Wanna know how students can use poetry to learn English? I’ll tell you all about it! Poems aren’t always the easiest text type to understand. Lord knows that even though I am an English major, I struggle with them sometimes. But I do love poetry, if only for the language used in it, and some poems have really tugged at my heartstrings over the years. Let me explain how I use them in my English lessons!
Poetry involves a lot of reading. Wanna know how I structure a reading lesson? Grab my free Rad Reading Lesson Checklist here to find out how to do it yourself!
Use poems to learn English
I think poems can really help students learn English. I love the emotions poems can convey, so poetry can teach students about the message of texts. But there’s also the element of poetic devices that are interesting for students to recognize. They really enjoy finding rhyme, alliteration, and figurative language a lot. Using poetry to learn English is a great addition to the arsenal you give students.
Best poems to learn English
I try to give almost all my grade levels some lessons in poetry, to spread out the learning but keep the text type on their mind. With the little ones I start with short poems, for example by Shel Silverstein. His poetry collection Where the Sidewalk Ends from 1974 is wonderful, and his poems are all quite understandable. His work contains lots of easy poems to learn English.
With my not so little ones I discuss lyrics and how they’re actually a lot like poetry. Where is the Love and Wrecking Ball are great for this. I also like Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson for this age group. And then my seniors really enjoy World War I poetry. Check out this website for other great ideas.
How to teach poetry in English
I start the little ones off with figurative language lessons. Metaphors, similes and personification are quite easy to understand for them. Then I add alliteration, repetition, rhyme, and hyperbole in there too. With my older kids I discuss symbolism, contrast, and assonance, as that goes a little deeper into the matter. Paradox and ambiguity are last in line, which I will only discuss with my seniors. I get them to annotate various poems and lyrics, and help them write an analysis of the poem in question.
It’s really super fun to see what they can do and understand when you teach them. I know I enjoy these lessons on poetry as much as they do. I’ve used a workbook in the past, but I can’t remember the name now. But I bet that if you search Teachers Pay Teachers, you can probably find some materials to use.
Now write it
But what is my favorite things about poetry lessons? Getting students to actually write some! Some of them are so good! And even if they’re not, they’re amazing for trying. I always enjoy reading what my students come up with so much.
My younger kids do a task to create an I AM poem. They have to finish sentences that start with I AM, I LOVE, I SEE, I DREAM, etc. They must also use figurative language, alliteration and rhyme in it. My in-betweeners create a poem with Love & Conflict as a theme. They must also try to use figurative language and imagery to convey the message. And my seniors write with an object in mind, such as the clock on the wall, or the trash can in the corner of the room.
So there you have it, this is what I do to help students use poetry to learn English, and I really enjoy it immensely. You should try it too!
Check out these articles on other reading topics:
Top 5 activities for World Book Day
How to get students to love reading
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