Are you a poetry teacher who is going to teach poetry for the first time?
Are you facing some issues while teaching poetry to beginners?
Do you want to improve your poetry teaching method?
Are your students not performing well in poetry subjects?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you are on the right page.
Teaching poetry can be a haphazard task as a lot of students find this subject boring. To make them excited about a poetry subject, you should ask them to read a bulk of poetry and should change your teaching strategy.
Refer to this page to read a bulk of poetry and suggest it to your students.
In this article, we will discuss some essential poetry-teaching tips which will help you in changing your poetry-teaching strategy, and make poetry subjects interesting for your students.
1. Read out loud a poem twice:
You should start your class by reading a poem aloud to your students. Allow them to get indulged in the writing style and theme of the poem by listening to it.
You should always read the poem twice (or sometimes thrice) to your students to make them familiarize with it.
In the first reading, ask them to relax and enjoy the poem. In the second reading, ask them to look deeper into the poem and find out the hidden meanings.
After it, ask your students to read the poem on their own and highlight the words or lines they found interesting or vague.
When they are done, ask them to share their thoughts.
2. Read about the Poet:
To understand a poem, it is essential to know about the poet. Poems are mostly about the poet’s life and the era they reside in.
So, it is best to tell them the autobiography of the poet before reading their poem.
3. Teach figurative language:
Figurative language is an essential aspect of a poem as poets deliver deep themes through literary devices.
Some famous literary devices are simile, metaphor, allegory, personification, rhyme, and meter.
So, you should familiarize your children with different literary devices so that they can enjoy and analyze poems without any hurdles.
4. Plan a field trip to a nursing home:
To make learning poetry exciting for your students, you can take them on a trip to a nursing home.
Give them an activity to visit different elders of nursing homes and recite any piece of poetry to them to uplift their moods.
You can ask your students to learn any poem by heart if possible. Otherwise, reciting a poem while seeing it from the page is also okay.
5. Ask poets to visit your classroom:
You can ask different local poets to meet in your classroom and discuss their journey of becoming a poet with your students.
You can arrange a seminar where different poets will share their pieces of poetry and their journey of struggle and achievements.
This will fill your kids with excitement and will motivate them to become a poet.
6. Arrange different Skype calls:
You can arrange a Skype call with poets around the country so that they can communicate with your class.
You can also arrange a Skype call with other poetry classes and can ask both classes to share their favorite poems and poets.
7. Order a Poetry Anthology for your class:
You should make a poetry book or anthology a part of your syllabus.
The anthology will contain poems of different poets so your students can learn about different poets and forms of poems through it.
This anthology will remain with them so they can consult it whenever they want in their life.
8. Ask them to write poems:
You should give different writing activities to your students. Ask them to be creative and write a poem as they want.
You can give them the freedom to choose any particular topic, expression, or feeling, and write a poem in whatever manner they want.
You can also give them a poem and ask them to write a poem similar to that poet’s poems.
Another writing activity can be to ask your students to create a poetry anthology of their own.
Ask them to write 30 poems in a month and compile them in the form of an anthology.
9. Make a poetry corner:
In your classroom, you can make a poetry corner that displays your favorite poetry books and poetry lines.
You can also display the writings of your students in that corner.
10. Ask your students to present their poems:
You can ask your students to come in front of the classroom and present their poems.
Reading aloud their poems and presenting their analysis to their class fellows will boost their confidence.
Wrap Up:
These are ten teaching tips that will help your students in reading, understanding, and writing poems.
These activities will foster a love for poetry in their hearts and will motivate them to become professional poets in their lives.
These strategies will ensure that they love their poetry classrooms, and look forward to coming to their educational institute for learning this subject.
Do incorporate these tips in your classroom and see the magic.
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