Teaching Poetry with Second Graders
Second graders love word play. Their comprehension is improving and they are starting to use larger words, which makes them a really fun bunch for writing poetry! It's a great group with which to do humorous poems. Try this simple list poem exercise, emphasizing the rhythm and rhyme:
Cookies, Cookies, Cookies
Flat cookies, lumpy cookies
Big round bumpy cookies
Cookies made with chocolate chips --
Those are just a few.
Thin cookies, crunchy cookies,
Filled with peanut munchy cookies,
Nut cookies, wafer cookies,
Butterscotch, too.
Dark brown windmill cookies,
Don't forget ginger cookies
Last of all, best of all,
I like Christmas cookies!
Amy H. Sacha
"Those are just a few," the word "too" at the end of the tenth line, the "Don't forget" in the thirteenth line and the ending, "Last of all, best of all, I like _______________," need to be left in place. This will allow the children to write poems that rhyme in spite of the topic they select. Brainstorm ideas with the class ahead of time (bugs, shoes, trees, pies, etc.) or dovetail with your current theme or favorite current topic.
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