Are you a true lover of poetry? Are you an avid and exceptional teacher of poetry in the classroom? If so… then this article is not for you.

This article is for the rest of us teachers who know that poetry has value… but with limited time and so much to cover… poetry needs to prove its case.

Poetry for Teachers Who Prefer Math and Science

Some have felt they were missing the point… or the value of teaching children to write poetry. It just wasn’t their style… and they thought they sounded kind of funny when they tried to explain the profoundness of poetry in being able to uniquely express the human condition.

These teachers understood that poetry could be fun, interesting, artistic, and beautiful. Great! But they wanted more than fun, interesting, artistic, and beautiful. There had to be some kind of “academic” reason for teaching poetry that students would understand and apply… beyond poetry.

Like many teachers, I myself suspected that poetry had the power to communicate to children what ordinary essay and report writing could not. I suspected poetry could be harnessed for academic gains and not just artistic revelry.

The goal for me with poetry was not to simply transform children into “poets” but also to transform them into “skilled and observant communicators.” I believed and dreamed… that poetry had the potential to help transform students writing… across the curriculum!

Here is what I discovered along the way…

Six Traits, Poetry, Patterns, and Communication

I’ve long felt that being a skilled communicator is among the most valuable assets that a person can possess. Even if a person ends up in a science or math oriented profession, being able to effectively communicate one’s ideas will likely have a larger impact on a career than the ideas themselves. A truly skilled communicator has complete mastery over the words they use and the meaning those words convey.

The “Six Traits of Writing” along with “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” has transformed my teaching of poetry in the classroom. When teaching poetry I now achieve many goals that transfer over to all of the writing that my students do… across the curriculum.

Out of the six traits found in the “Six Traits of Writing” model it seems that there are three traits that are inherently intertwined with the teaching of poetry writing to children. They stand out for me because I find that I am able to communicate their concepts very effectively when teaching poetry… and the concepts learned transfer over into all the writing my students do. This makes teaching poetry fun… and a good use of time!

Three Traits of Poetry Writing Which Improve Student Writing… Across the Curriculum

1. Organization and structure - The most popular forms of poetry that children are taught all seem to have a very definite pattern and structure. They are powerful and compact patterns that create powerful rhythm and meaning. By putting focus on the structure and the pattern in these rather simple poems you can help children to see the organization and structure in much of what they will both read and write… across the curriculum. (If you have used “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” with your students, you will find that these poems and the patterns found within them are almost a natural extension of the Pattern Based Writing program. Be sure to go to the “PatternBasedWriting.com” home page and see what I mean…)

2. Word choice and usage – The major poetry patterns have descriptive use of language built right into the pattern. Each word in student created poetry is carefully chosen and each word has a specific intent within the poem. Students often consider many choices for that one valuable word in that one specific position. When you have only 17 syllables for an entire poem… you have to be very picky and consider many different word choices… until you find the one that is just right! I’ve found it’s pretty easy to transfer this skill over to students’ essay and report writing.

3. Voice – Often a complete and unique voice is both started and completed in as little as 17 syllables! The most popular poems children are taught to write are powerfully condensed units of expression. It is easy to compare these short poems and clearly hear a unique voice in each one of them. When you compare a Limerick to a Haiku the shift in voice is… an easy teaching moment.

Getting the Most Out of Poetry

Poetry has a lot to offer in helping students to become artistic poets as well as successful students. Using a combination of “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” and the “Six Traits of Writing” model will transform your teaching of poetry writing into both an artistic and academic endeavor!

Be sure to read “Popular Forms of Poetry to Teach Children” and discover over 15 different types and aspects of poetry that children just love!

1. Challenge students’ thinking and writing skills
2. Create interest in writing and inspire creativity
3. Get reluctant writers writing
4. Help students develop the habit of writing every day
5. Practice for writing assessments
6. You are giving a classroom assignment that involves writing

Kinds of Writing Prompts for Elementary and Middle School Writing

• Essay writing prompts – Students will explain something from their point of view. It will be explained as they see the world.
• Expository writing prompts – Students will produce writing in an explanatory or informative nature.
• Narrative writing prompts – Students will narrate either a personal story or a fiction story.
• Persuasive writing prompts – Students will take a stand and logically argue a position.
• Creative writing prompts – Students will use their imagination and enter the world of fantasy.
• Journal writing prompts – Students will explore their experiences, feelings, thoughts, and emotions… Students will explore who they are and the life they live.

Writing Prompts across the Curriculum

Often teachers think of writing across the curriculum simply as “giving an assignment.” When they are teaching social studies, they gave a social studies assignment, and now it’s science, so they will give a science assignment…

The truth is “A WRITING TEACHER” teaches writing:
1. So that our students may fall in love with writing.
2. So that WE get to read good writing.
3. So that our students may thank us when they receive their Pulitzer Prize in Literature.
4. So that our students will become effective communicators.
5. So that our students will write well across the curriculum, so that THEY will be HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL students!

Don’t wait for language arts to “teach writing.” Give “writing prompts” across the curriculum.

Tips and Tricks for Using Writing Prompts

1. Have a purpose or objective for giving the writing prompt. Be sure to read “How to Use Writing Prompts in Teaching Writing.”
2. Make the prompt simple, yet complex. This is what is at the heart being both engaging and compelling. Simple enough that they understand it and can write about it confidently, but complex enough that students will engage in new thoughts and new ways of thinking.
3. Vary the type and purpose of your writing prompts. Predictable is the opposite of compelling and engaging.
4. Be prepared. Do not create writing prompts on the spur of the moment.

Letting the Class Create the Writing Prompts: Pros and Cons

Pros:
• Kids will think of things that adults never would! (or at least in a way that adults never would)
• You get to learn more about what your students think about and what interests them.
• It is great fun to have students create the prompts. There is usually an air of excitement in the class and the discussion is almost always lively.
• It inspires students and engages the group. What they think about has value!

Cons:
• Can take on too strong a “voting” or “popularity contest” aspect.
• Not all the students will like the prompt, especially when the prompt is not coming from their inner circle of friends.
• Who exactly is in charge here? Students may start to wonder…
• Students may start to perceive it as busy work. “Boy, the teacher doesn’t have to do anything… and we just write and write and write…”
• The same ideas start to repeat themselves. Sometimes students change just one or two words from the last writing prompt.

My experience is that it is best to set a routine for letting students choose the writing prompts. You want to keep all the pros without any of the cons. (Kids like to know what they can expect.)
• From time-to-time
• Once a week
• Every day

Having Students Individually Choose their Own Topics to Write About: Pros and Cons

Pros:
• Gives student the freedom to develop their own writing voice and their own style of writing.
• Teaches self-reliance. Students must learn that often people are not going to tell them what to do. However, it is still their job to not only produce the work, but to also “wow them.”
• Students will likely choose a subject they are an expert in. This will give them confidence in their writing. They will likely develop certain writing skills quicker since they do not have to learn the information at the same time they are doing the writing.
• Many students enjoy the freedom. For many students, this is the way they will develop a true love for writing.
 
Cons:
• Some will want to write about the same thing every single time. If you don’t closely monitor their writing… many students will.
• Some students will prefer to write about rather superficial things without exploring any real “deep thoughts.” (Video game #1, video game #2, movie #1, video game #3, movie #2, TV show #1…)
• Students may perceive it as busy work. (Having students read it to at least one other person reduces this.)

When you are having students choose what they want to write about you really need to set up what you expect (and hope) the students will get from this. Students that love to write won’t need an explanation. Those that don’t love to write… yet… do need an explanation… and some inspiration…

1. Are your middle school students remedial writers or are they on grade level?
2. How do you bridge the gap between your remedial writers and your high achieving writers?
3. What are appropriate goals and objectives of middle school writing instruction?

The Six Traits of Effective Middle School Writing Instruction

Many students are ready for this kind of writing instruction. However, if your students are not, the question is, “What is the fastest way to get them ready for this?”

1. Students apply the skills of using both precise and descriptive language.
2. Students apply advanced levels of syntax and sentence structure.
3. Students apply the skills of precision in language, clarity in language, and unique expression in language.
4. Students develop the knowledge and skills of writing in a variety of genres and across the curriculum.
5. Students engage in deep analysis of many genres of writing and use evaluative rubrics in their analysis.
6. Students apply advanced language usage and sentence structure to essay writing and composition assignments.

Bridging the Gap between Remedial and High Achieving Middle School Writers

One of the greatest frustrations in teaching middle school writing is the wide range of academic skills that students in the same class possess. There is a much larger gap between the high achievers and students who are struggling when compared with both elementary school and high school students.

In elementary school the gap in student achievement is much smaller because there has been less time for the gap to grow. In high school students are essentially on different career paths and as such are in different classrooms. (Furthermore, the statistics on the national high school dropout rates are dismal. This does make it easier for high school teachers; however it is a national failure that we must address!)  

Three-Step Plan for Scaffolding and Remedial Instruction 

1. Get everyone on the same page.
2. Scaffold the new instruction.
3. Remediate with students who still struggle.

Your writing instruction needs to be accessible (inspirational and motivational) across a wide range of abilities!

With “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” you will:
1. Quickly get everyone on the same page!
2. Easily remediate with students who still struggle!
3. NOW because ALL your students are engaged, scaffolding the new writing instruction actually WORKS!