Unrhythmic, Culturally Diverse, Simple Forms of Poetry

Elementary students explore African American culture by reading children's poetry. They read the book, The Palm of My Heart which features poetry by an assortment of young African American boys and girls. Students define several...

It is so important for English language learners to be able to write for a variety of purposes. Specifically written for an ELD class, this activity provides explicit instruction for teaching learners how to write a poem. First, they...

Models of and directions for how to write 20 different types of poems are featured in an NCTE resource. The introduction to each form highlights the embedded concepts. For example, tongue twisters encourage poets to use alliteration and...

Participate in writing poetry as a group. Focused on a given theme, young writers compose a popcorn poem using sensing verbs and adverbs. They write popcorn poems, onomatopoeias, collective poems, and diamond poems. You could introduce...

The present tense is a helpful skill to review in any language arts classroom. Focusing on statements made in the affirmative and in the negative, a slideshow presentation guides pupils through grammar rules and examples for the simple...

Here is a website that offers the poem, A Little Brother Follows Me by Anonymous, in digital form, as well as printable copies. Printable copies come with six different font versions to choose from.

Beautiful illustrations and tender memories of cultural identity make Kam Mak's story My Chinatown an ideal resource for budding readers learning four vocabulary words in context: fortune, scraps, soar, and victory. Introduce these...

Students write a biographical poem about themselves. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, write an autobiographical poem and a biographical poem about a famous person using a template form, and display the poems side-by-side.

Students explore the poetry of Langston Hughes and its structure. In groups, they read poems and identify the rhyme, rhythm meter, and alliteration in each poem. Students create and illustrate their own poem, using Langston Hughes methods.

Learners compare and contrast visual and tactile textures. They create a painting that highlights one or more textures. Students express these textures in a poem to accompany their art. They recognize that words can express the visual...