Poet: Pourri: Writing Poetry in the Elementary - Middle School Classroom

By Ron Thomas and Shirley Sydenham

This is a practical guide to introducing and developing poetry writing. The book is intended to assist teachers/educators to teach and assist children to write in a poetic form. There are over twenty models of helpful poetic structures to share with students as they begin their poetic writing, including haiku, acrostics, senyru, limericks and others. Worksheets are included to guide and support students as they follow each pattern to create their own poem in each style. It also discusses literary devices such as alliteration, simile and metaphor, rhyming and onomatopoeia, and idiom. Written by experienced teachers and writers who have trialled these methods with great success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: kidcyber
• Release date: Oct 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463547724

Ron Thomas

Ronald G. Thomas, aka Ron Thomas, was born in the early part of 1975 in Maryland. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with two bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics as well as a minor in GIS (Geographic In-formation Systems). When it comes to experience, there is no better teacher than life. Where there is life, there is hope.

Book preview

This book is intended to assist teachers/educators to teach and assist children to write in a poetic form. There are over twenty models of helpful poetic structures to share with students as they begin their poetic writing. Worksheets are included.

What is poetry?

Poetry is self-expression.

Poetry enables us to define our relationship with the world.

Poetry is about sharing thoughts and feelings with others, enabling us to accept and extend our experiences.

Poetry is about experimenting with language.

Poetry is about everything. Poetry can be a fantasy, a lullaby, a song, a play-on-words, or a conversation. Poems can tell a story, comment on events, make us laugh out loud, feel afraid, or even cry.

Many young children are introduced to poetry through nursery rhymes, and will continue to enjoy and respond to various forms of poetry, such as descriptive poems about familiar things; nonsense and funny poems about people, places and events; narratives and ballads that tell a story; haiku, limericks and sonnets.

A balanced poetry program should include funny, thoughtful, quiet, noisy, long, short, structured and unstructured poems.

Enjoying poetry

The students’ enjoyment, understanding and appreciation of the ways in which poets have created atmosphere and meaning from carefully chosen words will be fostered when they work in an environment where words, stories, books and writing are valued, shared and discussed. In such an environment, they will read and be read to, listen and be listened to. They will be encouraged to:

- listen to poems read aloud for fun;

- join in when poetry is read aloud by chanting phrases;

- talk about favourite images;

- discuss the poet's use of words