A poem with only one vowel

Have you heard of lipograms?   It is a work where the writer deliberately omits certain letters.  I found this unique poetry type in Betsy Potash’s blog post. Here the students created using only one vowel.  Even though the post was written with high schoolers in mind, I think you could adapt her lesson (in the blog she shares a Google Doc with step-by-step directions)  for younger students. The video above is from her lesson plan.

The Poetry Machine

Here’s a poetry suggestion from Nancy Bosch (Stonybrook Elementary School). She shares

But it looks like you need The Poetry Machine link!

This was the coolest way to get kids to write poetry…

I love that it first explains the style of poetry, gives an example, and then lays out the template for them to follow.

Poetry Resources

Eric Curts has shared a collection of poetry resources.  From magnetic poems to using a version of AI- there are several ideas to celebrate National Poetry Month in April.

Poetry for all ages!

 

Looking for poetry ideas?  Check out PBS and all its resources. You can search by grade level and they have several professional development options as well.

Posts for Poetry Month

Here is a collection of posts from MiddleWeb with suggestions for celebrating poetry month in April.

April is the time for poems

The New York Times just shared over twenty-five lesson plans to help you introduce
poetry to your students.  Please see the lessons here.

Poetry and PBS

PBS celebrates poetry month with Sesame Street and more.  Find their resources here.

Google ideas for poetry

While you might have seen some of these activities before, this blog post from Eric Curts is a nice overview of several Google-related poetry projects.  Please click here for the post.

Magnetic poetry online

 

At this site, younger (and older) learners can drop and move tiles to create their poems.  Please see the review here from TeachersFirst for the complete information.

Need a little poetry help?

 

Verse by Verse is an experimental Google site that channels your muses to help you write your poem. Select 3 muses (and you can also learn about them and see samples of their work) and then get started.  After you complete your first line, you three muses will offer suggestions (based on their work).  I think it would be interesting to have students start with a similar first sentence and then see what different muses suggest.  For a complete review from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Become a poetry detective

In this lesson from Scholastic, your students will be on the lookout for poetry literary devices.  Please see the review here by TeachersFirst. Suggested for grades 3-5.

April brings poetry

TeachersFirst has curated some of their favorite poetry sites- the Amand Gorman site includes hyperdocs and lesson ideas.

The Hill We Climb

Even though I didn’t catch all of the inauguration events yesterday, I did experience Amanda Gorman and her poetry- it was amazing and inspiring.  PBS has a lesson plan to share the work with your students.  Here is a link to the Google Doc if you would like to edit the lesson.

April and Poetry- Perfect Together

Eric Curts is one my favorite Google Experts- and his magnetic Google Drawing templates are always fascinating.  Here is his April Spring Poetry effort. You can read about it here (and it includes the template for you to share with your students).

Remember when April was for poetry

And not related to PARCC?  Who says you can still enjoy poetry with your students.  Here’s an updated article from the New York Times Learning site with a wide variety of poetry options ( I think I am partial to the blackout poems). Explore their 22 suggestions.

Once upon a midnight dreary,

Please click here for the link.

I’ve never been a big  Edgar Allan Poe fan, but on the anniversary of The Raven, you might want to explore this interactive version from TeachersFirst.  Click on the highlighted words in the text for either a word definition ot the poetic device employed.