Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Grade: 3
Title: Unit 7
Length of Study: 4 weeks
Genre Description: What is poetry?
Priority Standards:
Supporting Standards:
Write descriptive poems using figurative language
Essential Questions:
Mini Lesson Concepts/Topics
Preparation for Unit of Study:
You will want to go to your
school library or public library
and collect some children’s
poetry books to have for your
students to read and peruse.
The students will create
several different kinds of
poems during this unit. It
would be a great thing to save
each poem and create a
poetry book for each child at
the end of this unit of study.
Books can be created on
Resources
See attached page – Favorite children’s
poets Word document for links to
websites for these poets
Mentor Text
Children’s poets worth collecting:
Jack Prelutsky
Shel Silverstein
Alan Katz
Bare Books – You may want to
order some blank hardback
books from this company and
have the students create their
own poetry anthology.
http://www.barebooks.com/boo
ks.htm
Books are $1.75 each.
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
regular paper and bound with
a binder. What a wonderful
way to end the year with an
actual collection of writing for
each student.
Another
idea would be to hold a poetry
SLAM at the end and have
students read their poems to
their peers and or parents.
Lesson 1: What is poetry?
Ask your students this
question. Brainstorm on a a
chart what it is. Have the
poetry definition ready – see
attached. Show the students
the R is for Rhyme book,
discuss a few types of poetry.
(Preread the book and mark a
few pages from the book to
share.)
Teachers: You may want to
view this short video to see how
easy it would be to do a poetry
slam in your classroom. 2nd
grade poetry slam
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=HAAE6LJ6bDw
See Word document –
Poetry definition
Go to
this website and listen to
Jack Prelutsky read his
poems:
http://teacher.scholastic.co
m/writewit/poetry/poetry_l
isten.htm
This is a great book to use when
discussing different kinds of poems.
You may want to use a few pages
out of it to show the different kinds
of poems.
Share a few poems from some
of the children’s poets listed.
Have students get in pairs or
threes and look through some
poetry from Jack Prelutsky,
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Alan Katz and Shel Silverstein.
Of course if you have other
favorite children’s poets add
them at this time.
Lesson 2:
Go to the website listed and
work through the lesson with
Jack Prelutsky.
Step 1:
Word Warm-Ups Just as you
would stretch before you go
running, you need to warm up
before you start writing poetry.
Here are some of my favorite
exercises to help you stretch
your mind:
1. Word Play
Pick a word, any word, and think of all
the words that rhyme with that word. Try
first with one-syllable words, and then
with words of two or more syllables.
2. Object Observations
Pick an object — a pencil, a brick wall, a
clock, a tomato — anything. Then write
down everything you notice about that
object.
http://teacher.scholastic.co
m/writewit/poetry/jack_my
_poem.htm
This lesson is taken directly
from the above Scholastic
website.
Fill your room with some of Jack’s
Prelutsky’s books:
A Pizza the Size of the Sun,
Something Big has Been Here,
The New Kid on the Block and
many others.
Pizza, Pigs and Poetry, How to
write a poem, by Jack Prelutsky
is another great source to use
for writing poems
with your
students.
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
3. Synonym Silliness
Think of an adjective, such as happy,
soft, tall, or sleepy. Then write down all
the words you can think of that have the
same meaning as that adjective. This list
will help a lot when you're trying to
describe things.
Here are a few tips for you to follow
that have always helped me with my
writing. I recommend that you try
them!
1. Write as often as you can. That's what
writers do — they write.
2. Carry a notebook and jot down your
ideas immediately.
3. Keep a diary or journal — and try to
write at least a little in it every day.
4. Write first about the things closest to
you — yourself, or your family, friends,
and pets. It's a lot easier than writing
about things you know little or nothing
about.
5. If you're writing poems, don't worry
about trying to make them rhyme. It's
much more important to say what you
really want to say.
6. Try writing two or three different
poems about the same subject. Use
different points of view.
7. Look in the mirror and write about the
person looking back at you. Write
about how that person is feeling at that
moment.
8. Take a walk around your
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
neighborhood — and write about the
things you see there. Don't forget to take
notes in your notebook.
9. Don't expect to get things right the
first time. You do sometimes, but it's
definitely the exception. Rewriting is an
important step.
10. Sometimes, no matter how hard you
try to write, nothing comes out. Forget
about writing for a while, and go off and
do something else. Then try writing
again later.
Are you all warmed up? Then you're
ready to write your own poem. If you
want, you can choose one of the
poem-starters below. You can use it
to get going, and add as many
stanzas of your own as you like.
(See poem 1 an poem 2 in the next
column.)
Revising Guidelines
By now, you should have a first draft
of your poem, which means you're
ready to begin revising. To me,
rewriting is the most important part of
writing because nothing ever comes
out right the very first time. Here are
some guidelines I find helpful when I
begin revising my own poetry:
Poem 1
When I awoke one morning,
A stork was on my head. I asked,
"What are you doing there?"
It looked at me and said . . .
Hint: If you wish, you may substitute
any one-syllable bird, bug, or
mammal for the stork. You may
also change the word was to "sat,"
"stood," "snoozed," "perched," or
any other verb you think is
appropriate. You'll probably wind up
with a very different poem if there's
a mouse on your head instead of a
moose.
Poem 2
Almost every afternoon,
I eat pickles with a spoon.
Every evening right at six,
I eat pickles stacked on bricks.
Hint: You can have a lot of fun
writing about other ways to eat
pickles. You can also use
jellybeans, bananas, or potato chips
instead of pickles — and explain
the different ways that you eat
them. It's up to you.
1. Rewrite your poem at least once. I
rewrite most of my own poems at least
four or five times. Some I've even
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
rewritten as many as 100 times!
2. Don't rush! Poems can take as long as a
week, a month, or even a year to write.
3. How will you know when your poem is
done? I find that the poem lets me know
when it's done. It's just like being full
when you eat. Sometimes if you take
one more bite, you get a stomachache.
But, if you don't take that extra mouthful,
you'll feel perfectly satisfied. Well, it's the
same with poetry — you'll just know
when it feels right.
4. When you get frustrated, and feel that
the poem is not coming out the way
you'd like, put it aside and do something
else for a while. When this happens to
me, I work on another poem, or just go
to a ballgame!
5. Sleep on it! If you're stuck, try thinking
about your poem as you drift off to sleep.
When I do this, I find that I dream the
solution.
You may publishing it online in our
Poetry Collection.
Lesson 3: Compound
Descriptors Poem – As
given by Linda Hoyt at
CCIRA workshop
Teach the students on this day
how easy it is to write a poem.
These examples are on a Word
document created for your use. Use as
your mentor text. See attached –
Compound Descriptors Examples.
Example:
I’m a…
Cookie baking,
Van driving,
Activity organizing,
Meal making,
Homework checking,
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Today you will write a
Compound Descriptors
Poem.
1. Brainstorm things that your
students are: 3rd grade
students, daughter, sister,
child, reader, writer,
mathematician, scientist,
friend, cook, soccer player,
etc.
Have students create these
poems by creating lists and
then combining the lists. 2.
Students create lists of nouns
and verbs ending in ing. 3.
Then the students combine
them into a poem that
describes them.
House cleaning,
Laundry washing,
Mom
I’m a…
Ace making,
Ball digging,
Master spiking,
Pancake bouncing,
Volleyball player.
I’m a…
Man blocking,
Lineman shoving,
Master tackling,
Football player.
I’m a…
Snack eating,
Toy squeaker breaking,
Ball fetching,
Eye brow raising,
Bed napping,
Gate chewing,
Owner cuddling,
Scottie Dog.
The teacher should model this
in front of the students.
The teacher can use his/her
poem for the mentor text.
This lesson will probably take
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
at least 2 days to do.
Students may write more than
one and then choose the one
they like the best to publish
and put in their book.
Lesson 4: Adjective Acrostic
Poems –
1. Show and share some of the
poems from Steven Schnur’s
work to show your students
an acrostic poem.
2. Begin by brainstorming
adjectives for your name in
front of your students:
T – terrific, timely, talented,
tricky
E – energetic, eclectic, elegant
R–
E–
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
S–
A-
Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer
books by Steven Schnur
While doing this talk about
wanting to find the “just right”
adjectives that truly describe
you.
If you’d like make the rainbow
acrostic poems like the one in
the next column or just have
the students word process
them on the computer and
make the acrostic part larger
and bold when they type.
Lesson 5: Seasonal
Acrostics:
Or…have the students pic a
season and write an acrostic
poem to go with the season.
Have the students brainstorm
words using an Alpha Box
(See attached) to brainstorm
words about that season.
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Students brainstorm words
that they know about the
season and write them in the
box with the corresponding
letter.
The teacher should model this
brainstorming activity and also
have created a seasonal poem
beforehand to share and use
as s model/mentor text.
Lesson 6: Alliteration
lesson on page 31 of I Can
Write Like That
I Can Write Like That by
Susan
Ehmann and
Kellyann
First: Immerse your students Gayer
in alliteration by reading
several of the books listed in
the mentor texts section of
this plan.
Next: Explore the craft of
alliteration by writing some
alliterative sentences together
on big chart paper. Then
explain that each student will
See attached: Alliteration
definition saved as a Word
document
Note: You are preteaching
alliteration, simile and
Ellsworth’s Extraordindary
Electric Ears and Other Amazing
Alphabet Anecdotes by Valorie Fisher
Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke
by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Potluck by Anne Shelby
Some Smug Slug by Pamela
Duncan Edwards
Animalia by Graeme Base
A My Name is Alice by Jane Bayer
Alphabet Soup by Scott Gustafson
Amelia’s Fantastic Flight by Rose
Bursik
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles
Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
be an alliterative page with
their own name, adjectives
and verbs. Give an example:
Theresa was terrified of
training the truck sized
tarantula to tiptoe on the
terrace.
onomatopoeia so that the
students know what they are
K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo
and can use them in their ODE
by Giles Andreae
poems in a lesson to come later
in the unit.
Have your students look at
other books with
alliteration in them. Point
out sentences that use a
common letter for most of
the sentence and other
sentences where only part
of the sentence has
alliteration.
Give the students time to
write it out nicely and then
add a great illustration.
Lesson 7: Simile lesson on
page 60 of I Can Write Like
That
See attached: Defninition
Sheet saved as a document
titled “Simile”
First: Define the craft:
See attached: Simile
examples
Crazy Like a Fox by Loreen Leedy
Water Music, Poems for Children, by
Jane YolenWhe
When the Fireflies Come by Jonathan London
Hello, Harvest Moon, by Ralph Fletcher
All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka
Gentle Giant Octopus by Karen Wallace
The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Simile: An author’s craft in
which an author compares on
thing to another using words
like or as to evoke an image
or picture in the reader’s
mind.
from text
Sun Dance, Water Dance by Jonathan London
Tigress by Nick Dowson
If You Were a Simile by Trisha Speed Shaskan
My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by
Hanoch Piven
My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by
Libba Moore Gray
Notice and Name:
If your students are new to noticing
simile it is important to choose
similes that are obvious and contain
simple language
Prepare some simile examples on a
chart before you begin this lesson.
Take them right from the text.
See attached: Ice cream
simile paper for the students to
use and brainstorm.
Spend some time in mentor texts
pulling out the simile.
You may want to show this video
off of the internet.
http://www.brainpopjr.com/reading
andwriting/sentence/similes/previe
w.weml
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
You may want to create an anchor
chart like this:
Have the students use their 5
senses to create similes about a
familiar object such as the sun,
stars, fire, ocean, mountains,
animals, etc.
Have your students write about ice
cream and create similes
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
If You Were Onomatopoeia by Trish Speed
Shaskan
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
Vroomaloom Zoom by John Coy
Listen, Listen by Phyllis Gershator
Water Hole Waiting by Jane and Christopher
Kurtz
Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney
Lesson 8: Onomatopoeia lesson on page 44 of I Can
Write Like That
See attached
Onomatopoeia definition
You may want to create an
anchor chart like this:
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Notice and Name: Read
the book If You Were
Onomatopoeia aloud.
Have the students:Discuss
what an Onomatopoeia is and
read the definition
Brainstorm a list of
onomatopoeia words.
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Read aloud: The Listening
Walk by Paul Showers.
Next take a listening walk.
Have the students write down
listening/sound words as they
are on their walk.
Return to class and write a
short Listening Walk Poem
using onomatopoeia that
describe the sounds that they
heard. Have the students
share and guess where the
student was by the
sounds/onomatopoeia.
Lesson 9: Odes (This
will take many days to
complete.)
1. Odes are meant to be written
about everyday things. They
are a poem of praise.
Resources: Mark Overmeyer
class –Day 2
Lesson on writing Odes
Neighborhood Odes by Gary Soto
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by
Valerie Worth
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
You will want to make copies
of an ode from the Gary Soto
book or a Valarie Worth book.
Be intentional about the
example you choose.
Have the students make
“noticiings” about the text.
They can identify alliteration,
onomatopoeia, simile, vivid
verbs, repetition, etc.
Students can underline their
noticings in different colors.
The students can share out
their noticings while you
model marking them on a
copy under the document
camera.
Talk about reasons the author
may have chosen these words
in his/her poem/ode.
Next, after sharing some odes
and doing the noticings
activity, create a
“Sometimes/Always chart”
about odes. You can add to
this as you go.
Sometimes /Always chart
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Sometimes/always chart
(see example)
See attached:
example
Ode – Food
Then talk to the students and
model the brainstorming for
an ode. You will be writing
about a favorite food. Most
students should be able to do
this with ease, because
everyone has a favorite.
Create a graphic organizer to
brainstorm by drawing a circle
and then a smaller circle
inside. (see example Odefood example) List people,
places, ingredients and flavors
of that food on this graphic
organizer. Model for your
students as you think out
loud.
Next, have the students work
with a partner and talk about
the food that they chose and
talk about what was put on
the graphic organizer.
The teacher should take out a
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
clean sheet of paper or have it
in their writers notebook and
model the phrases about the
food. Just brainstorm:
Ex. –
cinnamon flavor
Rolling off my tongue,
In the kitchen,
Anticipation,
Flaky and buttery,
Eggs, yeast, flour, cinnamon
After that, have the students
take out a clean sheet of
paper and brainstorm phrases
about their food.
Give your students ample time
to make a list of phrases.
Bring your students back
together and model how to
begin the poem. (You may
have this already done in your
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
writer’s notebook.) Remind
them that an ode is a poem
that is a poem of praise.
Encourage your students to
support you as a writer. Have
them help you with yours.
Make their ideas/suggestions
count by writing them down as
you brainstorm.
Remind your students that:
Writers might:
1. Revise while they write
2. Poem writers may play
around with their words
3. Get all of their thoughts
down on paper first
4. Work on it as you go
If a student finishes early,
encourage them to go through
the same process with another
topic.
Make sure you build in a
sharing time. Students may
share about the writing, share
a part of the writing or share
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
the whole piece.
Finally, after you have
written several kinds of poetry
in the past few weeks, have
the students practice reading
their poetry beautifully and
hold a poetry slam or poetry
tea and invite parents to come
in and listen. Divide your
class into groups of 4-5
students and have the parents
sit with the group. This way
all parents will not have to
listen to all of the poetry and
all students will feel honored
and special.
Other books you may want
to look at for more ideas on
writing poetry with your
These books are excellent
students: Poetry Matters
resources for some other
by Ralph Fletcher and
great poetry writing.
Poetry Mentor Texts by
Dorfman and Cappelli
On Demand Writing Prompts:
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Unit of Study: Poetry Writing
Common Formative Assessment Tasks: Checks for Understanding
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