Help Children Find and Enjoy
The Poetic Side of Life
LearningTip #43:
Help Children Find and Enjoy
The Poetic Side of Life
By Joyce
Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
Educator, President
of KidBibs
An invitation. That's what poetry often is. It is an invitation into the joys, sorrows, passions, experiences, and beliefs of the poet. Through rhyme, rhythm, imagery, alliteration, metaphor, and many other literary devices, the poet---young or experienced---communicates what s/he believes and invites the reader to share his or her ideas.
April is National Poetry Month. On the web site of FavoritePoem.org, Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States wrote:
"If a poem is written well, it was written with the poet's voice and for a voice. Reading a poem silently instead of saying a poem is like the difference between staring at sheet music and actually humming or playing the music on an instrument."
In other words, poetry is meant to be said and heard--in the classroom, in the living room, in the car, everywhere!
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of classroom and family poetry opportunities. It includes instructional strategies, family ideas, several types of poetry, links to poetry resources on the World Wide Web, and a list of popular children's poets and some of their books.
Popular Children's Poets and Some of Their Books
Poems take as many forms as the poet can imagine. In fact, young poets have many options to consider when expressing themselves. They include:
rhymed poetry with any rhyme pattern
free verse with irregular rhythmic cadence and rhythm rather than meter and rhyme
Formula poems provide other opportunities for children to express themselves. They may be written as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. They include:
Biopoem
* Geopoem * Acrostic
Poem * Diamante
Cinquain * Haiku
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Line
1 Your first name |
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Line
1 City, state, country, or continent |
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Words are arranged in a poem to disclose a hidden word or message that can be discerned by reading down the first letters of the poem's lines. Examples of children's acrostic poetry for the word, READING, are located on the web site of Sue Pandiani's third grade North Star Classroom. |
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A five-line unrhymed poem following this format: Line
1 Two syllables |
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Seven-lined unrhymed poem that appears in a diamond shape. Line
1 Noun that is the subject of the poem Summer |
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Haiku is a short unrhymed poem based on a single image. Traditional Japanese haiku focused on nature. These poems consist of 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 three-line pattern. |
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Poetry Sites for Teachers
Poets.org Lesson Plans and Resources
Children's Poetry Web Sites
Children's Poetry
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Dinosaur Dinner, With a Slice of Alligator Pie: Favorite Poems
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For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone
The New Kid on the Block, audio cassette
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The Giving Tree (Spanish edition also available)
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If I Were in Charge of the World: Poems for Children and Their Parents
Sad Underwear and Other Complications: More Poems for Children and Their Parents
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The University of Toronto offers a database of 2,350 English poems by 368 poets in its Representative Poetry Online web site. This database is searchable by poet's name, title, and first line. It also includes a variety of other poetry resources.
Conclusion
Poetry delights and inspires. It challenges and provokes thinking. Indeed, poetry is an essential part of the language, literacy, and learning of children. Perhaps most significant of all is the fact that poetry is often the invitation into literature and ideas that promotes more reading, writing, and thinking. What could possibly be better?
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