Saturday, October 14, 2017

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.

First Grade Poetry Unit

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!

Poetry 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.)

Poems to Read to Kids

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)!

Poetry Battle

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.


Figurative Language Posters

Figurative Language Posters

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!

Poetry Journal

Poetry Journal

Poetry Journal

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


About the Poet

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
Word Picture Poem
Who, What, When, Where, Why Poem 
Who, What, When, Where, Why Poem
Triplet Poem 
Triplet Poem
Shape Poem 
Shape Poem
Quatrain Poem 
Quatrain Poem
List Poem 
List Poem
Limerick Poem 
Limerick Poem
-ing Poem 
Ing Poem
I'm So Smart Poem 
I'm So Smart Poem
Important Poem 
Important Poem
If It Weren't For You Poem 
If It Weren't For You Poem
If I Were...Poem 
If I Were Poem
I Wish...Poem 
I Wish Poem
I Like...Poem 
I Like Poem
I Am Poem 
I Am Poem
Holiday Poem 
Holiday Poem
Haiku Poem 
Haiku Poem
Free Verse Poem 
Free Verse Poem
Diamante Poem 
Diamante Poem
Couplet Poem 
Couplet Poem
Color Poem 
Color Poem
Cinquain Poem 
Cinquain Poem
Bio Poem 
Bio Poem
Alphabet Alliteration Poem 
Alphabet Alliteration Poem
Adjective Poem 
Adjective Poem
5 Senses Poem 
5 Senses Poem
2-Worder Poem 
2 Worder Poem
Acrostic 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.

Primary Poetry Unit


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

Poetry Unit for Primary Grades


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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!

Poetry Unit

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

Favorite Kids Poems

 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.

Favorite Children's Poems

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

Favorite Kids Poems

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!

10 comments:

  1. Do you have the poems that you use for the Poetry battle bracket available to download/purchase? Are they different genres of poems that match each poem that is taught within this unit, or just any assortment of poems?

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  2. I don't have poems available to download or purchase for the poetry battle. I use poems that I have found and love over the years. Shel Silverstein, Brod Bagert, Bruce Lansky, and Jack Prelutsky poems are my favorite. Definitely check them out. They have books of poems that I pull from.

    I list a couple poems that I pair with a specific poem type. However, I mostly read the example poem and go through the poem parts when introducing each poem.

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  3. LOVE YOUR UNIT!!! I'm wondering if you teach the poems in any particular order - as far as complexity, ease of writing, etc. Do you cover all of these poems in 10 days?

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    1. Thank you! I don't have a specific order I teach the poems in. I usually pick about 12-14 of my favorite poems and have my first graders complete those poems.

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  4. One other question - do you identify, for each poem, which example(s) of figurative language they represent? Thanks!

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  5. Do you have this available for upper elementary level?

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    Replies
    1. No, sorry I don’t have a version for upper elementary. Are you looking for the same poem templates but without the clip art?

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  6. Since this is titled for PRIMARY GRADES and you label it for GRADES 1-4, I am wondering how fitting it truly is for year-end Fourth Graders?

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    1. Great question! I would say that based off my reviews that this unit is mainly used in first through third grades. However, I have had multiple teachers use this unit with fourth graders. Based off their comments they said they were extremely satisfied with the unit. Definitely check out the product preview in my TpT listing. It shows you everything that's included. That will give you a good idea on if it would be a good fit for your fourth graders.

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