen their public speaking skills.

Writing Poetry from Different Perspectives

Ask students to write a poem from the perspective of an inanimate object or an animal to foster empathy and encourage creative, out-of-the-box thinking.

Creating Found Poetry

Provide magazines, newspapers, or online articles. Have students cut out interesting words and phrases, and use them to create their own unique poems.

These (and other!) activities can help deepen your students’ appreciation for poetry and enhance their creative writing skills.

Frequently asked questions about teaching poetry

What types of poetry resources are available on tpt.

There are many different types of poetry resources sold by Sellers on TPT. Some popular poetry lessons include learning how to write haikus, acrostic poems, limericks, and free verse.

How do I find poetry resources on TPT?

Educators can save time preparing poetry lessons with resources created by experienced teachers. Simply start a search for poetry resources on the TPT marketplace, and filter by grade level, price, and/or resource type to find materials that've been proven to work in classrooms like yours. No matter what you’re teaching, there are plenty of poetry lessons and activities sold by Sellers on TPT that are tailored to meet your students' skill levels.

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Antigonish [i met a man who wasn't there].

Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today I wish, I wish he'd go away...

When I came home last night at three The man was waiting there for me But when I looked around the hall I couldn't see him there at all! Go away, go away, don't you come back any more! Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door... (slam!)

Last night I saw upon the stair A little man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today Oh, how I wish he'd go away...

This poem is in the public domain.

Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face

Be glad your nose is on your face, not pasted on some other place, for if it were where it is not, you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose were sandwiched in between your toes, that clearly would not be a treat, for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread were it attached atop your head, it soon would drive you to despair, forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be an absolute catastrophe, for when you were obliged to sneeze, your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin, remains between your eyes and chin, not pasted on some other place— be glad your nose is on your face!

From The New Kid on the Block , published by Greenwillow, 1984. Used with permission.

Bleezer’s Ice Cream

I am Ebenezer Bleezer, I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE, there are flavors in my freezer you have never seen before, twenty-eight divine creations too delicious to resist, why not do yourself a favor, try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer, I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE, taste a flavor from my freezer, you will surely ask for more.

White sheep, white sheep, On a blue hill, When the wind stops, You all stand still. When the wind blows, You walk away slow. White sheep, white sheep, Where do you go?

Eletelephony

Once there was an elephant, Who tried to use the telephant— No! No! I mean an elephone Who tried to use the telephone— (Dear me! I am not certain quite That even now I’ve got it right.) Howe’er it was, he got his trunk Entangled in the telephunk; The more he tried to get it free, The louder buzzed the telephee— (I fear I’d better drop the song Of elephop and telephong!)

Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves    Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves,    And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son    The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun    The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;    Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree,    And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,    The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,    And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through    The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head    He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?    Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”    He chortled in his joy.

Mother Doesn't Want a Dog

Mother doesn't want a dog. Mother says they smell, And never sit when you say sit, Or even when you yell. And when you come home late at night And there is ice and snow, You have to go back out because The dumb dog has to go.

Mother doesn't want a dog. Mother says they shed, And always let the strangers in And bark at friends instead, And do disgraceful things on rugs, And track mud on the floor, And flop upon your bed at night And snore their doggy snore.

Mother doesn't want a dog. She's making a mistake. Because, more than a dog, I think She will not want this snake.

From If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries . . . , published by Macmillan, 1981. Used with permission.

"I cannot go to school today," Said little Peggy Ann McKay. "I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more—that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut—my eyes are blue— It might be instamatic flu. I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke— My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button's caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains. My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out. My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is—what? What's that? What's that you say? You say today is. . .Saturday? G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

From Shel Silverstein: Poems and Drawings ; originally appeared in Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Copyright © 2003 by HarperCollins Children's Books . Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Since Hanna Moved Away

The tires on my bike are flat. The sky is grouchy gray. At least it sure feels like that Since Hanna moved away.

Chocolate ice cream tastes like prunes. December's come to stay. They've taken back the Mays and Junes Since Hanna moved away.

Flowers smell like halibut. Velvet feels like hay. Every handsome dog's a mutt Since Hanna moved away.

Nothing's fun to laugh about. Nothing's fun to play. They call me, but I won't come out Since Hanna moved away.

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

Mr. Grumpledump’s Song

Everything’s wrong, Days are too long, Sunshine’s too hot, Wind is too strong. Clouds are too fluffy, Grass is too green, Ground is too dusty, Sheets are too clean. Stars are too twinkly, Moon is too high, Water’s too drippy, Sand is too dry. Rocks are too heavy, Feathers too light, Kids are too noisy, Shoes are too tight. Folks are too happy, Singin’ their songs. Why can’t they see it? Everything’s wrong!

From Where the Sidewalk Ends , thirtieth-anniversary special edition by Shel Silverstein. Copyright © 2004 by Shel Silverstein. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers . No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. All rights reserved.

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40 Inspiring Poetry Games and Activities for Kids and Teens

They are poets, and they know it!

Tired of hearing groans when you announce it’s time for some poetry? Poems can be hard for kids to connect with, so it helps to have some clever poetry games and poetry activities up your sleeve. Try these with our favorite poems for sharing with elementary students and middle and high school students !

Our Favorite Poetry Games and Activities

1. Watch poetry videos

Let YouTube do some of the work for you with this roundup of poetry videos for elementary students. Watch authors read their own poems, learn about poetry terms, and more.

Learn more: Poetry Videos for Elementary School

2. Climb a hill with Amanda Gorman

Young poet Amanda Gorman took the world by storm when she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. Kids can really relate to her and her words, so try this roundup of poetry activities to introduce her in your classroom.

Learn more: Celebrate Poetry Month With Amanda Gorman

3. Take inspiration from nature

Nature has always provided inspiration for poets, and it can help your students find their own way to a love of poetry. Find out how poet David Harrison uses nature to help kids tap into their poetic sides.

Learn more: Science and Poetry

4. Read a novel in verse

Help kids find more meaning in poetry by reading novels told in verse. When they have a story to follow, they’re more likely to be engaged and open to learning about the poetic elements. Here are some of our favorite novels in verse for students of all ages.

Learn more: Best Novels in Verse

5. Stack up book spine poetry

Pull some books off the shelves and stack them so their titles create a poem. Kids can take a pic, write the titles down as they are, or use their stack as inspiration for a more fleshed-out masterpiece.

Learn more: How To Create Book Spine Poetry

6. Build a Humpty Dumpty wall

For most of us, nursery rhymes were the first poems we read, and they’re the perfect place to start with poetry games. Write words on building blocks ( try this set of Giant Cardboard Blocks from Amazon ), then stack them up to build a wall. Kids will get a kick out of these poetry activities by knocking the wall down and then building it up again!

Learn more: Nursery Rhyme Wall

7. Plant a poe-tree

“ I think that I shall never see / a poem as lovely as a poe-tree!” Hang a paper tree, then fill it with leaves covered with poetry from your students.

Learn more: Plant a Poe-Tree

8. Try paper bag poetry

Introduce poetry to little ones with a paper bag filled with several items of different sizes, shapes, textures, etc. Kids reach into the bag without looking and describe what they feel in a few words. These words make their first poem. This is one of the great poetry activities for younger students.

Learn more: Paper Bag Poetry

9. Explore a Poem of the Week

We love the idea of using a pocket chart with sentence strips to post a poem broken down by lines or phrases. Do a different activity each day throughout the week to help students make a connection.

Learn more: Poem of the Week

10. Go on a poetry speed date

This is a cool way to introduce older readers to a poetry unit. Gather up all the poetry books you can find, and invite students to bring their favorites too. Students spend the class period “speed dating” the books—they simply browse and skim, looking for poems and authors that catch their eye. Encourage them to make notes of their favorites for further reading.

Learn more: Poetry Speed Dating

11. Have a poetry book tasting

Here’s a cool spin on the speed-dating idea—a book tasting! Set up your room to look like a restaurant, play classical music in the background, and then invite students to sit down and try a variety of poetry books.

Learn more: Ideas on how to hold a book tasting

12. Pair up songs and poems

One of the easiest ways for many students to connect with poetry is by linking it with song lyrics. Visit the link below to find 15 fantastic song and poem pairings. Then, challenge your students to make their own pairings and explain the reasoning.

Learn more: Poem and Song Pairings

13. Read poetry in different ways

Poetry is all about the reader’s (or listener’s) experience. Experiment with that idea by having kids read poems out loud in a variety of ways. How does it change the experience when you read a sad poem in a silly voice or a funny poem in a scared voice?

Learn more: Poetry Voices

14. Spin to generate discussion

A poetry discussion can be hard going for kids at first. Use this free printable spinner to give them conversation starters or to help them choose a topic for further exploration.

Learn more: Poetry Spinner

15. Create colorful paint chip poetry

This is easily one of the most popular poetry games, and for good reason. Colors are so easy to relate to and evoke lots of feelings and memories. Paint chip poetry works for every age group, too, and makes for a neat classroom display.

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry

16. Expand on paint chip poetry

Feeling a little guilty about furtively stuffing paint chips in your pocket at the store? These printable paint chip poetry games are here to help. They include multiple ways to use paint chips for poetic inspiration too!

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry Without the Guilt

17. Have a “Hey Diddle, Diddle” puppet show

Nursery rhyme poems were just made to be acted out! Create stick puppets for “Hey Diddle, Diddle” using the instructions at the link, then expand to your other favorite rhymes to assemble a whole puppet show.

Learn more: Hey Diddle, Diddle Nursery Rhyme Craft

18. Compose acrostics

Acrostics are simple enough for beginning poets, but even Edgar Allan Poe used this style to create beautiful works. Writing one is almost like putting together a puzzle!

Learn more: Acrostic Poems

19. Match DIY rhyming dominoes

Rhyming poetry games are a lot of fun, and this one starts with some DIY dominoes made from sentence strips . This is a clever way to help kids find rhymes for writing their own poems.

Learn more: Rhyming Dominoes and Speedracer Game

20. Scoop up some ice cream poetry

Jack Prelutsky’s “ Bleezer’s Ice Cream ” is a kids’ poetry classic, and it’s sure to spark your students’ imaginations. Have them write and illustrate their own ice cream poems, with a focus on alliteration and other literary devices.

Learn more:  Awesome Alliteration Activity

21. Give haiku a hand

Haiku poems with their standard 5-7-5 syllable structure are fun to write. And let’s face it, most of us count the syllables on our fingers when we do! So this haiku helping hand is a perfect tool for kids. Have kids trace their own hand and write a haiku on it too.

Learn more: Haiku Poetry

22. Fetch a doggie haiku

Once you start with haiku, there’s just so much you can do! Elementary kids will love hearing the story of Doug, a dog looking for his forever home, in Dogku by Andrew Clements . As you might guess, the tale is told entirely in haiku. After you read the book, have kids create and illustrate their own “Dogku” poems.

Learn more: Doggie Haiku Poems

23. Roll the haiku dice

These are so cool! Haikubes are perfect for all sorts of poetry games. Roll the cubes and create a haiku, or draw a handful from a bag and use them to make your poem. You can use these for other poetry activities too.

Buy it: Haikubes at Amazon

24. Craft 3D tunnel haiku books

Haiku are fun to write, but a 3D tunnel haiku book is next-level awesome. This project looks harder than it is; all you really need are index cards, basic school supplies, and a lot of creativity.

Learn more: Haiku Tunnel Books

25. Be a copycat

We’re normally opposed to copying in the classroom, but for this activity, it’s A-OK! Kids write poems that mimic one they’ve been reading in class. This helps open their minds to the creativity they need to write their own unique verses later on down the line.

Learn more: Copycat Poem

26. Draw a concrete poem

Concrete poems are art and poetry rolled into one. Kids write a poem on any subject they like, then craft it into a shape reflecting their topic. Tip: Use a light board to allow kids to trace shapes if they find drawing a bit too challenging.

Learn more: Concrete Poems

27. Play Poetry Bingo

Is there anything bingo can’t do? Turns out it even works for poetry games! Get free printable sheets to use for this Poetry Bingo game that reviews literary devices and vocabulary terms.

Learn more: Poetry Bingo

28. Keep a poem in your pocket

There are lots of poem-in-your-pocket activities out there, but we love this one for its sheer creativity! During independent reading time, kids explore and find their favorite poem to share with classmates. After they share, they tuck them in a pocket on this spectacular hallway bulletin board for others to find and read. (Turn this into an online activity by using an online bulletin board program like Padlet .)

Learn more: Sharing Poems in Our Pockets

29. Design your own poetry dice

Learn about clauses when you make a set of dice to use for poetry games. Grab this set of Dry-Erase Blocks from Amazon and write dependent clauses on one and independent clauses on the other. Roll the dice and enjoy the verses you create!

Learn more: Poetry Dice

30. Learn limericks with a rhyming word bank

Kids love limericks —and really, who doesn’t? Their biggest challenge is usually coming up with the rhymes they need. This cool poetry activity creates a bank of rhyming words students can pull from as they craft their own lovable limericks to share.

Learn more: Silly Limericks for Kids

31. Color in blackout poetry

Blackout poems are a unique way of looking at the written word. This activity is easily differentiated for students from elementary through high school, and the results are often stunning.

Learn more: What Is Blackout Poetry (Plus Inspiring Examples and Ideas)

32. Post some pushpin poetry

Remember when poetry magnets were all the rage? You can still buy them ( find them on Amazon ), but you can also just create your own from paper scraps and pushpins. This is a low-cost way to open the door to so many poetry games and activities.

Learn more: Pushpin Poetry

33. Make magnetic poetry online

Speaking of poetry magnets, did you know you can play with them online? Really! This clever site gives you new words every time, so there are always fresh new ideas to explore.

Learn more: Magnetic Poetry Online

34. Say it with sticky notes

We love using sticky notes in the classroom , and they’re fantastic for poetry games. Have kids write a selection of words of their choice and stick them to the wall or whiteboard. Then let each student select words to use for their own verses.

Learn more: L iterary Analysis

35. Prove that opposites attract

Even polar opposites can share similarities. For this poetry activity, students choose two opposite subjects, like the ocean and desert shown here. The middle line of the poem highlights the one similarity between the pair and acts as a transition (in this case: sand). Illustrations help tell the story.

Learn more: Diamante Poetry

36. Find poetry everywhere

Found poetry is likely to become one of your students’ favorite poetry games. Give them a stack of magazines, newspapers, or books to look through, along with a pair of scissors. Have them cut out words and phrases they like, and then arrange them into a brand-new poetic masterpiece!

Learn more: How To Write Found Poetry

37. Start with simple cinquains

Cinquains are five-line poems with a specific structure. There are a variety of styles, but this poetry activity walks kids through the creation of a simple cinquain on any topic they like. This is a neat way to work on “-ing” words (known as gerunds ). Bonus: This free printable Character Cinquains worksheet can be used with any book or story.

Learn more: Poetry Unit

38. Learn metaphors and similes

Similes and metaphors are two of the most common literary devices found in poems. Help kids learn to tell the difference with this free printable game.

Learn more: Activities for Teaching Poetry

39. Take inspiration from metaphor dice

The right metaphor is the gateway to a unique and meaningful poem. Roll these dice to find a metaphor that will inspire and challenge your young poets.

Buy it: Metaphor Dice at Amazon

40. Host a poetry slam

Round off your poetry unit with a poetry slam ! These events are a combination of recitations and poetry games, like freestyle rhyme battles. This is the ultimate event for poetry lovers of any age. Hold it in person, or stream it on Zoom so anyone can easily attend!

Learn more: How To Host a Poetry Slam and Slam Poetry Examples

Don’t miss our FREE printable poetry worksheet bundle !

What are your favorite poetry activities come share your ideas on the we are teachers helpline group on facebook ., looking for more poetry to use in the classroom check out our list of the best poetry books for kids in grades pre-k through 12 ..

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Poetry Assignment

This poetry assignment activity also includes:.

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As the culminating activity in a unit study of poetry, class members demonstrate what they have learned about poetry by creating a notebook containing original poems they have written, published poems they enjoy, and analyses of these poems.

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Instructional ideas.

• Copy pages from several notebooks to use as models for subsequent classes
• Create your own to use as a sample and to share your work with your students
• Complete directions are included in the packet, as are  worksheets and models

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