Starting to plan poetry month? a poetry unit? or prepping ways to sprinkle poetry in throughout the school year? It can be so time consuming to find quality resources for poetry instruction!
These low prep resources below cover everything you will need to plan your poetry unit. They include everything from visuals to display and introduce types and elements of poetry, to reading and analyzing poems, writing poetry (prewriting to final copy), and poetry follow up activities.
All resources are available individually or in a Poetry Unit Bundle. I also provide a poetry writing freebie to get you started at the end of this blog post!
POETRY VOCABULARY WORD WALL:
Reading poetry comes with a whole new set of terms to learn and understand. Displaying a poetry word wall is such a great reference for students while working their way through understanding these new terms. You can display them on the poetry bulletin board or print word wall cards for each student to use on a word ring.
These half page poetry word wall cards cover all elements of poetry and types of poetry. Each card has a student-friendly definition with a visual or example of that type or element of poetry.
POETRY ANCHOR CHARTS:
Anchor charts are great for introducing and breaking down what makes up each element and type of poetry. You can make your own or use pre-made ones to just print and display. These posters are great for displaying full-page posters, or having students cut out mini posters (2 per page) for their poetry journals.
POETRY WRITING TEMPLATES:
Writing poetry can be so overwhelming for students. It is totally different from any other kind of writing that they do (fiction stories, personal narratives, opinion writing, etc.). Just putting together words into a rhyme scheme in a way that makes sense is challenging enough. Then, students are asked to write all different types of poetry. This is where some students really shine, but it is also where many students can get stuck with writer’s block.
It is so helpful to provide students with tools that really break down the format for writing each type of poem. Using prewriting templates for brainstorming is helpful for them to get their ideas for that specific poem type onto paper.
Then, students can benefit from a template that shows the format of each poem in a clear way for their rough draft.
These templates cover everything you need for writing 19 different types of poems. Each type of poetry comes with prewriting graphic organizers, rough draft templates (with editing and revising checklists), and unique published copy templates. They are included as both printable and digital, Google Slides™ versions. The published copies also make awesome bulletin board displays!
POETRY ANALYSIS GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:
Reading and analyzing poetry is also a tricky skill that takes lots of practice. Providing students with graphic organizers that break down poetry in a visual way can make this SO much easier to tackle.
This reading poetry graphic organizers pack includes both organizers that visually break down each skill individually, as well as organizers that require students to apply multiple skills at once.
They are included as both printable and digital, Google Slides™ versions.
ONGOING POETRY PRACTICE:
It is important to find ways students can read and interact with poetry regularly. One easy way is to be sure that you have books of poems available in your classroom library.
These poetry puzzles are a great idea for an ongoing poetry center or independent practice! They are a fun, interactive activity that includes 32 poetry terms with student-friendly definitions and examples of each.
QUATRAIN WRITING FREEBIE:
Looking for a place to get started in making a plan for your poetry unit? This FREE resource takes students through writing a quatrain poem. After introducing quatrains with a poster, you can have students work on writing 4, 8, or 12 lined quatrains. Writing templates are included for prewriting, rough drafts, and published copies.
Snag your FREE Quatrain Poem Writing Templates here!
All of the above resources can be found discounted in the Poetry Unit Bundle!
Next Up: Teaching the Steps of the Writing Process to Elementary Students
