Poetry Writing

[Jackie]

My daughter has asked to be taught how to write poetry. 

We already do poetry teas. We’ve already done MCT’s Music of the Hemispheres. We have the appreciation side covered. She writes down poems or snippets that pop into her head, but she wants to know how to get started with sitting down to intentionally write a poem.

I generally never liked poetry, and I’m going to need resources that hold my hand through this topic. She’s elementary-aged, but generally accelerated, so elementary or middle grades resources should work fine. We are looking for secular resources.

[Sarah0000]

The only poetry resource I've used is MCT Music of the Hemispheres, but we start a poem with a technique from there and let it grow. So for instance we might pick a rhyming pattern like ABAB, pick a topic, think of a list of rhyming words, then construct the poem. Or start with alliteration, pick a topic, think of a list of alliterative words, then construct a poem. 

Or we mighty pick a nursery rhyme or short poem and I'll pose a question like "What if Little Miss Muffet liked spiders? Then how would the poem change?"

Sorry, not a laid out resource but these ideas are simple to implement. I'm interested to see what others recommend.

[Irene Lynn]

This past year my son and I went through Poetry Writing Handbook: Definitions, Examples, Lessons (Gr.4-6).  It introduces a number of different styles, though some of the examples are lame.  At least we thought we could do better. If you want to go deeper, then you can do a search for more poems of that type online. It generally gets good reviews.

[alisha]

Evan Moor has a "Poetry, Patterns and Themes" workbook that might be a little of what you're looking for. It says grade 3-6. There's also "Writing Poetry with Children" for grades 1-6. 

I've never seen the whole book, but considered the samples on teh Evan Moor website for myself.

[Lori D.]

JMO: But I would start with capturing the images and ideas, the *sound* and rhyme, and the *joy and beauty* that DD is trying to express, before trying to write in forms (rhyming patterns), as that can result in stifling the imagination and "voice" at this early stage.

Just a thought -- is there a local children's workshop on writing poetry, perhaps through the local library, or Parks & Rec classes? It can be very helpful to explore poetry writing with other young writers. Together, read poetry BY children for inspiration -- here is a list of children's poetry contests, with some poems published online. Perhaps get a subscription to Stone Soup, which publishes creative fiction and poetry, nonfiction, and art by children up to age 13. The Stone Soup website also has a series of clickable links to the far right of the main page under the heading "Story Subjects", that take you to pages where you can read online for FREE some of the poetry (and other) submissions.

Also, read a lot of different poets at this stage -- playful poets and children's poems and free verse poems (and enjoy the imagery and listening for the lovely sounds and rhymes and use of language!), as well as traditional, older, classic poems/poets. The more you can develop your OWN appreciation and enjoyment of poetry, the more it will help you help your DD in her goal to write poems. 

FREE poetry lesson plans
Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry 4 Kids
NCTE / Read Write Think -- Poetry Lesson Plans

Online Classes
Brave Writer: Playing with Poetry Workshop -- appreciation AND writing of poetry

Books/Curricula
Evan-Moore: Writing Poetry with Children and Poetry Patterns & Themes
Poetry Writing Handbook (Lison)
Create a Poem (Hoomes)
Write Your Own Poetry (Salas)
Poetry Starters: Write Abouts (McDonald) -- idea prompts
Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out (Fletcher)
A Crow Doesn't Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry From Nature (Ferra) -- guide for TEACHERS to help their students write poetry

Additional Resources
- Poetry Foundation: Articles About Children's Poetry -- 4 lovely articles that help adults help their children explore and appreciate poetry, but also that stress the importance of keeping alive the wonder and imagination in children *writing* their own poetry
- Seeing the Blue Between (Janeczko) -- advice and inspiration for young poets
- How To Read A Poem (Runyan) -- a resource for YOU to help you perhaps enjoy poetry more
- How to Write A Poem (Runyan) -- a resource for your DD for when she's in high school, or has been writing poetry for a few years

Books of "fun" poetry to enjoy
- Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems (Singer) -- free verse poems on fairy tale characters that when the wording is read from top to bottom, expresses one idea, but when read from bottom to top, reveals a completely different idea
- Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Extras (Wilbur) -- clever jokes and observations written so deftly that you don't even realize that Richard Wilbur is writing in a rhymed form
- Poetry Speaks to Children (Paschen) -- whimsical and fun, while full of rhyme, rhythm, and wonderful sound devices
- At the Sign of the Seahorse (Base) -- lovely older elementary/middle school picture book, with the story told in rhymed verse
- humorous poems by Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash, Roald Dahl, etc.

Stories told in a series of free verse poems
Love That Dog (Creech)
Brown Girl Dreaming (Woodson)
Out of the Dust (Hesse)

Prose stories that are poetically written or are playful with language
(prose writing that makes a lot of use of sound devices, and imagery and metaphors to describe/make connections)
The Thirteen Clocks (Thurber)
The Search for Delicious (Babbitt)
The Wind in the Willows (Grahame)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien)