The best way to get kids to read and love poetry is to show them how fun it is to write their own poems.
Moon Butterfly by Julian Fegley.
It is pretty,
The way she flutters.
She is black as the night,
With white moonsplashes.
She shines.
Moon Butterfly was written by my 9-year-old son, Julian.
Julian never had any interest in reading poetry until I began to show him how to write it. He now reads poetry books on everything, from dinosaurs and animals to silly limericks and haikus. Most importantly, he continues to write his own poems in his personal poetry journal.
Teaching children to love poetry is an exciting adventure, and using the best teaching books makes the adventure easy.
Poetry Writing Handbook: Definitions, Examples, Lessons by Greta Barclay Lipson (Teaching & Learning Company, 1998) is written for grades 4-6. Many of the lessons, however, can be adapted for younger children. The entire book can be used as a refresher for older students and adults.
What I love most about the Poetry Writing Handbook is how it simplifies the writing process. The writing examples are fun and exciting. There isn't a single dull poem in the entire book.
Topics covered are: acrostic poetry, alliteration, alphabet poetry, catalog poetry, cento, cinquain, Clerihew, concrete poetry, couplet, definition poetry, diamante, haiku, hexaduad, hyperbole, lai verse, limerick, lune, lyrics, metaphor/simile, occasional poetry, onomatopoeia, pantoum, parody, personification, poetic cryptograms, quatrain, round, sestina, skeltonic verse, sonnet, tanka, tongue twister, triolet, triplet, and villanelle.
In Metaphors & Similes You Can Eat (Scholastic Professional Books), author Orel Protopopescu provides inspiring poetry writing lessons for grades 4-8. Protopopescu's goal is to provide children with the building blocks for writing excellent poetry. Her lessons are focused on stirring children's creativity and teaching children how to make the absolute most of the words they know.
Topics in Metaphors & Similes You Can Eat include: Ways of Sensing, Hide the Metaphor, Startling Combinations, Voice Poems, "I Am" Poems, "Knows" Poems, Poetry from Paintings, Poetry in Motion, "Shi" Poems, Riddle Poems, and Recipe Poems.
Together, Poetry Writing Handbook and Metaphors & Similes You Can Eat provide children with all the skills they need to write, read, and, best of all, love poetry.
