Poetry Unit

I like to spend a couple weeks each year teaching my students about poetry.  We do a number of fun activities in addition to reading and writing different poems.  We have a poetry battle, rank poetry, make a poetry journal, and much more! 

Here is a look into my poetry unit....

To kick off my poetry unit I have my students each complete this KWL Chart about Poetry.

We then discuss what poetry is, what a poet's purpose is, what poems can have, etc.  I use and display these posters during my unit!

Over the years I have found poems that are great for young children to listen to.  Instead of having multiple books that I have to search through to find the poem I want to read, I have typed the poems on individual pages and compiled them together.  (Find a list of my favorite poems at the end of this blog post.)

Each day I choose two different poems to read to my class.  After reading the two poems, my students each vote on which poem they liked the best.  We fill in the Poetry Battle bracket together.  By the end of my poetry unit my class has found their all-time favorite poem (which is usually Brod Bager's poem Booger Love)!

I also like for my students to fill out the Ranking Poetry page after listening to a poem.  I like for them to fill these out after listening to poems that have the different parts of figurative language in them that we have learned about.

Here are some of the different figurative language topics that I cover during my poetry unit.  Each poster has the term, definition, and example.

If you are looking for Figurative Language Posters click HERE to download my 23 Figurative Language Posters from my TpT Store!

Each student makes their own Poetry Journal throughout my unit.  They choose the cover of their journal.  They color, cut, and glue it on the top of a brad folder.  Each poem the student writes gets hole-punched and added to their folder!

Each student also fills out the "About the Poet" page and adds it as the first page to their poetry journal.

Here's a look at the different poems we learn about and write throughout the unit.  I usually pick one poem a day to teach and have the students write during our allotted writing time.

Word Picture Poem

Who, What, When, Where, Why Poem 

Triplet Poem 

Shape Poem 

Quatrain Poem 

List Poem 

Limerick Poem 

-ing Poem 

I'm So Smart Poem 

Important Poem 

If It Weren't For You Poem 

If I Were...Poem 

I Wish...Poem 

I Like...Poem 

I Am Poem 

Holiday Poem 

Haiku Poem 

Free Verse Poem 

Diamante Poem 

Couplet Poem 

Color Poem 

Cinquain Poem 

Bio Poem 

Alphabet Alliteration Poem 

Adjective Poem 

5 Senses Poem 

2-Worder Poem 

Acrostic Poem 

By the end of the unit each student has a wonderful collection of poetry they have written.  I slip a parent note in the first pocket of the folder and send each student's poetry journal home.  The parent note tells the parents all the wonderful things we learned during our poetry unit and invites them to sit down with their child and read each poem their child has written.

To make teaching your own poetry unit simple, easy, and fun...download my complete poetry unit on my TpT store by clicking HERE!

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A List of my Favorite Poems!

As mentioned above I have made a collection of my favorite poems I like to read to my students.  Most of my favorite poems are silly and funny!  My first graders love when I read these poems to them and by the end of my poetry unit they have a new found love for poetry!

Many of my favorite poems were found in the following books:

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky

A Pizza the Size of the Sun by Jack Prelutsky

Ride a Purple Pelican by Jack Prelutsky

Giant Children by Brod Bagert

Let Me Be the Boss by Brod Bagert

A Bad Case of the Giggles by Bruce Lansky

Rolling in the Aisles by Bruce Lansky

 Instead of flipping through the books to find my favorite poems to read to my students each time, I have typed them up, laminated them, and bound them together using a book ring.

A List of My Top Favorite Poems:

Sick by Shel Silverstein
Snowball by Shel Silverstein
Stop Thief by Shel Silverstein
The Acrobats by Shel Silverstein
Gardner by Shel Silverstein
The Sitter by Shel Silverstein
Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein
Hug O’War by Shel Silverstein

Good-bye, Goldfish by Bruce Lansky
I’d Rather by Bruce Lansky
I Love You Not by Bruce Lansky

Gorilla by Brod Bagert
Booger Love by Brod Bagert 
(This poem always wins my poetry battle!)

The Climbing Rope by Eric Ode
Letter C by Eric Ode
A Valentine Poem by Eric Ode

T’was the Night Before School Starts by Ron Yorgason

Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky

First Snow by Marie Louise Allen

Food Fight by Kenn Nesbitt

Sweet Dreams by Joyce Armor

Crowded Tub by Sheldon Allan Silverstein

Teaching poetry doesn't have to be hard and boring.  Make it fun and easy by reading these great poems and having your students write poems using the templates!