Compiling Poetry Collections and a Working Definition of Poetry
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Overview
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. This lesson uses concrete/shape, haiku, cinquain, two-voice, and free-form poetry, but the lesson can be easily adapted for any poetic form. Students read examples, define the form, and find additional examples in poetry books. They create their own poetry collection by adding examples, definitions, and their own poems to a writer's notebook. In the final session, students go back through the poems they have collected, looking for examples of five elements of poetry.
Featured Resources
Poetic Forms...and Examples: This page from PBS NewsHour offers an extensive list of poetic forms, with examples of each.
Poetry Collection Checklist: Have students complete this checklist of their favorite examples of each type of poetry as an assessment for the unit.
From Theory to Practice
In "Language and Literacy: The Poetry Connection," Dorothy S. Strickland and Michael R. Strickland explain that immersion in poetry provides a positive experience for students that provides scaffolding for later poetry exploration and experimentation. By reading a variety of poems in read alouds, independent reading, and group sharing, students begin to play with poetic ideas and forms naturally. The article explains that "many teachers still argue that there is value in highlighting certain literary devices or aspects of a form as one way of knowing and appreciating literature. When students discuss various characteristics of a form, it helps inform their own writing and familiarizes them with common terminology needed to talk about language, literature, and literacy. Familiarity with the structure and terminology of literacy facilitates students' abilities to communicate with others about what they know. In addition, such familiarity can deepen students' personal responses and interpretations of literature" (201). In this lesson plan, students explore a wide range of poetic forms and devices in order to gain the kind of grounding understanding of poetic elements that Strickland and Strickland recommend.
Further Reading
Common Core Standards
This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.
State Standards
This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.
NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts
- 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
Materials and Technology
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Handouts of poems used for instruction or in computer files to project
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General classroom supplies (chalkboard, chart paper, markers, etc)
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Student writing notebooks and folders
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Blank composition books
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A computer with Internet access with LCD projector
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A wide variety of poetry books to be used for instruction and student exploration
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Examples of themed poetry collections or anthologies
- If students will be given the opportunity to create their own poems using student interactives or mobile apps, then also computers with Internet access or tablets will be needed. Also, students will use a printer to publish their poems to add to their poetry collections.
Printouts
Websites
Preparation
- Choose the poetic forms that you'll focus on in this lesson (e.g., concrete/shape poetry, haiku, two-voice, cinquain, free-verse). Five forms work well. See The Children's Poetry Archive and Links to Other Forms of Poetry and Elements of Poetry for additional options and materials.
- Familiarize yourself with the elements of poetry with any of these resources: Poetry Box Rules; Elements of Poetry; and Riddle Poem Features.
- Make copies of the poems that you will be using to teach the forms of poetry and craft elements of poetry for students.
- Arrange for students to have their writing notebooks and folders, and blank composition books, which will be used to compile their poetry collections and definitions.
- The forms of poetry and elements of poetry in this lesson are simply recommendations. Feel free to customize the forms and craft elements for your own needs.
- Make a copy of the Poetry Collection Checklist for each student.
- If using computers for student writing, test the student interactives on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.
- If using tablets for student writing, download the apps. Familiarize yourself with both apps.
- Arrange to have several poetry books available for students to use. Consult the printout Suggested Poetry Books for recommendations.
Student Objectives
Students will
- listen to a variety of different types of poetry.
- explore poetry books, anthologies, and collections independently.
- learn the characteristics of several different forms of poetry.
- learn the definitions of several different types of poetry craft elements.
- search and collect already published poems that meet the characteristics of the chosen forms of poetry.
- search and collect already published poems that meet the characteristics of the chosen craft elements of poetry.
- create a working definition of poetry forms.
- create a working definition of craft elements of poetry.
Session One
- Make sure the students have their blank composition books, which will be used to compile their poetry collection.
- Begin by asking the students what their definition of poetry is. You should gather many different answers from the students. Write these responses on the board or chart paper.
- Tell the students that while their definitions are not all the same, there are some similarities among the definitions. Use this fact as a springboard into a discussion about poetry interpretation—there is no one right answer to poetry. Everyone brings his or her own thoughts and ideas to it.
- On the board, write the definition of poetry you will be using during these lessons. An example definition, adapted from Webster's, is, "writing that is concentrated on imaginative awareness, using language, which is chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm."
- Ask students to write down this definition on the second page of their composition book.
- For the rest of the session, let the students explore the poetry books you have selected.
Session Two
- Begin this session by reading one of your favorite poems. After you have shared it with the class, explain to them why this is one of your favorite poems. Tell the students that this is one of the activities they will be completing—finding examples of poetry and explaining the reasons that they chose them.
- Ask the students to name as many different forms of poetry as they can. After they have brainstormed and you have recorded their responses on chart paper or the board, display the Poetry Forms and Examples page from the PBS NewsHour Website. See how many of the forms of poetry the students were able to name.
- Put the students into pairs. Ask them try to define each of the forms of poetry. Have resource materials available to them, including dictionaries and poetry anthologies.
- When time is up for this activity, gather the class and ask students to share their definitions. This is also the time for you to let the students know which forms of poetry you will be focusing on in this unit. This sample lesson focuses on concrete/shape poetry, haiku, two-voice, cinquain and free verse.
- With forms of poetry defined, discuss the different elements of poetry with the students. The Online Poetry Classroom Website and the Poetry Tools page from the PBS NewsHour Website provide useful definitions and examples.
- Explain to the students that while they are learning about the different forms of poetry, they will also be seeing different elements of poetry.
- Now that the students have a little more background knowledge of poetry, again have them search, read, and share poems they find in the poetry anthologies and collections.
Session Three
- Read and show the students several different concrete/shape poems. Ask students what they notice about the poems when they look at the words on the page.
- After students notice the relationship between the shape and focus of the poem, explain that in concrete/shape poems the lines form shapes or a shape that is related to the poem's topic. The words in the poem tend to reflect the sense/message of the poem itself. These poems are written almost entirely for visual effect and are easy to understand and fun to look at and create.
- Have at least one example of a Concrete/Shape Poem to hand out to the students.
- In their composition notebooks, on the third page, ask students to glue or tape in the example concrete/shape poem.
- On the following page, ask students to write down a definition for concrete/shape poetry.
- Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a concrete/shape poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
- If there is time, or as an extension, model for students how to use the students the Theme Poem Student Interactive or Theme Poem app so that they can write their own concrete/shape poem. Have students print these poems and add to their poetry collection.
- Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry collection, including those they have written.
Session Four
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Read and show the students several different haikus.
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Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form:
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Three line poem
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First line has 5 syllables
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Second has 7 syllables
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Third line has 5 syllables.
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Have at least one example of a haiku to hand out to the students. In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in the example haiku.
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On the following page, ask students to write a definition for haiku.
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Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a haiku. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
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If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own haiku using the Haiku Student Interactive or Haiku App. Have the students print these poems and add them to their poetry collection.
- Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry collection as well as share what they have written.
Session Five
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Read and show the students several different diamante poems.
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Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form: Diamantes are poems that are written using a recipe. A diamante consists of seven lines, arranged in the diamond shape, with specific types of words in each line:
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Line1-the topic of the poem
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Line 2-two adjectives about the topic
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Line 3-three words ending in -ing about the topic
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Line 4-four nouns about the topic or a short phrase about the topic
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Line 5- three words ending in -ing about the opposite of the topic
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Line 6-two adjectives describing the opposite of the topic.
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Line 7-the opposite of the topic
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Have at least one example of a diamante to hand out to the students. In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in the example diamante.
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On the following page, ask students to write a definition for diamante.
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Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a diamante. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
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If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own poems using either the Diamante Student Interactive or the Diamante Poem App. Have students print their poems to add to their poetry collections.
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Have the students share the poems that they found and added to their poetry collection, including those they have written.
Session Six
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Read and show the students several different acrostic poems.
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Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form: The poem’s topic is running down the left side of the poem. Each letter of the topic contains a thought or description of the topic.
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Have at least one example of an acrostic poem to hand out to the students.
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In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in the example acrostic poem.
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On the following page, ask students to write a definition for an acrostic poem.
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Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of an acrostic poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
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If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own acrostic poems using Acrostic Poem Student Interactive or the Acrostic Poem App. Have students print these poems and add to their poetry collections.
- Have the students share the poems that they found as well have written.
Session Seven
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Read and show the students several different free-verse poems.
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Ask students to note features of the poems and work toward defining the form: Free-verse poetry is patterned by speech and images rather than by regular metrical schemes. Lines can also be shortened for speed, or segmented into groups of words or syllables to slow down the reading. While free verse usually does not have to rhyme, it does have a rhythm or beat to it.
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Have at least one example of a free-verse poem to hand out to the students.
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In their composition notebook, on the next available page, ask students to glue or tape in the example free-verse poem.
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On the following page, ask students to write a definition for free-verse poem.
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Finally, on the next page, ask students to find their own example of a free-verse poem. They can either copy a poem down, making sure to title it and cite their source, or make a photocopy of it and tape/glue it into their composition books.
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If there is time, or as an extension, students can write their own free-verse poems using Word Mover Student Interactive or the Word Mover App. These two allows students to create “found poems” using word banks from famous prose, suggested random word banks, or their own created word banks. Have the students print their poems.
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Have the students share the poems that they found as well as their original creations.
Session Eight
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Now that the students have worked with forms of poetry, it is time for them to look at the elements of poetry.
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Refer to the Online Poetry Classroom Website and/or the Poetry Tools page from the PBS NewsHour Website.
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Choose 4 or 5 elements that you want to focus on (e.g., simile and metaphor, onomatopoeia and imagery).
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Using their poetry collections in their composition books, students can go back through the poems they have already selected and find examples of the elements of poetry, or the students can search for new poems that include these elements.
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Have the students share what elements they have found in their poetry collections.
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Provide students with a copy of the Poetry Collection Checklist or use the Interactive Poetry Collection Checklist Chart, which allows students to type the titles of their poems and add additional criteria (for instance, if they want to list two poems for a category).
Extensions
Student Assessment / Reflections
- As students read and collect their poems during this unit, observe their activities. Look for engagement and immersion in the activity. If you notice students who are not participating fully in the activities, try to provide poetry collections and options that match their personal interests. Students may also simply need some additional support as they explore poetry. Strickland and Strickland offer this options for engaging students and learning more about their understanding of their readings:
Between readings, [Michael Strickland] sometimes comments on a particular piece or invites students to respond by saying: “Tell us what’s on your mind”; “What did you think about that poem?”; and “Anything you want to share?” The students follow his lead, commenting on a particular aspect of the poem or offering their reactions. During the discussions that follow, students frequently point out what they notice about the poetry and what appeals to them.
- You can use students’ reactions to similar questions to match their understanding and interests to additional poetry collections.
- Final assessment of the activity should be based on the completion of poetry collection in the composition books. Compare students’ checklists to the poems in their composition books. Provide feedback on selections as well as pointers on how to re-categorize poems in situations when poetic form or craft elements are misidentified.
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