Three Different Ways to Explore Poetry in your Classroom

/

I adore poetry - I still remember early lessons on haikus back in my Grade Three classroom. I love reading it and finding little gems of words. And I love writing it and manipulating language and rhythms until the paint little pictures in words.

Poetry can be amazing in the classroom. It's relatively easy to fit into smaller segments of language. It's perfect for exploring literary and language skills like figurative language. And there's poems for all situations - funny poems, sad poems, serious poems. You can even explore verse novels and how an author can put together a series of poems to tell a story.

Here's three ways to bring poetry into your classroom.

 
3 Different Ways to Explore Poetry in Your Classroom. A blog post exploring poetry and some different ideas for bringing poetry alive in your classroom
 

1. Combine Poetry and Art

Poems often use a few words to create pictures, so they're perfect to combine with art. You can start with using one to inspire another - students can write a poem inspired by a piece of art or create a piece of art inspired by a poem. This can be especially effective when you're looking at particular styles of art - abstract art or sculpture - or if you try to create art work which reflects particular patterns in a poem - what might a limerick piece of art look like?

Students can also combine poetry and art in one piece. Found poetry and black out poetry are fascinating ways to combine both, as is exploring calligraphy or typography. Students can look at how poetry can be a part of public art or how words, colour and shapes can be combined to create something beautiful.

2. Create Poetry Displays

Due to their shorter size, poems make wonderful subject for displays. And seeing poetry all around us is a great way to inspire thinking about poetry and more poetry. 

There are a few ways you can display poetry in the classroom. If you write or explore poems on a particular theme, you can use that to create a display - autumn poetry can be displayed on colourful trees made out of paper, beach poems can be written into a beach scene. Teachers can also incorporate poetry into the classroom - even displaying them where you wouldn't expect them - a poem about numbers near the maths equipment, a poem about nature tucked near a window. These could even form the basis of a poetry treasure hunt, with students searching to find all the poems.

Students can also use a display board to create their own poetry. They can use pieces of paper or magnets with words on them and arrange them to create poetry. They can also write lines of poetry to pin up on a board to continue a poem which is being written. 

Beyond the classroom, students may like to look for other places they can display their writing. You may be able to display poems in the school library, the office or the hallways. If you have classroom windows which can be seen outside, you may like to display poems there where other students, teachers and parents can see them. Or a local shop may be able to offer space or a notice board for students to display their poetry to a wider audience. 

 
3 Different Ways to Explore Poetry in Your Classroom. A blog post exploring poetry and some different ideas for bringing poetry alive in your classroom
 

3. Explore Poetry in Song

While poetry and songs are two different forms of writing, it's not hard to see the similarities between them. They both use rhyme, rhythm and highly effective word choice to make you feel something. So how can we use them together?

Students can use lines of a song to inspire their own poems. Starting with one or two lines and then continuing in their own poem allows them to think about what those lines might be saying and how they can continue that in their own words with their own experiences. Examining the structure of songs also allows students to play with structure in poetry. This can be especially effective with songs which change structure between different parts or between chorus and verses - how do they change their writing style? How can students experiment with that.

Students can also think about how already written songs could be set to music. What kind of music could they set the poems to? How would it change if you used a different style of music? 


Take a moment to share some poetry with your students and open up a whole world of different rhythms, rhymes and pictures made out of words.

Related posts to read:

 
Read More!
Using Digital Resources to Inspire Creative Writing in the classroom. A look at a range of digital tools teachers and students can use to inspire creative writing and to assist in the writing process. Perfect for students and teachers working remotely or classrooms involved in 1 to 1 computer programs. A Galarious Goods blog post
Using Digital Resources to Inspire Creative Writing in the Classroom
Explore the Pig the Pug Series with These Writing Tasks - 5 Writing Task Ideas for classrooms and students exploring Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey and how teachers can teach them. A Galarious Goods post
Explore the Pig the Pug Series with these Writing Tasks
Writing skills and expectations before goal setting. Don't jump straight into making writing goals with your students. Take a moment to make sure they understand what is expected of them and how they can achieve that. A Galarious Goods blog post
Writing Skills and Expectations Before Goal Setting
Don't Make Writing Goals with Blank Pages - Creating Writing to Make Writing Goals
Don't Make Writing Goals with Blank Pages - Creating Writing to Make Writing Goals
Including Freewriting in Your Classroom Writing Centres - a blog post from Galarious Goods looking at using freewriting in the classroom through setting up freewriting writing centres
Including Freewriting In Your Classroom Writing Centres
Freewriting in the writing classroom. What it is and how teachers can use this writing strategy
What is Freewriting? (And how can it be used to teach writing?)
3 Different Ways to Explore Poetry in Your Classroom. A blog post exploring poetry and some different ideas for bringing poetry alive in your classroom
Three Different Ways to Explore Poetry in your Classroom
Using Badly Written Texts in the Classroom. This writing blog post explores how teachers can use badly written texts in a range of different ways in their classroom.
Using Badly Written Texts in the Classroom
Where can we find the time to explore persuasive writing? A Galarious Goods blog post exploring how teachers can find time to teach persuasive and argument writing in a busy teaching and classroom schedule. Perfect for classroom planning and classroom organization. Teach students persuasive writing as you explore a range of other subjects and topics.
Where Can We Find the Time to Explore Persuasive Writing?
Where do we find persuasive writing? A Galarious Goods blog post exploring persuasive writing and how teachers can engage students with real life persuasive text examples. Great teaching ideas for classrooms exploring persuasive writing and arguments..
Where Do We Find Persuasive Writing?