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This poem would be a great poem to use to teach figurative language. It uses metaphors to compare early spring colors. It also has great rhythm and rhyme which always leads to a good class discussion. 

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Nothing Gold Can Stay

By: Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

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This poem would be a great resource when teaching theme and tone. It has a strong tone that shifts throughout the poem. It also has a strong central theme that would be beneficial for students to discuss and dissect. 

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I, Too

By: Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

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This poem could be used to discuss the importance of setting goals and working hard to achieve them. You could go deeper and also discuss the importance of positive character traits as well as different strategies for overcoming challenges. 

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Aim High To The Sky

By: James McDonald

Aim high to the sky,
In all that you do.
Because you just never know,
What it takes to be you.

Be strong and be brave,
But at the same time be kind.
And always be sure,
That you’re using your mind.

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This poem would be a great poem to teach alliteration. It would also be a good poem to discuss rhyme. There is a lot of repetition that would be beneficial to discuss as well. 

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If You Ever Meet A Whale

By: Myra Cohn Livingston

If you ever, ever, ever,

If you ever, ever, ever,

If you ever, ever, ever, meet a whale,

You must never, never, never,

You must never, never, never,

You must never, never, never touch its tail.

For if you ever, ever, ever,

If you ever, ever, ever

If you ever, ever, ever touch its tail,

For if you ever, ever, ever,

If you ever, ever, ever

If you ever, ever, ever touch its tail,

You will never, never, never,

You will never, never, never,

You will never, never

Meet another whale.

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I would use this poem to teach theme and imagery. Dunbar uses amazing imagery in this poem to evoke emotions. Students could really dive deep in dissecting this poem.  

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We Wear the Mask

By: Paul Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

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We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar | Poetry Foundation

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I would use this poem to teach metaphors and personification. This Poem is also a good poem to use to discuss structure of poems. Students could analyze the poem's structure (stanzas, rhythm) and how it contributes to its meaning.

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“Hope” is the thing with feathers

By: Emily Dickenson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

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This poem is a fun poem that could be used to teach rhyme. Students can circle the rhyming words and then discuss the sounds they hear that make the words rhyme. 

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All My Great Excuses

By: Kenn Nesbitt

I started on my homework,
but my pen ran out of ink…
My hamster ate my homework…
My computer's on the blink…

I tripped and dropped my homework
in the soup my mom was cooking…
My brother flushed it down the toilet
when I wasn't looking…

My mother ran my homework
through the washer and the dryer…
An airplane crashed into our house…
My homework caught on fire…

Tornadoes blew my notes away…
Volcanoes rocked our town…
My books were taken hostage
by an evil killer clown…

Some aliens abducted me…
I had a shark attack…
A pirate swiped my homework
and refused to give it back…

I worked on these excuses
so darned long my teacher said,
"I think you'll find it's easier
to do the work instead."

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I would use this poem to teach figurative and descriptive language. The author uses similes as well as great descriptive language throughout the poem. 

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My Best Friend!

By: Abby Jenkins

Black and white

Thick and furry

Fast as the wind

Always in a hurry

Couple of spots

Rub my ears

Always comes when his name he hears

Loves his ball; it's his favorite thing

What's most fun for him? Everything!

Great big tongue that licks my face

Has a crate, his very own space

Big brown eyes like moon pies

He's my friend till the very end!

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I would use this poem to discuss theme. There are a few different topics of discussion regard indigenous people and I think students would be intrigued by the culture and and language in this poem. 

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I Lost My Talk

By: Rita Joe

I lost my talk

The talk you took away.

When I was a little girl

At Shubenacadie school.

You snatched it away:

I speak like you

I think like you

I create like you

The scrambled ballad, about my word.

Two ways I talk

Both ways I say,

Your way is more powerful.

So gently I offer my hand and ask,

Let me find my talk

So I can teach you about me.

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This poem uses wonderful imagery and would serve as a great resource in the classroom when teaching on that topic. It sparks imagination and creativity that students can use to drive their own creations of poetry. 

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Daisies

By: Frank Dempster Sherman

At evening when I go to bed
I see the stars shine overhead;
They are the little daisies white
That dot the meadow of the Night.

And often while I'm dreaming so,
Across the sky the Moon will go;
It is a lady, sweet and fair,
Who comes to gather daisies there.

For, when at morning I arise,
There's not a star left in the skies;
She's picked them all and dropped them down
Into the meadows of the town.

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This poem is a good example of a poem that is a free verse. It doesn't adhere to a specific rhyme scheme or meter, and it allows for a more natural and conversational tone. This would be beneficial in the classroom so students can understand that poetry is a art and does not have to written in a strict format. 

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Knoxville, Tennessee

By Nikki Giovanni

I always like summer

best

you can eat fresh corn

from daddy's garden

and okra

and greens

and cabbage

and lots of

barbecue

and buttermilk

and homemade ice-cream

at the church picnic

and listen to

gospel music

outside

at the church

homecoming

and you go to the mountains with

your grandmother

and go barefooted

and be warm

all the time

not only when you go to bed

and sleep

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I would use this poem to teach the theme of kindness. It also has rhyming words that would be beneficial to teach on as well. 

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The Dolly

By: Jeanette Cheal

The dolly sat upon the shelf

in the toy maker's shop all by herself.

The dolly only had one eye,

so all the children passed her by.

They scoffed at the dolly;

they weren't very kind

Then a child came in

with a dolly in mind.

Her mother led her around the shop.

At the shelf with the dolly her mother did stop.

The child reached out and felt for the dolly.

The toy maker shouted, "Dear child, I'm so sorry,

this dolly is blind; she only has one eye.

I've a dolly right here you might like to buy."

"No, this is the one," the child said to her mother.

"If I can't have her, I don't want any other."

So off dolly went with the child who was kind,

and just like the dolly, this child was blind.

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I would use this poem to teach repetition. It is a catchy poem that has rhythm caused by the repetition. 

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Hop To It!

By: Monica Kulling

I draw a square

on top of a square

on top of a square

with chalk.

The stone has fling

my step has spring

I hop and I hop and

I hop.

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This poem would be a good poem to use to have students reflect on the way that they treat others as well as their belongings. It will cause them to think beyond the typical things that usually come to mind. Students can generate a writing based on what they think their bike would say about them.

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At The Bike Rack

By: Betsy Franco

When you leave your bike in the bike rack,

don't you wish you knew

if the bicycles talked to each other

and what your bike says about you?

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I would use this poem to teach recognizing rhymes. It has a lot of rhymes and students could identify the sounds that make the words rhyme. 

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Moonwalker

By: Carol Diggory Shields

I'm a moonwalker, walking on the moon.

I'm a jungle stalker, stalking wild baboons.

I'm a superhero, skimming through the blue.

Puddle jumping, leaf-pile leaping, I'm a kangaroo.

I'm a red-eyed robot, clanking up the road.

I'm an eighteen-wheeler with a heavy load.

I'm a famous rock star, moving very cool.

Actually,

I'm just me,

Walking home from school.

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I would use this poem to identify the beginning sounds of words in the poem, such as "gravel," "grass," and "sneaker." I would also use it to point out the rhyming words in the poem, such as "crackles" and "slap." You could also teach syllable awareness by counting the syllables in words like "concrete" and "chitchat."

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Feet Talk

By: Constance Levy

Listen as your feet

tell you where they walk;

gravel crackles,

grass squeaks,

sneaker slaps,

on hard concrete.

Tune in to

Friendly chitchat

of feet meeting feet:

hurried shuffles, clacks, thumps

crossing busy streets.

Hear your feet talk

street talk!

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I would use this poem to teach alliteration and rhyme. You could point out the rhyming words (horse, sawhorse, two) and alliterative phrases (sea horse, sawhorse). These points could drive deeper discussion. 

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Sea Horse and Sawhorse

By: X. J. Kennedy

A sea horse saw a sawhorse

On a seesaw meant for two.

"See here, sawhorse," said sea horse,

"May I seesaw with you?"

"I'll see, sea horse," said sawhorse.

"Right now I'm having fun

Seeing if I'll be seasick

On a seesaw meant for one."

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I would use this poem to teach phonological awareness. We could identify rhyming words like "cloth" and "moth," "hole" and "mole," and so on. We could also count the syllables in words like "creature" and "creature." Another teaching moment would be breaking words into sounds and blend them back together. For example, "moth" can be broken into /m/ /o/ /th/.

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Home Poem (Or, The Sad Dog Song)

By: J Patrick Lewis

Home of the moth: cloth.

Home of the mole: hole.

Home of the bear: lair.

Home of the ants: pants.

Home of the gnu: zoo.

Home of the flea: me!

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I would use this poem to teach repetition by having students highlight the repeated phrase. I would also discuss the effect that the repetition and how it makes students feel.  

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Home

By: Ute Indian

All around me quiet.

All around me peaceful.

All around me lasting.

All around me home.

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I would use this poem to talk about what makes each student unique. I would encourage them to share their special qualities, talents, and interests. To further the lesson I would have students create self-portraits or write short stories about their unique qualities.

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Did you ever think?

By: Bobbi Katz

No one has a fingerprint

just like you.

No one smells exactly

the way that you do!

There are "look-alikes" and people

with the very same name.

But no two people are exactly just the same!

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I would use this poem to discuss imagery. I would point out the words that appeal to the senses, such as "cold" and "puff." I would also ask students to describe the image of "dragon smoke" in their own words. You could farther the lesson by having students create a poem using imagery. 

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Dragon Smoke

By: Lilian Moore

Breathe and blow

white clouds

with every puff.

It's cold today,

cold enough

to see your breathe.

Huff!

Breathe dragon smoke

today!

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I would use this poem during a discussion about rhyme. You could have students circle the rhyming words as well as have them clap to the rhyme. 

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Higglety, Pigglety, Pop

By: Samuel G. Goodrich

Higglery, pigglety, pop!

The dog has eaten the mop;

The pig's in a hurry,

The cat's in a flurry,

Higglety, pigglety, pop!

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This poem would be good for young readers to start to identify the characteristics of poetry. You could have students box the stanza and count the number of lines in the poem. You could also have students count the number of words in each line and discuss how that affects the flow of the poem. 

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Alonia Sees

By: Emily George

If you walked home

From school with me,

You'd see the things

I get to see.

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This poem can be used in many different ways regarding phonological awareness. First you could discuss the different ways the same sound can be represented by different letters or letter combinations. For example, the sound /e/ can be spelled as "e," "ee," or "ea." You could also identify word families like "rain, reign, rein" and "there, their, they're."  This poem really has endless possibilities. 

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English Is A Pain! (Pane?)

By: Shirlee Curlee Bingham

Rain, reign, rein,

English is a pain.

Although the words

sound just alike,

the spelling's not the same!

There, their, they're,

enough to make you swear.

Too many ways

to write one sound,

I just don't think it's fair!

To, two, too,

so what's a kid to do?

I think I'll go

to live on Mars,

and leave this mess with ewe!

(you?)

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I would use this poem to teach out the structure of poetry effects the tone in which it is read. I would conduct classroom discussion and talk about the stanzas, lines, and word count and how those characteristics affect how we read poems. 

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Lunchbox

By: Valerie Worth

They always

End up

Fighting-

The soft

Square

Sandwich,

The round

Heavy

Apple.

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This poem is great to spark interest in students to begin reading and looking for poetry.

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You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.

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Valentine for Ernest Mann - You can't order a poem like you order a taco.

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Reflections on a Gift of a Watermelon Pickle

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Reflections on a Gift of a Watermelon Pickle

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Here are modern poems chosen for their individual excellence and their special appeal to young people. Exciting photographs accent the contemporary tone of the collection.

From lighthearted Phyllis Mc-Ginley to pessimistic Ezra Pound; from the lyricism of Edna St. Vincent Millay to the vigor of Lawrence Ferlinghette; from Carl Sandburg on loneliness to Paul Dehn on the bomb -- such is the range. The little known or unknown poet and the widely recognized appear side by siide.

Whatever the subject matter -- pheasant or flying saucer; lapping lake water or sonic boom; a deer hunt, a basketball, or a bud -- it is all poetry reflecting today's images and today's moods.

The editors spent several years bringing together 1200 poems they considered fine enough to include, then slowly and carefully sifted out of 114 which appear in the book.

Readers of Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle . . . and Other Modern Verse may well be tempted by Eve Merriam's suggestion in "How to Eat a Poem"

Don't be polite
Bite in.
Pick it up with your
fingers and lick
The juice that may
run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now,
whenever you are.

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Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

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Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle [Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, Hugh Smith, Donald Marvine] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

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Poems | Online Poetry Community and Resource - PoetrySoup.com

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PoetrySoup is a poetry community and educational resource. Join our community of poets and use our free poetry resources & tools. Submit, read, and share poems.