Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? I just found this out the other day actually. The English major in me just can’t help but do something to celebrate it with my students! I’m almost positive we will be doing something fun with poems this week.
Since the lovely lilacs are in full bloom right outside my speech room window, I may suggest we write our poems about the Spring!! I also happen to believe that it is never too early to introduce kids to poetry! Reading, discussing, and writing poems is a great way to build language skills.
Why Use Poems?
- Poems are full of rhythm and rhyming patterns (good for phonemic awareness)
- Poems are full of great vocabulary words and ideas for discussion (can be used to target definitions, descriptions, synonyms/antonyms, figurative language)
- Poems are vehicles to express feelings/ideas about anything (seasons like Spring, Summer, etc.) (can help target expanding sentences, use of descriptive sentences, morphemes/syntax)
- Writing a poem draws on background knowledge and experiences (can target memory, sequencing of events, story retell)
- Encourages imaginative thinking and critical thinking
- Poems can be serious, silly, long, short, rhyming, etc.
I created these two simple poem templates to use with my students. Here is one for a Spring Acrostic Poem and one for a Cinquain! Enjoy!
-
Free Poem Templates
Here a few of the different types of poems:Acrostic Poem
What is an Acrostic Poem?
Example:
S eason of the year
P retty flowers
R ainy days
I nsects crawling
N ests in trees
G rowing plantsCinquain
Cinquain poems must have the following pattern:
Line 1 – One word (a noun) naming the subject of the verse.
Line 2 – Two words (adjectives) describing the subject.
Line 3 – Three words (verbs) describing the subject’s actions.
Line 4 – Four words giving the writer’s opinion of the subject.
Line 5 – One word (noun) giving another name for the subject.Example by C.Alfonzetti:
Violin
Brown, shapely
Singing, shrieking, sobbing
A moody music maker
Fiddle
Haiku
Haiku is Japanese poetry that reflects on nature and feelings. There are three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second, and five syllables in the third.
Examples by Paul McCann
Fog
On the mountain top
The fog fell down thick and fast
It was like pea soup.
Rain
Tip-tap goes the rain.
As it hits the window pane
I can hear the rain.
Hail
They fell in showers.
Like diamonds upon the ground
Big hailstones were found.
Limerick
A limerick has five lines. The last words of lines one, two, and five rhyme.
The last words of lines three and four rhyme.
A limerick has to have a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
U S U U S U U S
U S U U S U U S
U S U U S
U S U U S
U S U U S U U S
(Anybody feel like they are back in Phonology 101!)
Limerick Examples here!Old Man with a Beard
by Edward Lear
There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!”
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!
Couplets
Couplets are made up of two lines whose last words rhyme. These are sometimes silly!
Example:The rain has fallen all day
I think I will go outside and play
Triplets
These are made up of three lines. The rhyming pattern can be AAA or ABA.
Example of an AAA rhyme pattern:Oh how I love the spring
It makes me want to run, jump, and sing
After all that I will probably swing
Quatrain
These are made up of four lines.
The rhyming pattern can be AABB or ABAB.
Example of AABB rhyme:The baby ducks splash and play
In the pond at the park they stay
Curious and clumsy they are
I will just watch them from afar
Check out some of these poetry websites. They have lots of ideas for poetry activities as well as many free resources!Poets.Org
Scholastic National Poetry Month Activities
Springtime Poems and Rhymes for young kids
Silly Poems for Kids
Free Spring Poem Printables
Springtime Poetry
The Importance of Children’s Poetry
Happy National Poetry Month!
