Poetry (4-6)

Poetry

  1. 5th Grade Classroom Website – http://www.rrojas.com/5/projects/ela/poetryprojects/poemfortwovoices – It describes what a poem for two voices is and provides a mini-lesson, thinking maps, handouts and a rubric.
  2. AMLE – https://www.amle.org/writing-to-learn-using-poetry-in-two-voices/ – In poetry in two voices, poets write from two perspectives, comparing and contrasting. Things that are similar are written directly across from each other and are read simultaneously; the contrasting details are written on separate lines and read one at a time, in whatever order the author determines is most effective. This website does a very good job explaining this genre of poetry.
  3. Australian Children’s Poetry – https://australianchildrenspoetry.com.au/ – Dedicated to showcasing contemporary Australian children’s poets and their work. They do not publish collections, anthologies, assessment or editing services. The website presents a Poem of the Day. They accept information about children’s poetry activities and events in Australia and overseas, poetry links, competitions, interviews with poets or publishers and relevant articles.
  4. Bubble-Up Classroom – https://www.bubbleupclassroom.org/poetry-beyond-english-class.html – Move over English. Poetry is for everyone. There are so many ways to incorporate poetry into all classroom. and this webpage provides many great ideas.
  5. Creative Communication – https://www.poetrygames.org/ – This website sponsors a poetry contest for students in grades K-9 in the United States. Thousands in prizes are awarded and the top entries are published.  In addition to the poetry contest, the website has a free verse section to practice with as well as a poetry machine to discover a wide variety of poems.
  6. DLTK’s Poems – https://www.dltk-kids.com/poems/ – Very simple website with a collection of poems. Children can read for fluency practice but that’s about all. There are no lessons or activities connected to the poems – just themes.
  7. Eric Ode – https://www.ericode.com/ – Website of poet Eric Ode. There are educator workshops, virtual/actual author visits, a section highlighting books he has written and activities that students can do. Some content requires payment.
  8. Family Friend Poems – https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/famous/children/ – There is a wealth of classic poetry for students of all ages. Although there are no lesson plans or activities, the list of classic poems from poets like A.A. Milne, Shel Silverstein, Maya Angelou and Walt Whitman should be helpful to any teacher looking for examples to show the students.
  9. Favorite Poem Project – https://www.favoritepoem.org/classroom-resources/ – This website will soon enhance and expand the services for teaches in person and online—including lesson plans for all grades, collaboration and advice about FPP events, and new programs.
  10. Fizzy Funny Fuzzy – https://fizzyfunnyfuzzy.com/ – All about poetry for kids of any age. It is nicely organized and there is a lot of variety. There are no lessons or activities attached so it would be good for making examples of different poetry and for fluency practice.
  11. Funny Poems – http://www.robertpottle.com/poetry-index.php – Website of poet, Robert Pottle, with lots of examples of poetry. School visits can be arranged and there are a handful of activities provided. He also provides a poetry assessment rubric and report generator. Some of the material requires payment.
  12. GiggleVerse – https://www.giggleverse.com/ – This site is maintained by former Children’s Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt, thanks to the generous contributions of poems from writers all over the world. The goal is to encourage children to read by providing them with new funny poems every weekday, on the website and by email.
  13. JogLab – http://www.joglab.com/ – A great tool to jog kids’ memories for associated words to use in specific types of poems. The poems emphasized on this site include acrostics and mnemonics. There is a word finder for students struggling to find words for their acrostic poem. Note: It’s best suited for students in grades 3–12.
  14. Library of Congress – Poetry 180 is a program that has been designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year. They are intended to be listened to and it is advised to check out the poem first to make sure that it is age appropriate for the grade you are teaching.
  15. Magnetic Poetry – http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Kids/kit – Not really a teaching website but a great opportunity for young students to begin playing around with the idea of poetry through rhyming. The premise of this website is to play around with the words similar to the magnetic word kids for the refrigerator. It would be a good way of introducing poetry to emerging writers.
  16. Official Robert Munsch Site – https://robertmunsch.com/ – Showcases the material written by Robert Munsch. There’s a “Kid’s Stuff” section but no lessons or activities are included for educators. The biggest reason that this website gets a thumbs-up is that there are audio recordings of his books that can be played in the classroom. Some material require payment.
  17. Planet Poetry – https://www.planetpoetry.co.uk/ – A collection of poetry for children, teens and adults. There are sections for school and writing poetry as well.
  18. Poem of Quotes – https://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/poetry-generator/ – A variety of free ‘Poem Generators’ that are used by filling out the form and pressing the submit button. The poems will consist of the words and themes you have chosen. 
  19. Poetry4kids – https://www.poetry4kids.com/ – Find lots of funny poems, classic children’s poems, games, poetry lessons and activities, a rhyming dictionary, videos, author visit information and more. Recommended for teachers with no budget.
  20. Poetry Guy – http://www.poetryguy.com/ – Poetry helps kids find their own special voices and share them with the world.  This website belongs to Ted Scheu, a poet that has published his works and visits schools to engage students with poetry. There aren’t any lessons or activities attached to this website for educators but it could help to engage students at the beginning of the unit. Some material requires payment.
  21. Poetry in Voice – https://www.poetryinvoice.com/teach/lesson-plans – Poets and teachers from across Canada and abroad are sharing their best ideas for teaching poetry. Poetry lessons are available for all grades and the search function will allow you to filter by skill and subject to find a lesson more quickly.
  22. Poetry Minute – https://poetryminute.org/ – Poems for elementary school students for every day of the school year, written by today’s best children’s poets. Some are humorous while others are more poignant. Many rhyme, while others are free verse, concrete poems, or verse forms such as haiku or limericks.
  23. Poets.org – https://poets.org/materials-teachers – Find poetry lesson plans, essays about teaching, a glossary of poetry terms, and other educator resources on the Materials for Teachers page. Visit the Poetry for Teens page to find more selections of poems tailored to a high school audience. Encourage students to participate in the Dear Poet project and celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day virtually on April 30th. 
  24. Project Gutenberg – https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16436/16436-h/16436-h.htm – This link takes you directly to the book “Poems Every Child Should Know”. It is filled with some of the most intersting and diverse collection of classic poets that cannot be found anywhere else. There are no lesson plans or activities – just the poems.
  25. Proud to be Primary – https://proudtobeprimary.com/teaching-poetry/ – The ultimate guide to teaching poetry to kids in the classroom. This poetry for kids guide includes poetry resources for teachers.
  26. Reading is Fundamental – https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/joyful-noise-poems-two-voices – Provides the interactive activities of criss cross and word search to reinforce learning after reading the book “Joyful Noise: Poem for Two Voices”.
  27. ReadWriteThink – http://www.readwritethink.org – A very informative website that has a few lesson plans and activities on poetry.
    • A Working Definition of Poetry – This unit introduces poetry forms and craft elements while students explore poetry about everyday topics or themes. Students begin by discussing their varying definitions of poetry, brainstorming all the different types of poems they know, and briefly discussing elements of poetry. In each subsequent session, students are introduced to one form of poetry.
    • Acrostic Poems – In this online tool, K-12 students can learn about and write acrostic poems. Students brainstorm words to help write their poems and can save their work-in-progress to revise and edit, reinforcing elements of the writing process. Students can also print their finished acrostic poems or proudly show off their work by e-mailing it to a friend.
    • Crafting Themed Poetry Collections – Students begin by brainstorming types of poetry, then examining themed poetry collections to find examples. They create a working definition of poetry that they will revisit throughout the unit. Next students reexamine the collections, identifying what the poems have in common, and generating a list of characteristics of thematic poetry collections. Students then begin work on their own poetry collection. 
    • Diamante Poems – In this online tool, K-12 students learn about and write diamante poems (diamond-shaped poems that use nouns, adjectives, and gerunds to describe either one central topic or two opposing topics). Students can save their draft diamante poems to revise later, and save and print their finished diamante poems.
    • Haiku Poems – Students can learn about and write haiku, a popular Japanese poem that traditionally has three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, using this student interactive.
    • Performing Poetry – A strategic guide for K-5 Students first learning about poetry in the classroom. Students read with expression, using their voice and gestures to convey the meaning of the text. With repeated readings of a poem, students become fluent readers and increase their comprehension.
    • The Connection Between Poetry and Music – Music helps children develop rhythmic intelligence and notice rhythm in language, which are important skills in learning how to read and developing fluency as readers. In this lesson, students listen to poems read aloud, and they discuss the rhythm and sound of poetry. Students then perform poems using musical instruments to emphasize cadence. 
    • Theme Poems – In this online tool, K-5 students can write poems based on shapes from five different categories: Nature, School, Sports, Celebrations, and Shapes. Within these categories, 32 different shapes are included. Students are prompted to brainstorm, write, and revise their poems, thus reinforcing elements of the writing process. Students can save their draft poems to revise later. 
    • What Makes Poetry? – A Mini-lesson. Students brainstorm the characteristics of poetry, then focus in on line breaks. As a group, they analyze the use of line breaks in the poem “Bubbles,” noting how they affect the sound, meaning, and appearance of the poem. 
    • Word Mover – This student interactive can be used to supplement classroom instruction, reinforce concepts taught in class, offer increased student engagement, and promote out-of-school literacy.
  28. Rhymer – https://www.rhymer.com/ – Provides a search function to help students struggling with rhyming words and explains the six types of rhymes.
  29. Rhyme Zone – https://www.rhymezone.com/ – Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives, and more! Very simple website.
  30. Shel Silverstein Official Website – http://www.shelsilverstein.com/ – It is great to see this website showcasing one of the best poets for silly children’s poetry. Every educator should have at least one of his books of poetry to introduce to and engage students. There are lessons, activities and events kits available for some of his poetry. Some material requires payment.
  31. TeacherVision (Poetry) – https://www.teachervision.com/search/poetry – The K-12 resources cover important poetry terms, help with structure and formatting, holiday-themed activities, form poetry, literal and figurative language, sensory imagery, rhyming and free verse, and much more. Note: Premium membership will provide better access to the resource material; the free version is limited to 3 downloads per day.
  32. The Children’s Poetry Archive – https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/ – Poetry doesn’t just live in books – it lives in the sounds that words make. When poems are read out loud, we breathe life into them and can picture them in our imagination. The Children’s Poetry Archive is a place where you can listen to poems read out loud. There are educator resources available in the “Teach” section.
  33. The Funeverse – https://www.thefuneverse.com/ – Showcases a variety of children’s poetry and poets. There are no educator resources.
  34. The Poetry Society – https://resources.poetrysociety.org.uk/ – Find a wide selection of poetry lesson plans and activities covering the whole spectrum of grades and explore many themes and forms of poetry.
  35. The Poetry Zone– http://poetryzone.co.uk/ – Since 1998, The Poetry Zone has published around 30,000 poems by young people and has had millions of visitors – children and teenagers, real live poets and other adults – who want to check them out. Teachers use the Poetry Zone as a fun way of teaching poetry in their schools.
  36. Varsity Tutors – https://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/poetry.html – The Poetry Collections page has links to poetry available online. Poetry protected by copyright may not be available. Lesson plans and activities related to poetry forms, figurative language , or poetic style (such as Epics, Haiku, etc.) can be found on the Poetry Forms page or by using the search box.
  37. Word Game Time (Poetry) – https://www.wordgametime.com/subject/poetry – Poetry introduces students to the power of words and the beauty of language. It helps expose them to figurative language and the difference between literal and non-literal meanings. Resources give students a chance to experience poetry in fun new ways while building critical vocabulary, reading, and writing skills. Note: Currently, the games are unavailable with the loss of Flash Player but the videos and worksheets are still active.



Lesson Ideas to Get You Started…