Thirteen posters include 2 which focus on elements of poetry, such as rhythm, meter, and rhyme schemes and 10 which focus on a particular form, including ballad, sonnet, ode, limerick, blank verse, haiku, epic, free verse, cinquain and villanelle. The last features onomatopoeia and other devices of sound. Each full-color 11” by 17” poster is printed on heavy stock. Included in the package with the posters is a reproducible 16-page student booklet with information from the posters.

What is Poetry?
What is Poetry? Poetry is easy to recognize, but difficult to define. It is easy to recognize because its form is distinctly different from the other two forms of literature: prose and drama (although drama may be written in verse). It is difficult to define because there is no single, unique characteristic that all poems share. Many poems make use of emotionally charged, concise, compact, musical language. Readers often are asked to make connections, to take leaps of imagination, and to interpret the meanings found in poems.

Poetry may be narrative, dramatic, or lyric. It may take many forms, such as that of a sonnet, a concrete poem, or a haiku. The speaker in a poem is the person, animal, or object whose point of view is reflected in the poem. The tone of the poem is the attitude of the speaker as revealed by the poem, and the mood of a poem is the atmosphere revealed in the poem.

Figures of speech—such as metaphors, similes, and personifications—and musical devices—such as meter, rhyme, and alliteration—are some of the techniques used by poets to create their poems. The theme(s) of a poem is the general idea, the meaning, or the insight into life that the reader gets from the poem. The themes of some poems are subject to interpretation and, therefore, are not always the same for various readers.

As teachers we cannot expect students to write poetry unless we introduce them to poetry in a pleasurable way. It is best to build on what students already know and currently experience in their popular culture. Look at song lyrics; reread nursery rhymes; look at Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Robert Service. Examine commercial jingles and songs and chants used in games, such as jump rope.

Create a Poem takes a light-hearted approach to writing poetry. If you wish to introduce more serious poetry to your students, just substitute that type of poetry for the examples provided.

It is unlikely that you will want to use the whole of Create a Poem with your students. Pick and choose what you can use; put it together in a different order; use it any way you choose, but do remember, HAVE FUN!

Download the Table of Contents page here.

Grades 5 and up.

SPECIAL SET PRICE: If purchased individually, these products would cost $50.90.