Poems and games for school children

POEMS AND GAMES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN
There are several ways to organize a March-Madness-style poetry unit and  four silly or funny poems. For older students, you could also organize poems by form—sonnets, free verse, limerick, haiku, etc. I group my brackets by subject and start with love poems vs. love poems, nature poems vs. nature poems, and so on. Depending on the age of your students and how much time you want to devote to this unit, you can decide how many poems you want to discuss and eliminate each day. Taking two poems at a time, students discuss the poetic devices found in each poem and how they contribute to the poem’s overall greatness.
Spring is herem and that’s a great reason to enjoy a poetry unit with your students! But the fact that these poetic seasons also coincide with NCAA’s March Madness and MLB’s Opening Day makes competitive poetry activities the perfect way to bring a little poetry (and a lot of fun) into your classroom. After all, what excites kids more than a fierce and friendly competition?
If you’re an English teacher, looking for fun poetry activities for high school or middle school students, I’ve got you covered. I’m opening up my poetry toolbox and sharing some of my favorite (and most successful) poetry games and activities! Whether you’re looking for a stand-alone lesson or something more, there’s something here for everyone.

Pop Sonnets

The creation of pop sonnets is one of my favorite poetry activities to use in conjunction with the reading of a Shakespearean play, but it can be used as a stand-alone lesson. The hook is that modern-day songs have been turned into Shakespearean sonnets. You can study one of Shakespeare’s sonnets and ask students to modernize it. Then, work in reverse by re-working a modern-day song as a sonnet. Or, just use this as a “hook” to help students feel more comfortable with Shakespearean language. Take a look and thank me later.