3 Easy Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month in an Upper Elementary Classroom

Did you know April is National Poetry Month? Maybe you have a whole poetry unit planned, or maybe you are searching for quick and easy poetry activities to do with your students that you can weave into your other lesson plans. Either way, here are some simple poetry activities you can do with your 4th, 5th, and/or 6th grade students.

1. Read Aloud a Novel That's Written In Different Poetic Forms

If you need a good mentor text for teaching poetry, then check out GONE FISHING: A NOVEL IN VERSE by Tamera Will Wissinger. It's a short novel--only 120 pages (with pictures!)--and the entire story is told through various poems. The poems are labeled under each chapter title, and there is a glossary in the back of the book that explains each type of poem and different poetry techniques. After reading the story to your students, have them choose a poetic form from the glossary and write their own poem. Acrostic and Free Verse are my personal favorites because they're the easiest for me. Also, I found this book at my local library, so if you want to save money, check to see if your library has it.

Short book (only 120 pages)

Type of poem: Tercet Variation

Free Verse Poem

Concrete Poem

Sample page from the glossary

2. Read and Write Haikus

Haikus are super simple and an easy way to incorporate poetry into your daily lessons. If you're looking for a good book to read aloud to your students, check out THE CANYON'S EDGE by Dusti Bowling. The entire novel is written in haikus. Once you're finished reading the book, have your students write their own haikus. If you're looking for other activities to do with the book or a FREE novel study guide, sign up for my email list here, and you'll get access to the whole guide.

3. Use Simile and Metaphor Task Cards

If you want a simple lesson on similes and metaphors, and you want to quickly assess your students' understanding, then use task cards. You can do a 5-10 minute mini lesson, and then send your students off to complete the task cards. Or you can assign the task cards as an activity if you need something easy for sub plans.

Have students read the cheat sheet and then complete the task cards. You can get these Simile and Metaphor Task Cards for FREE by signing up for my email list here.

Will you be celebrating National Poetry Month with your students in April? If so, which of the above activities sounds the easiest to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.