Poetry Unit Wrap-Up Activity 6: Teach a Poem

Have each student present a poem to the class.

After reading the poem aloud, students can discuss the following:

• Author - Who is the author? What is his or her history? When did he or she write this poem? Give additional pertinent author background information.


• Figurative Speech - metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole


• Poetic Devices - onomatopoeia, repetition, alliteration


• Rhyme Scheme - Does the poem rhyme? If so, which lines rhyme? How many lines does the poem contain? How many stanzas? Is this poem in a particular form such as a sonnet or a limerick?


• Meter - What is th meter of the poem? Iambic? Trochaic? How many syllables are accented per line?


• Analysis of the Poem - What does it mean? How is that meaning conveyed? Could there be alternate interpretations?

Poetry Unit Wrap-Up Activity 4: "Publishing"

Give your students options. Have them publish their best work by:

• submitting it to a newspaper or magazine


• reading it at a coffee house or in another public forum


• displaying it in a public place


• giving it as a gift to another person


• printing it on a shirt or a mug


• putting it on a website

Show students there are many forms of "publishing."

Poetry Unit Wrap-Up Activity 1: Coffee House

Have a class coffee house (or even better a school-wide coffee house) where students can read out poems written by themselves or by others.

Parents and the community could be invited to participate as audience members.