Teaching Students How to Analyze Poetry

Teaching poetry can be daunting for some, so I hope my new pack of Poetry Analysis handouts will help you and your students through the entire process. They are designed to work with ANY poem, so you get to choose the perfect poem for your students.

I divided the sections into five areas of analysis:

• Form (Structure)

• Word Choice & Tone

• Figurative Language & Imagery

• Theme & Author's Purpose

• Context

Each area has its own page of critical-thinking questions, so they can be used individually rather than all together. For example, if I want my students to practice just figurative language one day, I can select a poem and have them just complete the Figurative Language & Imagery questions.

They are also perfect for sub plans. 

OPTIONAL: STATION ROTATIONS

I know many teachers love to use stations and have their students rotate from each station to the next (having them get up and move is great for the brain, too). So I included station signs that you can use and even helpful cheat sheets for a few of the stations.

Station 1: Form (Structure)

This area focuses on the structure and form of the poem. Students analyze the stanza breaks, the rhyme scheme, the rhythm (meter), and how it all contributes to the tone/mood of the poem. I include two helpful cheat sheets on identifying a rhyme scheme with examples and how to identify the meter/rhythm.

Station 2: Word Choice & Tone

This area focuses on the specific words and their effect on the poem. Students analyze the rhymes (and lack thereof); specific verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and sound devices such as alliteration and consonance. They specifically dive into the negative and positive connotations of words. I include a cheat sheet with the definitions of all the different examples of assonance, consonance, and rhetorical devices used in poetry.

Station 3: Figurative Language & Imagery

This area focuses specifically on the figurative devices used to create imagery in the poem. Students identify and explain the different figurative language types used, including metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, and symbolism. I include a cheat sheet with definitions and examples of each figurative language device.

Station 4: Theme & Author's Purpose

This area focuses on the meaning of the poem. Students look at the title, analyze the subject matter, and think about why the author wrote it. 

Station 5: Context

This area is an extension of theme and author's purpose. It asks students to research what was going on in the world and even in the author's life at the time. Because many poems have connections to world or regional events, or are inspired by people, places, or things, this is a way for students to learn about the context of the poem that can bring an even deeper understanding to the work.

Using the stations is OPTIONAL. The handouts themselves do not have the station number on them. 

I hope you find these helpful for your poetry unit. These, along with ALL of my poetry resources, are included in my mega bundle.

Hands-On Poetry Activities

Do you have students who struggle writing poetry? I always have several each year. A few activities that have been extremely effective with both struggling writers and those who love creating original poems have been the more "hands-on" activities.

When your students are struggling writing, have them:
1. Write "chance" poems. They choose pre-selected words and put them into any order they wish. I have had students who hate to write come up with some amazing poems this way. The retail kits for magnetic poetry (which is practicing chance poetry) are pretty expensive. You can create your own using a digital kit, or simply cut words from newspapers and magazines (see below). I had students make these years ago and store them in plastic bags.  ONLINE ACTIVITY: They can create their poems using an online program like the one found on MagneticPoetry.com.

2. Create a "Dada" poem. "Dada" poems stem from the Dadaism art movement of the early 20th century. The anti-establishment movement often parodied art, or perhaps "found" art in everyday objects and images. Whether you consider their works art or not, they certainly paved the way for modern movements.

One "Dada" poem your students can create is to draw words from a bag at random. As they draw them, they place the words in the poem in the same order as drawn. That's it. When they want the poem to end, they stop drawing words.

A second "Dada" poem is a "sound" poem. Your students can create a poem using only sounds and record it for the class. Most of the sound poems created during the Dada movement were nonsense, not really words at all. However, beat-box artists practice a form of this, and while it may be nonsense, it's still interesting and can be catchy. ONLINE ACTIVITY: Students can use the website Incredibox to mix different beat-box sounds.

3. Have your students create "redacted" poems. "Redacted" poems are similar to "chance" poems, except they cross-out (or redact) words on a page, rather than pick and place the words. I've seen many beautiful examples on Pinterest using book pages. However, articles from a newspaper or magazine work just as well. (See my examples below.)

Students can either use markers or colors to cross-out the words they do not want to include, or use white-out/liquid paper.

 The samples shown here came from the following publications: Entertainment Weekly, Car and Driver, MacLife, and Helzberg Diamonds.

For reluctant boys, provide them with a short advertisement from one of their favorite magazines. Many of my male students like hunting/fishing, sports, and cars. When given a short grouping of words about something they like, they'll most likely enjoy it. The only problem I consistently face with them is keeping it school appropriate.

Girls typically write more about love and heartbreak. I have found jewelry ads to be most effective for them because they will contain more words like "love," "sparkling," and "irresistible."

All of these activities are featured in my "Poetry 9-1-1: First Aid for Writing Poetry" packet, which also contains over 40 formulas for writing original poems. You can also get the presentation Write Like Poets that has students write parody poems and many other formulas while learning more about famous poets and movements.

I recently updated it with redacted poem page activities. And if you are looking for additional poetry resources, I have over 35 poetry downloads, including many freebies. Click on the links below to check out my teacherspayteachers store.