1. CHOOSE A POEM that speaks to you and illustrates a particular feeling or poetry technique such as simile and metaphor, personification, sensory description, writing in the second person, etc. The poem is also useful if it contains a line, or portion of a line, that students can use as a writing prompt.
   
2. DO NOT USE A RHYMING POEM. There is nothing wrong with poetry that rhymes, but young writers will invariably make rhyming their first priority to the exclusion of more important matters such as exploration of feelings and use of metaphor.
   
3. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO USE A POEM WHOSE STYLE OR SUBJECT MATTER SEEMS A BIT ADVANCED FOR YOUR STUDENTS. Students do not need to read only poems written for children. With help and encouragement they will respond to a wide range of writings by adult poets. Some examples can be found among the poems of Pablo Neruda, Elizabeth Bishop and Carl Sandburg.
   
4. WRITE YOUR OWN POEM in response to, or in the style of, the example poem. This is crucial because it will reveal whether the poem is a good model for the students while also giving them another example that they can emulate. It will also clarify the goals of the lesson for you, the teacher.  
   
5. DISTRIBUTE AND READ the poems to your students. Discuss by eliciting student responses about what they liked and didn't.   DO NOT make this into a lesson about the meaning.   It's okay to just tell them.
   
6. HAVE A DISCUSSION about the writing techniques used in the poem and brainstorm ideas for their own poem (based on the example).
   
7. WRITE A GROUP POEM on the board by asking students to volunteer lines.
   
8. ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE THEIR OWN POEM. Prior to writing, make certain they understand they do not need to be concerned about spelling, punctuation or whether they write in cursive or print. All that is important in this initial process is getting their initial thoughts on paper. Writing usually takes no more than 15 - 20 minutes. They also do not need to put their work into a poetic form, although form is something that can be explored in later lessons.
   
9. MAGIC WORDS. Although there are a variety of creative helpers that can be used, most of which are beyond the scope of this article, "magic words" are essential, easy to create, and always useful. Simply write a variety of words on small cards. Hand 5 or 6 cards to each student. The words can be used in the poem in any manner a student desires however they are not required to use the words and can ignore them if they choose. I find that, over time, there will be some students who will refuse the words and others who always have more confidence just by having them in front of them whether they use them or not.
   
10. IT'S OKAY FOR STUDENTS TO "STEAL" ideas from the group poem or from any brainstorming ideas you've written on the board.
    
11. ASK STUDENT'S TO VOLUNTEER TO READ THEIR POEMS to the class. Use this as an opportunity to give input on being a good audience and making the classroom a safe place to explore feelings and thoughts with poetry. Obviously, never insist that a student share their work with the class.
    
12. PRAISE THEM.
    
13. RESPOND TO EACH STUDENT'S POEM in writing, ONLY IN A POSITIVE MANNER, on each poem. This is admittedly a time-consuming process, but it's crucial that students know they are being heard. Students will often write quite emotional or personally revelatory poems that deserve a thoughtful response. Even the student who was unable to write more than a line should be encouraged with something like, "a good beginning."
    
14. TYPE A FEW OF THE POEMS from each lesson. Use this as an opportunity to put the chosen poems in a poetic "form". It's okay to correct the spelling and punctuation. You will be reading and discussing these student poems during the next session so make sure students have the option of keeping the poems private by writing "DO NOT TYPE" on their poems.   (When creating your own lesson plans, you will ideally want to also include one or two examples of student poetry along with the example poem and your own poem. Be sure to get permission before publishing a student's poem in a lesson plan.)  
    
15. AT THE NEXT LESSON READ (or have the students read) THE TYPED POEMS. PRAISE THEM. Discuss what was successful.   Ask students to comment on what they liked, noticed, or felt.
    
16. BEGIN THE NEW LESSON PLAN AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.  

REMEMBER - The most important predictor of success teaching poetry is if you, the teacher, are excited about the lesson. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of times you can teach even the most excellent lesson before it will become stale and the magic will be gone.   ALWAYS BE READING AND WRITING.

Created by Christine Kravetz - cakravetz@cox.net
California Poets in the Schools - Multiple Levels


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