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Ken Nesbitt

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Welcome to Poetry4kids.com, the funny poetry playground of children's author Kenn Nesbitt. Here you will find lots of funny poems and poetry books for children, classic children's poetry, games, poetry lessons and activities, plus a rhyming dictionary, videos, school visit information and lots more.

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What is a Poem

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Kids Learn Ingredients of a Poem with Kwame Alexander and TCM

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Celebrated poet and Penguin author AMANDA GORMAN talks about why poetry is her chosen medium. 

Find out more about Amanda's books at www.amandagormanbooks.com

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Poetry and lessons for children of all ages by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for classrooms or homeschools to teach literacy and writing workshop instruction

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Instructional videos on poetry forms

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kenn nesbitt poetry poems kids children books author funny poetry4kids kennesbitt kennnesbitt

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Funny kids poems guaranteed to make you giggle by children's author Kenn Nesbitt, creator of the most popular children's poetry website on the net.

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50 Must-Share Poems for Your Elementary Classroom

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50 Must-Share Poems for Your Elementary Classroom

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With so many great children's poems out there, it's hard to pick favorites! But we accepted the challenge, asking for favorite poems for elementary school from the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook and gathering recommendations from our staff. Here are a some poems that will help start a good discussion in your classroom. Most of these are excerpts; look for the links to the full poems under each image.
Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!
1. "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

Get the full poem.

2. "Tan" by Malathi Michelle Iyengar

Get the full poem and others like it in this book.

3. "The Corn-Stalk Fiddle" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Get the full poem.

4. "Since Hanna Moved Away," by Judith Viorst

Get the full poem.

5. "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle

Get the full poem.

6. "My Chinatown" by Kam Mak

Get the full poem and others in this book.

7. "Friends" by Abbie Farwell Brown

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8. "Reading" by Jacqueline Woodson

Learn more about this poem and Jacqueline Woodson.

Get the full poem.

10. "Knoxville, Tennessee" by Nikki Giovanni

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11. "Maggie and Milly and Molly and May" by e.e. cummings

Get the full poem here.

12. "How to Paint a Donkey" by Naomi Shihab Nye

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13. "The Purple Cow" by Gelett Burgess

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14. "Val" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Get this poem and learn more about this collection of poetry in the book Bronzeville Boys and Girls.

15. "The Dream of Shoji" by Kimiko Hahn

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Get the full poem.

17. "After the Winter" by Claude McKay

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18. "Rathers" by Mary Hunter Austin

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Get the full poem.

20. "The Eloquent Young Elephant" by Sheree Fitch

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Get the full poem.

22. "Moon Festival" by Marilyn Singer

Get the full poem and others in this book.

23. "Unexpected Holiday" by Alma Flor Ada

Learn more about Alma Flor Ada and her poems here.

24. "The Quarrel" by Maxine Kumin

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25. "Ode to My Shoes" by Francisco X. Alarcón

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26. "The Parakeets" by Alberto Blanco

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Get the full poem.

28. "The Rainbow" by Christina Rossetti

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Get the full poem.

30. "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou

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31. "The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt

Get the full poem in this book.

Get the full poem.

33. "Wallet Size" by Nikki Grimes

Learn more about this poem.

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Get the full poem.

Get this poem and more great ones.

37. "The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee" by N. Scott Momaday

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Get the full poem.

39. "Autumn" by Alexander Posey

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Get the full poem.

41. "Marshlands" by Emily Pauline Johnson

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42. "Amelia's First Ski Run" by Nora Marks Dauenhauer

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43. "I, Too" by Langston Hughes

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44. "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams

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45. "Coquí" by Carmen Bernier-Grand

Learn more about Carmen's poetry here.

Get the full poem.

Learn more about Jane Yolen's poetry right here.

Learn more about this poem.

49. "To Catch a Fish" by Eloise Greenfield

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50. "Ode to Teachers" by Pat Mora

Get the full poem.
What are your favorite poems for elementary school? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, our must-share poems for middle school and high school.

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50 Must-Share Poems for Elementary School

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With so many great children's poems out there, it's hard to pick favorites! But we accepted the challenge, asking for favorite poems for elementary school from the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook and gathering recommendations from our staff. Here are a some poems that will help start a good discussion in your classroom.

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Poetry Available

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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Great resources: children's poetry, audio poems, teacher guides

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Author and poet Mary Lee Hahn website has a great website. You can search for poems by topic

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Looking back, it's astonishing to me that I grew up in a farming community that had been ravaged by the Dust Bowl years, and yet I learned nothing about the Dust Bowl, or what caused it, in school. Groundwater and the Ogallala Aquifer were not a part of our science curriculum.

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24 Must-Share Poems for Middle School and High School

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24 Must-Share Poems for Middle School and High School

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It can be hard to know which poems will spur your middle and high schoolers into deep, meaningful discussion and which will leave them, ahem, yawning. So we asked experienced teachers to share their favorites-the punch-in-the-gut poems that always get a reaction, even from teens. Here's what they had to say about the best poems for middle school and high school students.

1. Snow by David Berman

Captures a narrative in miniature with a creative structure.

2. Deer Hit by Jon Loomis

Students won't soon forget this poem, both for the story and the sensory details.

Read this poem to discuss the meaning beyond the literal words on the page.

Frost doesn't hold back with this poem, an ideal one for discussion and debate.

Teach this poem for how O'Hara uses references or for the humor.

Lehman engages with popular culture and an irreverent tone.

A politically charged poem that still rings true today, Hughes' poetry, but particularly Mother to Son, is timeless.

Any student who's ever felt annoyed or had to put up with daily frustrations will relate to this poem.

9. Pass On by Michael Lee

Lee's poem creates snapshots of memory, creating lines and ideas for every student to grab and hold on to.

The late artist created a clear connection between the rhythm and deeper meaning of poetry and rap.

11. Beethoven by Shane Koyczan

This poem is a biography in verse that connects Beethoven's story to the universal.

Poe is an expert at rhyme scheme-and this poem is clear evidence of that.

13. Oranges by Gary Soto

Soto's poem about trying to impress a girl shows what small moments reveal about ourselves, and how those moments embed themselves in our memories.

A political, uplifting, call to action that students should read right when they're starting to define the mark they can have on the world.

An example of just what one line can do.

Sheds light on the writing process, with a sense of humor and a tongue-in-cheek challenge.

This poem leaves lots of space for inference, which leads to great discussion.

A solid work for teaching poetry elements (repetition, rhyme scheme ...).

This fun, quirky poem captures the mood of teenagers and leaves a lot to talk about.

20. Daddy by Sylvia Plath

Plath rarely minces words and this is no exception-this poem is stuffed full of deeper meaning.

Dickinson is so good at creating mood, this time about reflection.

22. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

A ghost story wrapped up in a poem, another Poe classic.

The rest of the poem is as humorous as the title, and it's fun to dissect and analyze how Neruda writes about everyday objects, like the tuna on ice.

Use this poem to teach ways to approach point of view.
Do you teach younger students? Check out our favorite elementary school poems here.

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24 Must-Share Poems for Middle School and High School - WeAreTeachers

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It can be hard to know which poems will spur your middle and high schoolers into deep, meaningful discussion and which will leave them, ahem, yawning. So we asked experienced teachers to share their favorites-the punch-in-the-gut poems that always get a reaction, even from teens.

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Creatures of land, water, and sky are featured here in short poems for early readers. Noted poet and educator Georgia Heard writes about baboons and bears, eagles and bats, dragonflies and frogs. Naturalist and illustrator Jennifer Dewey captures each animal in dramatic detail. The book is writte...

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Georgia Heard

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This is a great program/routine for K-2. Teacher tested. Monday: Introduction of the poem-Tuesday and Wednesday: Ways to Climb Inside the Poem-Thursday: Poet's Talk-Friday: Craft Talk.

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Achieve the Core

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Achievethecore.org :: "The Wind" by James Reeves

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achievethecore.org's digital tools and resources for teachers have been made possible by contributions from teachers across the country as well as through generous support from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the GE Foundation.

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Poetry can be intimidating. As students, many of us were taught that the goal of reading a poem was to "understand" exactly what the poet was trying to say. No small charge.

The Common Core State Standards can be intimidating, too. Many educators are hearing that poetry and literature must give way to informational text under the new standards.

It would be easy to scratch poems from our syllabi these days.

But in our quest to meet the common core in English language arts, poetry can and should play an important role. All that is needed is a shift in the way we read and discuss poems with students.

What if we give up on trying to "get" a poem and explain its one true meaning? Instead, we can discover the richness of the text and learn from the questions and puzzles poems present to us. Once we make this shift, nearly any poem becomes "teachable" at nearly any grade, from Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman to Maya Angelou and beyond.

Let's examine some three questions that will hopefully inspire you to add poetry to your teaching repertoire.

1) What Standards Can You Meet With Poetry?

Poetry is part of the common core. A closer look at the grade-level standards reveals that poetry, poetic language, and poetry terminology (e.g., stanza, sonnet) are specifically mentioned in all grades.

But there's more to it than that. The ELA anchor standards (anchor standard number in parentheses) call upon students to be able to:

* Make inferences (1).
* Cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions and answers(1).
* Determine and analyze the theme of a text(2).
* Analyze the way ideas develop over the course of a text(3).
* Interpret words and phrases(4).
* Analyze connotative and figurative meanings of words(4).
* Analyze how word choice shapes a text(4).
* Analyze the structure of a text(5).
* Assess how point of view shapes a text(6).
* Analyze how two texts address the same theme(9).

I look at this list and think, "poetry ... poetry ... poetry ... ." And that's just the reading standards! There are anchor standards in Language, Speaking and Listening, and even Writing (even though poetry isn't mentioned once there) that also lend themselves to the use of poetry.

2) How Do You Select a Poem to Teach?

My advice here is simple—choose a poem you enjoy. And if you're not familiar with many poems, check out this list of poems I like to teach and this list of some of my favorite poetry books. Spend time exploring the website of The Poetry Foundation, which has several teaching guides for various poems as well as a section on children's poetry. Another favorite of mine is The Academy of American Poets (Both have apps for your smartphone, too!)

3) How Do You Teach a Poem?

Before I share a poem with a group of students, I prepare a list of questions. As poetry critic Helen Vendler writes, "A poem will tell you what questions to ask of it." The poem you choose should guide your questions. But you can also prepare with the common-core skills in mind.

Here are some general questions, rooted in the ELA Reading anchor standards, that can apply to a variety of poems. (These are adapted from A Surge of Language by Baron Wormser and David Cappella.)

* What message does this poem convey to you?
* What comparisons does the author make? How are the things being compared alike?
* How are the sentences and stanzas connected?
* How are the images in the poem described?
* After you read the poem, how does it make you feel? What causes that feeling?
* Does the poem change at any point? If so, where and how? What effect does this change have?
* Why would the poet choose that title for the poem?
* What if the poem were told from a different point of view?

And here are some questions that are more specifically about words and language:

* What word surprises you? Confuses you? Interests you?
* Is there a word that seems like it isn't needed or doesn't fit?
* What word is most important in this poem?
* Which words may have multiple meanings?
* If the word ___ is removed, how does the poem change?

All of these questions won't apply to every single poem you read. I choose questions—and come up with my own—based on the skills I'm helping students master and the poem we're reading.

With your questions in mind, it's time for the fun part—reading and discussing the poem. I read the poem aloud to students and give them each a copy so they can follow along. (They store these in a binder, creating an anthology of great poems as the year progresses.) If it's a longer or more complex poem, I read it one stanza or section at a time, asking a question or two after each part.

Another option for shorter poems is dictation. As I slowly read the poem, one line at a time, students copy it into their poetry notebooks. This approach helps them listen actively and really gets them thinking about the words and structure of the poem.

Often, after reading a poem, I begin with a simple question: "What do you notice?" I asked this after reading " Dreams" by Langston Hughes. A student shared the observation that in the first stanza, it reads, "For if dreams die" and in the second it reads, "For when dreams die." He went on to add that "since there are two kinds of dreams, goals and the ones you have at night, maybe (Hughes) was talking about one in the first stanza and the other in the second." This astute answer gave me goosebumps.

As you move into your discussion, remember that questions about poetry rarely have one correct answer. In fact, some of the best questions to ask students about poems are questions that you don't even know the answer to yourself. I recently read " Popcorn Can Cover" by Lorine Niedecker with my 5th grade students. I asked them afterward: "Why isn't there a period at the end of this poem?" I hadn't the faintest idea. But one student answered, "Maybe because the story isn't over yet."

Keep in mind the common standards focus on supporting answers by citing "specific textual evidence." Follow up as many questions as you can with, "What in the poem makes you think that?" This will not only help students practice the important skill of grounding their conclusions in the text, but it will also lead to more dynamic classroom discussions.

As a recent Washington Post article explains, many fear that quality literature and poetry cannot be a part of common-core-aligned instruction. Yes, the standards do emphasize informational text in all subject areas (not just language arts). But poetry's not out of the game: Indeed, it's one of the best tools we have for teaching critical thinking, depth of understanding, and analysis.

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Poetry can be intimidating. As students, many of us were taught that the goal of reading a poem was to "understand" exactly what the poet was trying to say. No small charge. The Common Core State Standards can be intimidating, too. Many educators are hearing that poetry and literature must give way to informational text under the new standards.

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Amy Ludwig VanDerwater introduces young children to 20 North American birds through simple poetry. Each bird is introduced on a page with its name in bold capital letters; a portrait, composed with cut colored and textured papers; and a few words describing its physical characteristics, behavior or habitat. Each grouping of four birds creates a verse. For example, “Eagle soars above the land. / Oriole hangs her nest. / Owl swoops soundlessly late at night. / Robin puffs his chest.” The birds included are species that children can easily spot in their backyards or a park or at the seashore. A four-page glossary with pictures adds further information about each bird for young bird watchers.

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Insect World

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Shared via Kindle. Description: From the Newbery Medal-winning author of Seedfolks, Paul Fleischman, Joyful Noise is a collection of irresistible poems that celebrates the insect world. Funny, sad, loud, and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a boomin...

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The whimsical pastel-colored waves on the endpapers sail the reader into the silly pages of poetry waiting inside this book. Former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis has created a collection of dizzy poems celebrating often unheard-of holidays throughout the year. The introduction says, “No matter the day, no matter the month, no matter the year, there’s always something to celebrate!” So true! Rhyming couplets, concrete poems, and limericks are just a few of the forms of poetry found within. Fun illustrations add to the frivolity of these crazy poetic celebrations. The National Weatherperson’s Day poem, “Weather Is for the Verbs,” for example, is a list poem that begins “Wind whines, / Fog blinds, / Rain thrums, / Hail drums, / Ice crumbs, / Sleep whips, / Snow grips, / Frost nips— / Weather persons, / ‘Winter worsens.’” Other poems celebrate Inventor’s Day, Pancake Day, National Hat Day, World Telecommunications Day, National Zipper Day, Change a Light Day, National Sportsmanship Day, and many more. These zany poems can be used as starting points for having young children suggest other dizzy holidays and write poems to celebrate them.

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The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary

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The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary

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Debut author Laura Shovan has created a novel in verse centering on the closing of Emerson Elementary. Ms. Hill, their teacher, asks her 18 fifth-grade students to write a poem each day for their journals to express how they are feeling about being split up and sent to different schools once Emerson has been bulldozed to make way for a shopping area. She will be the only one to read the journals, and at the end of the year they will be placed in a time capsule. As the 18 youthful voices emerge in the poems, we see what a diverse class Ms. Hill has. The students write about their personal lives with situations like an aging grandfather, a father leaving home, immigration to this country, and friends that are pushy. Shovan has captured the voices of fifth graders as they express their thoughts through writing acrostic, concrete, haiku, or free verse poetry. The author has added a detailed appendix of the different poetic forms used by the students.

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This lively group of 21 poems has no illustrations because the poems are the illustrations. Cleverly grouped topics and words create a visual experience that is fun for readers but may be a little frustrating. For example, in “Crossword,” readers have to read up and down and across to get the rhythm of the poem, and in “Hopscotch,” it may take them time to realize they have to read from bottom to top. Students (and adults) will have fun not only figuring out these very clever concrete poems but also taking another minute to appreciate the cleverness of the construction of the concrete poems, the wordplay, and the use of light and dark. Readers will get into the spirit of this book from the cover, on to the table-shaped table of contents, through all 21 poems, to the circular copyright notation. The last poem, “poeTRY”, says it all when reaching out to young poets to express their ideas by creating concrete poetry: “Poetry is taking away the words you don’t need / poetry is taking away words you don’t need / poetry is words you need /poetry is words / try.”

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The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers

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The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers

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Indoor cats, outside cats, exotic cats, or the cat next door—Michael Rosen presents 20 different breeds of cat through haiku. Catching the spirit of feline affection and attitude as well as habitats, artist Lee White uses digital illustration to provide backdrops for each cat. Rosen’s other collections of pet and animal books have been popular with young readers and this adds another volume to the shelf of favorite animal poetry. Four pages at the end of the book are devoted to additional facts about each of the cat breeds depicted in the poetry.

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The award-winning poetic picture book of a young child’s bedtime wish for snow before morning. Sidman evokes the feelings of the child and her wishful thinking in a quiet, lyrical text: “In the deep woolen dark, / as we slumber unknowing, / let the sky fill with flurry and flight.”

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Opening with the great white shark, Brown goes on to present lesser known species of sharks, 14 in all, in poems written in different forms. Some poems are written as concrete poems such as the one about the nurse shark in which the first line of poetry is shaped like a frown across the face of the shark; or the verse about the  cookie-cutter shark, which is written in a swirl to look like a cookie.  Kolar’s digitally created illustrations always maintain the feel of underwater movement, sometimes catching the sharks from above while at other times showing them hugging the ocean bottom. Additional information about each shark appears on the double spreads in a smaller type.

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“Silently floating, / Silently gloating, / Not a log.” It’s an alligator! In this everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-alligators book of poems, Jane Yolen and photographer Jason Stemple bring readers up close and personal with alligators. Yolen’s clever poems, written in various poetic forms, introduce facts about alligators, while Stemple’s stunning two-page spread photographs provide views of these reptiles in their natural environment. Through the poetry, readers learn all about alligators, from babies to dinosaur-like adults, including their history, life cycles, eating habits, and habitat. Related facts about alligators are framed in green boxes surrounded by sharp teeth-like borders. Back matter includes additional information about alligators and their habitats, a glossary, and resources (websites and books).

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In this lesson you will learn how to dive into poetry by reminding yourself what makes a poem a poem.

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In this lesson you will learn to unpack poetry by carefully reading words and phrases and asking yourself questions.

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Grade 4 Unit

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3-5

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Alliteration Song, Alliteration for Kids Song, Alliteration for Children by Melissa

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'"Personification" by The Bazillions' on ViewPure

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Learn all about the magic of personification as you sing along with the Bazillions!

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Poetry Centers

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Immersion into Poetry with Centers

As a third grade teacher, my district's curricular calendar includes a mini-unit on poetry. The unit begins with reading poems in reading workshop and then writing poems in writing workshop. Currently, my class is finishing up personal narratives and we are also reviewing some test-taking strategies as our New York State English Language Arts Assessment draws near. Time is crunched, to say the least.

Looking to plan this unit for my class, there are other challenges besides a time crunch. I have 24 students in my class and their abilities are quite diverse. I have a few English Language leaners and an ENL (English as a New Language) teacher pushes into my classroom during our reading instruction. We need to collaborate on what we are teaching and the best way to deliver the curriculum.

I believe in the power of poetry. I don't like to limit it to one unit or one time of year. My students keep Poetry Journals from the start of the year and we share a poem a week. Each week, the students read the poem, discuss it, highlight favorite lines, and illustrate the poem in their notebooks. Poetry is woven into our year, in this way, so studying poetry is not completely new to them.

There are new concepts to explore, of course. This year, I decided to try Poetry Centers to allow students to learn about some literary devices and figurative language. The idea was to immerse students in learning poetry, reading poetry and experimenting with writing poetry before our more formal poetry writing unit in writing workshop.

Here is how this unit has worked so far:
Poetry On Demand Writing:
Before exploring the Poetry Centers, the ENL teacher and I asked students to write a poem for their on-demand assessment. We invited them to be inspired by a color for their poem. I brought in paint chips from a hardware store in case students wanted to select a color. The on-demand writing showed us what students already understood about writing poems and how poems go.
Gallery Walk:
My third grade colleagues and I hung poems around our hallway, with numbers on the bottom. We asked students to walk around the hallway and read the poems. Next to the number on a sheet, students would write what they noticed or wondered about the poem they read. After all the students participated in the Gallery Walk, we discussed what they noticed about poetry and their questions.
Poetry Centers
I created 6 different Poetry Centers, which you can access here. The centers focused on making mental images as you read poetry, seeing an object with a poet's eyes, alliteration, personification, simile, and fluent and expressive reading of a poem on Flipgrid. Some of the poetry centers include a video for students to watch where the concept is explained. The video I shared with students for personification can be seen here.

The ENL teacher has been able to adapt and add materials to the centers that support student understanding of some of these more complex concepts. We are both able to check in with all the centers as students explore poetry. Students have been enthusiastic about Poetry Centers and it's been joyful to see some of the writing they are trying!

What are your favorite ways to teach students to write and appreciate poetry?

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As a third grade teacher, my district's curricular calendar includes a mini-unit on poetry. The unit begins with reading poems in reading workshop and then writing poems in writing workshop. Currently, my class is finishing up personal narratives and we are also reviewing some test-taking strategies as our New York State English Language Arts Assessment draws near.

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Talking Poetry with Lynne and Rose + a Giveaway

Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8 is the latest gem from Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli. Not only does their book help you hone your poetry workshop instruction using mentor texts, but it also provides suggestions with ways to infuse poetry throughout the school day. Just like their previous books, Poetry Mentor Texts has contains thoughtful explanations about a variety of concepts (e.g., responding to poetry, list poems, poetry for two voices). It contains "Your Turn" Lessons, which will inspire lessons you can teach in your own classroom. And, as always, there is an incredible list of poetry books, which contain detailed suggestions for how each book can be used, at the back of their book. Like I said, it's a gem!

I've been thinking about the state of poetry in writing workshop and therefore wanted to get Lynne and Rose's take on how to make poetry work in the classroom keeping the Common Core State Standards in mind.
Stacey: Poetry is overlooked in the Common Core's writing standards. Why do you think that happened? The CCSS emphasize three types of writing: argumentative, informative, and narrative writing. Since poetry doesn't fall into these three categories, how to you foresee teachers being allowed to teach poetry if they work in a school that doesn't value writing poetry (but values following the standards to the letter)? Stacey: How do you suggest teachers teach poetry writing? Should it continue to be a month-long unit of study or do you have other suggestions?

Lynne and Rose: We believe poetry is a form of writing that can be used to address any of the modes - narrative, informative, and argumentative. Many classic poems such as "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," and "The Owl and the Pussycat" are narratives in poetic form. More modern authors such as Donald Graves ( Baseballs, Snakes, and Summer Squash), Sharon Creech ( Love That Dog), and Helen Frost (the most amazing Keesha's House) provide narrative poems or novels in verse. Some of our favorite poems include other famous narrative poems such as "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. These poems can serve as great models for students who would like to try writing the story poem. Children's poets such as Joyce Sidman, Georgia Heard, and Doug Florian offer a multitude of informational poems for study. See Monumental Voices published by National Geographic to read the poetry of J. Patrick Lewis, several written as persona poems.

When students conduct research to write a report or opinion piece, they can also open or close with a poem to create a multi-genre piece. Poems can be scattered throughout a non-fiction piece of writing in different voices to represent differences of opinions or positions. Poems can also include bits of information that the writer would like to include to add interest - the fun or WOW facts that are not essential but add energy to the writing. Creating such pieces of writing require skills in formatting as well. Should poems be placed in a sidebar, inset, or within the text in a different font and size?

Poetry was never addressed in state tests to begin with. But, students who are given experiences in writing poetry often feel more comfortable with reading poetry (which often is on the state tests at every level). If teachers understand that reading /writing connection - that we can help students deepen their understanding of poetry by encouraging them to write it - they can more easily justify the role of poetry in the classroom.

The CCSS have an emphasis on vocabulary development. When writing poetry, students become wordsmiths, exploring language to find the exact word to fit their poem. Additionally, writing poetry is a way to develop fluency. Of course, students will read the poems they write to themselves and to others. Poetry performances, using the poems their students write independently and/or collaboratively, can also provide opportunities to practice speaking and listening skills.

Stacey: The CCSS in reading has quite a bit about reading poetry (e.g., under literature, speaking and listening, and language). Is there any way teachers can tackle any poetry writing with their students while accomplishing the poetry reading standards?

Lynne and Rose: Poetry can be taught as a unit of study in the writing workshop, but we also envision the use of poetry in reading and writing across the day, in language arts as well as content areas such as science and social studies, as opportunities arise. For example, writing a poem for two voices can give students opportunities to discuss and more deeply understand two different points of view. This format - poems in two voices - is perfect for collaboration. When students write collaboratively, they must share ideas, reach compromises, blend their thought processes, and learn from each other. Poems can also serve as a formative assessment of content area knowledge. Students can write poems in almost any form to demonstrate their learning and what they think are the most important concepts to remember.

Of course all writing, including poetry, is best taught when it serves a real world purpose for a real world audience. Poems can be written for specific holidays or particular themes or topics throughout the year. Poems can also be used during literature circles. Why not use some selections by the students as well and sometimes include their poetry as the topic of conversation!

Often, December, April, and June are three months where poetry seems to fit into the curriculum. Students can write winter haiku and link with art class to create black and white drawings with different brush strokes or write cinquains and acrostics illustrated with holiday scenes. April celebrates poetry. Students can write poems, submit them to contests and magazines written for children, or simply read their poem to as many people as they can on a designated "Poetry Day." In May or June, teachers can take their students outdoors to observe nature in a writers' café format to publish chapbooks as end-of-year writing assignments. In addition to poems, the chapbooks can also include narratives relating to nature (weather stories), essays of advice, famous quotes, favorite nature poems by famous poets, and even cartooning!

Stacey: When I was a classroom teacher, I infused poetry into the curriculum all year long. We read and wrote poems about the content areas, examined poems at Morning Meeting, had weekly Poetry Circles, etc. I know the afterword of Poetry Mentor Texts touches on this, but would you suggest teachers can make poetry part of their classroom culture all year long?

Lynne and Rose: We think this question comes back to an understanding of the reading/writing connection which we tried to make clear in our new book. Students can study a poem to deepen comprehension by understanding the use of personification, metaphor, or symbolism, for example. They can examine unfamiliar words or familiar words that are used in unfamiliar ways or look through the poem for rhyme, meter, or the use of effective repetition or line breaks. Then they can copy it or part of it into their writers' notebook and try a close imitation. This writing will help them better understand the reading or language strategies they were working on in reading workshop.

Stacey: What are three big things you'd like teachers to take away from Poetry Mentor Texts?

Lynne and Rose: Your suggestions are all good ones, Stacey, and clearly demonstrate the possibilities of using poetry throughout the day. Poetry gives students possibilities for collaboration and offers opportunities for students to use the strategies learned through poetry as they write in other modes during writing workshop. Teachers might want to include poetry as a choice in writing workshop or include it as part of a multigenre presentation which can include art or music. Poetry is a great vehicle for students to use in videos they produce. They can even use familiar songs and create their own lyrics - then "sing" their poems to accompany a video, Prezi, or PowerPoint presentation. Materials that are presented in a variety of presentation modes may improve attention and lead to improved learning performance; in particular for lower-achieving students.

Stacey: What are you working on next (i.e., after a well-deserved vacation since you've been working so hard)?

Lynne and Rose: First of all, poetry should be enjoyed for its own sake, just as we encourage teachers to enjoy picture books by first just reading them aloud to students. Have fun with poetry! Read it aloud to savor the rhythm and emotional appeal, draw or paint pictures, create collages, build sculptures that help readers see your poem in another form, perform it with peers in a poetry slam, or simply share it with someone special in your life - Mom, Dad, Grandma, a brother or sister, aunt or uncle, a best friend.

With the right amount of scaffolding, all students can be successful with writing poetry. This success helps build confidence and self-esteem as students begin to view themselves as writers. Developing a writer's identity is essential. For many students, poetry is the vehicle that will help students think, "I have something important to say, and when I write my thoughts and feelings down, others will listen to me."

Poetry is a friendly and effective way to help students develop vocabulary and other key reading and writing skills. It easily builds bridges between the reading and writing workshop, offering opportunities for that close read that will deepen comprehension and provide scaffolds for writing.

Lynne and Rose: We have just returned from Orange County where we delivered two different presentations at UC-Irvine campus. We were thrilled to meet so many California Writing Project fellows! Right now we are looking forward to a few speaking engagements - Lehigh Valley Writing Project Conference in January, Reading Recovery Conference in February, and Kutztown University Conference as well as IRA in April.

We just finished writing a discussion guide for Jen Bryant's and Melissa Sweet's book, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, which came out last week. The guide is published on Jen's site. We are looking forward to more opportunities to work with Jen. She's such an incredible children's author and a good friend!

Lynne is beginning work on a professional book on embedding the teaching of grammar within units of study with a friend and Writing Project fellow, Diane Dougherty.
And, who knows, there might even be a children's book in our future...

Click here to download a Your Turn Lesson on list poems. Click here to preview of Poetry Mentor Texts.

Giveaway Information:

Many thanks to Stenhouse Publishers sponsoring this giveaway. Three lucky readers/commenters will win a copy of Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8.

To enter for a chance to win a copy please leave a comment on this post about this interview, teaching poetry, or how you might use this book to enhance your poetry instruction.

All comments left on or before Sunday, January 27th, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST will be entered into a random drawing using a random number generator on Monday, January 28th. I will announce the winners' names at the bottom of this post by Tuesday, January 29th.

Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment, so I can contact you to obtain your mailing address if you win. From there, my contact at Stenhouse will ship the book out to you. (NOTE: Your e-mail address will not be published online if you only leave it in the e-mail field.)

Comments are now closed. Thank you to everyone who left a comment. I used a random number generator and the following people had their comments selected: Betsy, Showgem, and Terri. Here's what each of them said:

Betsy's comment:

I am so happy to see a post on poetry. Stacey, thank you for asking these questions. I am so encouraged by the responses. With my kindergarten students, when teaching poetry, I have seen so many doors to vocabulary development, deeper understanding of concepts and wider openings for writing with my students. "This success helps build confidence and self-esteem as students begin to view themselves as writers." I feel like this statement made by Lynne and Rose is the heart of why poetry is so important. It is nothing to be feared but instead embraced. I think many students and teachers who go past that invisible poetry barrier we sometimes put up get to feel that rush of being a writer.
Great thoughts here and a great resource that I hope to find soon. Thank you.

Showgem's comment:

I always do a unit on reading poetry and there is a great deal of our discussion that lends itself to the Common Core Standards. I have never done a poetry writing unit. I think this book would be invaluable

Terri's comment:

I'd love an opportunity to amp up my poetry instruction with this book! In spite of the lack of poetry in Common Core, poetry is our human common core and teachers everywhere know that. We will continue to teach it, advocate for it, read books about it. And write it ourselves. Thank you!

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Talking Poetry with Lynne and Rose + a Giveaway

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Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8 is the latest gem from Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli. Not only does their book help you hone your poetry workshop instruction using mentor texts, but it also provides suggestions with ways to infuse poetry throughout the school day.

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Poems Are Teachers: Interview & Giveaway

I hated poetry as a kid. Looking back, I think it's because I thought all poems had to rhyme. In fact, I didn't enjoy poetry until I took African-American Literature as a college junior. My professor, Michele Simms-Burton, shared Langston Hughes's poetry with our class. After reading his work, my attitude towards poetry was forever changed. (This is proof that a great teacher and fabulous poetry can be life-changing.)

I didn't read much poetry again until I began teaching elementary school in 2004. I remembered back to Professor Simms-Burton's class and aimed to find poets and poems all of my students could connect with. I made sure my students knew poetry was a genre I had struggled with as a reader and writer when I was their age. I consumed books about poetry by Georgia Heard, wrote my own poems, and bought as many books of poetry for my classroom's library as my salary allowed.

I was delighted to learn about Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's new professional resource for teachers, Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres (Heinemann, 2017). As I began reading, I made notes in the margins, wrote pages I wanted to return to again on the inside back cover, and underlined pertinent parts in different colored ink. I cringed upon finishing the book since I marred Amy's beautiful writing with my markings. (If you're unfamiliar with Amy's writing, Katherine Bomer, who wrote the foreword, explains Amy's writing by comparing it to a Dove Chocolate: "elegant and unassuming, but oh, so rich. Her language illuminates and delights." Hence the reason why I regret not taking notes about her text in a separate notebook!) However, the notes I took will guide me as I help teachers use this book with their students.

Before you pick up a copy of this important book, here's a Q&A I did with Amy about Poems Are Teachers. I hope it helps you understand the essence of this book and how it can be a valuable resource for you when teaching writing to your students.
Stacey: There are many books about the teaching of poetry. Your book is grounded in the idea of writing workshop, contains practical lessons teachers can use the very next day, as well as mentor texts written by published poets and student poets. What else do you think makes Poems Are Teachers unique?
Amy: I think that this balance is what makes it unique. I call Poems Are Teachers 1/3 poetry anthology, 1/3 teaching ideas, and 1/3 celebration of student writing. It's like a three-legged stool!
Stacey: Several years ago, poetry was overlooked on the Common Core's writing standards. The CCSS emphasize three types of writing: argumentative, informative, and narrative writing. Since poetry doesn't fall into these three categories, I appreciate the way you've used poetry to address the modes of writing (i.e., opinion, narrative, and informational pieces). That being said, how do you foresee teachers using your book if they work in a school that doesn't value writing poetry (i.e., because they aren't tested on their state's test)?
Amy: My hope is that Poems Are Teachers will help teachers in such schools and districts, will help them argue how poetry's value extends beyond the land of poems. It's a sad day when we have to say this, but one reason I wrote this book was to bring the light of poetry back into some dark corners where it has been banished. Poetry-valuing teachers in such schools can point to this text as a resource for strengthening all writing craft by studying short poems. The arts are important for us as humans and for us as a society. However, it also happens that the study of poetry does help writers across genre lines, so if a teacher needs it to be, this book can serve as proof that poetry is important.
Stacey: I loved your entire book, but had a special appreciation for chapter six, "Writers Select Titles" since I have always had trouble crafting strong titles. Share some of the ways you believe poetry can help writers create titles in other genres of writing.
Amy: By studying the titles of poems (a lifted line, a repeated word, a mysterious clue), writers can imagine title possibilities for all kinds of texts. We can also study informational book titles to get ideas for poem titles or short story titles to find ideas for article titles. I love how craft is craft and we can carry it in a little red suitcase from genre to genre.
Stacey: I noticed you used templates or sentence starters to help kids write in just a handful of the "try it" sections (pgs. 142, 206, 219) in the book. To me, this shows deep respect for children in that you're trusting they don't need templates to write poetry. Would you explain how you envision teachers can use other templates or sentence starters, in general, as scaffolds that are meant to be taken away as students become more adept at writing poetry?
Amy: I do not generally follow templates when writing, but sometimes others' words can help me get going or stretch my usual pattern. This is where I believe deeply in notebook-keeping as a way for writers to play with words and phrases, to experiment with lifting lines from others' work and from their own notebook pages, writing off them and seeing where words bring them. My blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, is all about highlighting notebook play. As writing teachers, we must be deeply committed to helping children ride the roads of writing without training wheels and templates.
Stacey: In chapter one, you listed at least three books for every lesson to help writers find ideas for poems. Seeing as classroom teachers' budgets are limited, what are your five must-have poetry books to have on-hand for grades 2-5 and 6-8?
Amy: Oooh, I am not good at such lists at all. However, I would recommend checking out books by winners of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children as well as the winners of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Awards. Don't miss KNOCK AT A STAR by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy or Bernice Cullinan's books A JAR OF TINY STARS and ANOTHER JAR OF TINY STARS. I also recommend reading works by our present Young People's Poet Laureate, Margarita Engle. as well as books by past Young People's Poet Laureates.

For all children, I recommend sharing books that do not rhyme as well as books that do rhyme and books that address serious and beautiful topics as well as humorous books. Visit my friends at their blogs and me (at The Poem Farm) on any Poetry Friday, and you'll learn about all kinds of great poetry books new and old.
Stacey: What are three big things you'd like teachers to take away from Poems Are Teachers?
Amy:

Poetry is not scary, nor is it not about filling in a form.

Poets use the same literary techniques as other writers, simply in fewer lines.

Children and adults are drawn to beauty and truth and wonder, and writing poems is a way to explore our humanity. Our students deserve this, and our world needs it.

Stacey: What are you working on next?
Amy: I am still excited about my new READ! READ! READ! illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke (WordSong), and I look forward to two books this spring: DREAMING OF YOU (Boyds Mills Press), a lullaby bedtime book illustrated by Aaron DeWitt and WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS (Clarion), a poetry collection illustrated by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson. And I'm scribbling away in my notebook working on a couple of story picture books and poems poems poems.
Stacey: Is there anything I didn't ask you that you want me to include in this post?
Amy: Thank you so much, Stacey, for hosting me here at Two Writing Teachers. It's an honor to visit your home online! I am happy to offer a copy of READ! READ! READ! as well!
Stacey: Thank you, Amy! It was a pleasuring hosting you!

This giveaway is for a copy of (WordSong). Thanks to Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres (Heinemann) and Heinemann Publishers for donating a copy Poems Are Teachers and to Amy, herself, for donating a signed copy of Read! Read! Read! One reader will receive a copy of both books. (You must have a U.S. mailing address to enter this giveaway.) READ! READ! READ!

For a chance to win these books please leave a comment about this or any blog post in this blog series by Thursday, November 2nd at 11:59 p.m. EDT. I will use a random number generator to pick the winner's commenter number. His/her name will be announced at the bottom of this post no later than Monday, November 6th.

Please leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment so I can contact you to obtain your mailing address if you win. From there, my contact at Heinemann and Amy will ship the books to you. (NOTE: Your e-mail address will not be published online if you leave it in the e-mail field only.)

If you are the winner of the book, Melanie will email you with the subject line of TWO WRITING TEACHERS - AMYLV BOOKS. Please respond to her e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. Unfortunately, a new winner will be chosen if a response isn't received within five days of the giveaway announcement.

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Poems Are Teachers: Interview & Giveaway

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Poems Are Teachers, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's newest book, is grounded in the idea of writing workshop. It contains practical lessons teachers can use the very next day, as well as mentor texts written by published and student poets. Learn more about it in an interview with Amy.

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Finding Time: With Craft Moves on The Poem Farm

April is one of my favorite teaching months, (followed only by March and the SOLSC of course). April ranks high because I adore poetry month! Poetry month in my opinion (and my students') is a celebration of writing! It's a time when we writers welcome new beginnings and hone the art and crafting of our writing skills. I watch my students take wings and write with grace and confidence during poetry month. I have yet to experience a student who struggles to compose playful and alluring free verse poetry.

When poetry month comes around, I enter The Poem Farm and join Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's National Poetry Month project. Amy LV is a master at engaging and motivating writers of all ages, offering a plethora of opportunities for all poets. It never fails, I find myself feverishly opening all the possibilities to the writers and parents in our room!

Not long after all this caffeine-infused planning, I start to settle down, and there I am wondering; How can I fit it all in our day?

There is never enough time when you're a classroom teacher. Stacey Shubitz

I found the answer while reading by our very own Stacey Shubitz. Stacey shares the great advice using one book for various parts of your workshop instruction, (chapter 2). This was just what I needed to maximize minutes and infuse poetry into the workshop. Stacey's sage advice has given me great success using one picture book or one non-fiction text to illustrate multiple points in both reading and writing workshop, so why would poetry be any different?
Well, it turns out it doesn't have to be! The Morning Meeting Reading: Building Background Knowledge
We open our day by visiting The Poem Farm. Here we find a daily inspiration and a behind the scenes message from Amy LV explaining her process and inspiration for today's poem. Amy LV even provides a link to an audio recording of her reading the poem. There is just something magical about hearing an author read her poetry.
Choosing the Mentor Text:
As we transition into the writing workshop, I share the day's poem with the class. I choose the poem for the day's study purposefully. It may be the daily poem from The Poem Farm, a poem found in a poetry book, a student-authored poem, or another piece from Amy LV's site. The one I choose has to meet the needs of the writers in my room and serve various lessons.
The Read Aloud: Reading What it is You're Trying to Write
Keeping in tune with the one book, many purposes strategy, this poem serves as our read aloud for writing workshop. We begin by listening to the sound of the poem and then looking at the poem as we read together. Students are encouraged to listen for enjoyment and immersion.
The Minilesson: Reading Like a Writer
With the sound of poetry in our ears, we begin to consider the choices the author made. We reread a portion of the poem, drawing students' attention to the techniques used by the author. How did the writer add rhythm, feelings, humor, or mood? With the poem displayed we collaborate to compose a poem demonstrating the process and choices, a writer may make to write a poem. We look for what we might try in our writing. The poem naturally becomes a mentor text for the writers as they write and craft their own poems.
With all this attention on one poem, we can't help but creep into learning to read and understand poetry along the way. Is it possible this one poem just entered the reading workshop too? Independent Writing: Doing the Work Writers Do
Just as I come to each minilesson with a goal for instruction, I ask the writers to set a focus for their writing. Before going off to write, students take a minute to reflect on their writing and our previous lessons. With this in mind, students select a strategy to practice. In chapter three, Stacey explains how creating a plan for writing can provide a flow in the workshop and aid in building writing stamina. To teach accountability and add rigor, the students write the day's focus at the top of their page. As the kids settle into writing, I walk around to read the goals and add a checkmark to their page.
Jotting the strategy or craft move the student plans to develop in their writing helps me support them as we confer. I am also noticing greater intensity and purpose in their writing. Share: Giving and Receiving Feedback
At the close of the workshop, we take five or ten minutes to listen to the writing of our peers. Sometimes we simply turn to our writing partner and read our day's work. Other days we share as a class, using the document camera to display our work and sharing not only what we can see, but also discussing the choices we made along the way that we can't see. No matter how we stop to share in our classroom, posting our writing on our Poetry Padlet (which is linked with Amy LV's Padlet) or on our blogs it's always an option open to even the quietest writer. Sharing provides writers with the opportunity to learn from other writers about the process and obstacles of writing. As the students give and receive the feedback, they find out more about themselves as writers.
My colleagues and I participated in a Craft Moves, by Stacey Shubitz, book study this year. It was amazing to collaborate with those I work with so closely as we read, reflected, and refined our teaching with Stacey's work being our catalyst. As a culmination of our study, we hosted a Skype session with Stacey. It wasn't until this session that I realized how much Stacey's work had refined my teaching. As I listened to Stacey and my colleagues during this Skype session I realized my new learning had seeped into all my teaching and most recently, poetry. Thank you, Stacey Shubitz and Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for your inspiration and dedication to learning. My students are growing because of all you have shared with me.

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Finding Time: With Craft Moves on The Poem Farm

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Poetry month in my opinion (and my students') is a celebration of writing! It's a time when we writers welcome new beginnings and hone the art and crafting of our writing skills. I watch my students take wings and write with grace and confidence during poetry month.

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Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8

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Building on the success of Mentor Texts and Nonfiction Mentor Texts, authors Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli now turn their attention to poetry. In Poetry Mentor Texts, Lynne and Rose show teachers how to use poems in both reading and writing workshops and across content areas. Written in a fr...

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If I d had this book when I was teaching full time, there would have been far more poetry in my students' lives. Amy has accomplished a most amazing feat: using poetry to teach writing so it is beautiful, purposeful, and doable. Pick it up and turn to any chapter and page for inspiration and ready-to-go teaching ideas that draw upon the majesty of language used well. --Ruth Culham, author of Traits Writing and The Writing Thief

I promise that you are about to experience joy reading this book. I am positive that sharing the poems, how-to s, and inner workings of all these poets hearts and minds with your students will magically, even miraculously, improve their poetry and prose. --Katherine Bomer, author of The Journey Is Everything and Hidden Gems

Like the perfect poem, each writing technique in Poems Are Teachers is elaborated upon with just the right amount of words: part inspiration, part author advice, part adult poet, part children s poems, part lesson language. This is a book you ll return to again and again as you work on your own writing, and support the student writers in your classroom. --Jennifer Serravallo, author of The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book

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poems are teachers: how studying poetry strengthens writing in all genres

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teaching methods & materials - arts & humanities

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teaching methods & materials - reading & phonics

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education / teaching methods & materials / arts & humanities

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education / teaching methods & materials / reading & phonics

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education/teaching methods & materials - arts & humanities

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education/teaching methods & materials - reading & phonics

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Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres

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"Poems wake us up, keep us company, and remind us that our world is big and small, And too, poems teach us how to write. Anything." Amy Ludwig VanDerwater explains in Poems Are Teachers. This is a practical book designed for every classroom teacher. Each lesson exploration includes three poems, o...

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Poetry Video Library

The Poetry Video Library contains all the videos from every poetry post on No Water River. If you'd like to see the whole post for a particular poem, including an interview with the poet and extension activities, use the search box in the right sidebar on the HOME page to search the poet's name, or make a selection from the POST INDEX drop-down menu in the navigation bar.

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The Poetry Video Library contains all the videos from every poetry post on No Water River. If you'd like to see the whole post for a particular poem, including an interview with the poet and extension activities, use the search box in the right sidebar on the HOME page to search the poet's name, or make a selection from the POST INDEX drop-down menu in the navigation bar.

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Poetry Text Set K-2

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Website for Poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

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Text Set of Poems

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Book Spine Poetry - Student Work - Poetry Unit Virtual - Week 2

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Create Your Own  Black Out Poetry - Student Work - Poetry Unit Virtual - Week 1

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Create

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48 online poetry writing templates for every grade. The site has step by step directions for each poem, examples for each type and then has the student follow prompts to make writing a poem a breeze.