Objectives
• Students will use the Internet to research poetry.
• Students will read a free verse poem and find another example of free verse written by a student.
• Students will write a free verse poem and submit it to the Web site.
Description
This is a PBS for Kids Website that defines and explores different kinds of poetry, and includes examples of each. It features many poems written and submitted by children.
Suggested Activities
• Have students exchange their poems with a partner. Have the partner read the poem and state what he or she likes about it, and what changes could be made to improve it. Have the poet revise the poem based on this feedback.
• Discuss the different kinds of poetry students have studied so far (cinquain, free verse, haiku, limericks). Ask students which form they prefer to read and write, and why.
Level Activities
• Have students click onto http://www.poetry4kids.com/ to access another site focused on poetry. Have them:
click on Rhyming Dictionary and enter words from their free verse poems. Have them make a list of the rhyme combinations they find.
use the different rhyme combinations they find to transform their free verse poems into different types of poems.
gather their poems and use them to compile a class poetry book.