How To Write A Poem by Kwame Alexander, Deanna Nikaido, illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
A follow up to Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet’s 2019 book, How to Read a Book, this recently published wonder inspires all of us to write a poem… or two.
In a recent collaboration with a teacher, she said, Writing poetry with my students brings me joy.” Kwame Alexander seems to allude to this himself in a historic videoThe Human Soul Distillled, about why poetry is so important. Poetry is an accessible stepping stone to many types of writing.
Today, enjoying a few minutes writing haiku with some 2nd graders, I was uplifted by the skills we strengthen writing poetry. One student was using his newly acquired fencing vocabulary to craft his writing. Another student was stretching his imagery to describe the inspiration of a cloud-filled sky Still other student was contemplating the number of syllable in a word to match the structure of his haiku.
Though we use haiku as teachers often, there are many poetry forms that are developed based on syllable count. There are also rhyme based poems that require knowledge of sounds and a close ear. Poems that tell a story or make a list. Dozens upon dozens of poetry styles to enjoy with any level of writer.
As Tammy Mulligan wrote in her recent post, it is surely poetry season, get out there and enjoy it.
For more inspiration, check out these poetry calendars.
Susan, I love that poetry prompt calendar at the end. Is there a way to download it or can you send me a PDF?
I think if you click on it you can save it as a photo and then print it. It originally came from Elisabeth Ellington (the dirigible plum). Or if you like the we are teachers one you can google search we are teachers calendar. They have prompt calendars for each month.