Poetry!

I love teaching Poetry!  It really can be taught to any age.  Teaching kids to appreciate poetry and find out what makes it beautiful is one half of the lesson; the other half is teaching them that they too can be poets!

Here are some samples of poems my students wrote right around the first day of Spring.

My youngest students were taught the BIG word ONOMATOPOEIA!  It was so fun having them sound it out after writing it on the board.  Then we discussed that ONOMATOPOEIA is when a word sounds like it's meaning.  We talked about how spring time is full of onomatopoetic words, and we gave examples.  The students then had to write a poem fill-in-the-blank style, using onomatopoeia whenever they could or wanted to.

Here is Jessica's (1st grade.)  I absolutely love it!

Spring is when.....
Rain pitter-patters
Birds peck the tree
Lambs jump
Chicks peep
The wind blows and smells fresh
Flowers bloom
Leaves drink the rain
And the Easter bunny hops!

Here is Alec's (3rd grade).  Notice all of his onomatopoeia!

Spring is when....
Rain drip drops
Birds peep
Lambs clip clop
Chicks chirp and peck
The wind swooshes
Flowers swish
Leaves rustle
and the Easter bunny hides eggs!

Some of my younger class members chose to use the Fill-in-the-blank format as a brainstorm for their own original poems.   Aren't these wonderful?

Spring is.... by Josh (3rd grade)
Sprouting flowers
Fluttering leaves
Chicks peeping and tweeting
Rain pitter patters
The Easter Bunny hides his eggs and boings his way through the world.
Spring is so much fun!

Spring is when... by Adeline (2nd grade)
Rain pitter patters on the roof,
Newborn birds chip in their nest,
Lambs leap in the grass meadows,
Chicks squeak beside their mother,
The wind whistles amongst the tree tops,
Flowers dance with the grass,
Leaves appear a pretty light green,
and the Easter Bunny boings while delivering Easter eggs with treats.
Let's sing a song of Spring!

My older students were taught my "Favorite Five"-- five poetic tools that a poet can use to create imagery in a poem, and make poetry sound great!
end-line rhyme: rhyme at the end of a line
internal-line rhyme: rhyme in the middle of a line
repetition: a word that is repeated (for effect and emphasis)
alliteration: two or more words that start with the same sound
onomatopoeia: words that sound like their meaning

After reading a sample which contained all five, the students were encouraged to use as many tools as they could when writing their own poem.

I LOVE Sulwen's (5th grade).  She used all five tools!  Enjoy!

READING
Reading is a way to go away,
It isn't a time to laugh and play,
Swish!  Swish!  Swish! go the pages as you flip.
Into the book you silently slip.

Reading is a journey,
You can travel to faraway lands.
You can be surrounded by knights and dragons,
Or by a blaring band.

Reading is a creative way,
To inspire yourself to write away,
Whether it's a poem, novel, or a picture book,
Into a book you should look!

This is beautiful, by Eliza (4th grade)

HAWAII
As I go swimming across the waves,
With my cousin I cherish the days.
Stepping across the rocks with care,
I am happy I am there.
The seagulls that fly, up in the sky,
Make me happy that I am there.
Even when I got water in my eye,
I am happy that I am there.
Splish!  Splash! listen to my feet, 
As I splash in the shallow beach.

Hear me sigh as I leave the beach,
I am sad I am leaving there.