Fun Poetry Activities for Elementary Students

When I first started teaching it was very common for students to start school with lots of background knowledge of nursery rhymes and tongue twisters. It was almost as if these were a rite of passage through the preschool years. However, times have changed along with "norms" that we may have come to expect. 

Our students don't start school with the same knowledge and skills as in previous years. So, how do we make sure our students are getting exposure to poetry today? I'm going to share some of my favorite fun and engaging ways to teach poetry your students will love.

Why Is Poetry Important?

Teaching poetry has many different benefits which is why it is a language arts standard in grades 1 - 5. 

Poetry helps children to build early literacy skills. It helps emerging readers as they develop rhyming skills and phonemic awareness.  It encourages students to play with words and their meanings. It exposes students to varying sentence structures and writing styles.  And . . . poetry sparks creativity and helps with memory.

Aside from literature, poetry also teaches children about the world. It introduces them to the ideas and feelings of others. It teaches students how to look at the world from different perspectives.  

This is so important in today's world. Poetry can help us to respect and understand each other and our viewpoints. It can essentially teach us how to be better people. 

Teaching Poetry

The idea of teaching poetry can seem like just another standard to check off your list, but with these ideas to teach poetry that your students will love I think your mindset will change.

There are many different types of poems we can introduce to our students. The depth and content of the poems will, of course, depend on the age of your class. 

I like to teach poetry by providing tons of examples and allowing my students to create poems of their own. Because of this, I provide them each with a poetry book.

As we work through our unit, we fill out the pages in their poetry book together. After they complete the poetry book, they end up having a definition and an example of each type of poem we study. The book serves as an awesome reference guide for them to use throughout our poetry unit and even afterward. 

Once we've learned about one type of poem and explored some examples, then we always try our hand at writing that type of poetry.

You may want to consider teaching poetry throughout the year. Choosing one poem type to focus on each month allows you to really explore each type of poem at a deeper level than doing one unit on poetry. It also ensures your students have a solid understanding of each type of poem.

Acrostic Poems

I like to begin with Acrostic poems. Using our school mascot, I like to work with my students as a class to complete an example on the board. We come up with words to describe the mascot based on each of the letters in the word. After they get the hang of it, students write their own acrostic poems using their names. This makes it so much fun and helps them make a personal connection to the poem. They write their final version of the acrostic poem in their poetry book.

Teaching Poetry Just Got Easier

What if I told you ideas to teach poetry that your students will love are in one place? 

Yep! My Poetry Writing Unit contains everything you need to get your students excited about poetry. Using their own poetry books, students will learn about the elements of 12 different poetry types. The unit is available in both print and digital forms which makes the prep so easy! 

The unit includes:

• Anchor Charts for each poem
• Student Poetry Book
• Lesson Plans
• YouTube poetry videos
• Examples of Poems
• Digital and Printable versions
• Culminating Activity

I know this Poetry Writing Unit will inspire you and your students to explore different types of poetry in your classroom. Your students will be pros at reading and writing poetry before you know it!

Save these Poetry Ideas for Later

Be sure to save these tips for teaching poetry to elementary students to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you have plenty of ideas for teaching poetry that your students will love.

Helping students fall in love with poetry is just...

My Kind of Teaching!