poem writing 4th grade

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Poetry Writing Lessons for Kids

There are many different ways to write poems as well as lots of techniques you can learn to help you improve your writing skill. Here are many of the poetry writing lessons for children that I have created to help you become a better poet, including how to write funny poetry, poetic rhythm, poetic forms and other styles of verse, as well as lesson plans for teachers and video lessons.

How to Write Funny Poetry

• Chapter 1: Writing Poetry
• Chapter 2: How to Rhyme
• Chapter 3: Choosing a Topic
• Chapter 4: Making it Funny
• Chapter 5: Types of Funny Poems

Rhythm in Poetry

• You Can Scan, Man
• I Am the Iamb
• Okie Dokie, Here’s the Trochee
• More than Two Feet

Poetic Forms

A poetic “form” is a set of rules for writing a certain type of poem. These rules can include the number of lines or syllables the poem should have, the placement of rhymes, and so on. Here are lessons for writing several common poetic forms.

• How to Write an Acrostic Poem
• How to Create Book Spine Poetry
• How to Write a Cinquain Poem
• How to Write a Clerihew
• How to Write a Concrete or “Shape” Poem
• How to Write a Diamante Poem
• How to Create a “Found Poem”
• How to Write a Free Verse Poem
• How to Write a Haiku
• How to Write a Limerick
• How to Write a Sonnet
• How to Write a Tanka Poem
• How to Write a Triolet

Other Poetic Styles

There are many different styles of poems. These are not “poetic forms” because they don’t usually have firm rules about length, syllable counts, etc., but they are common enough that many well-known children’s poets have written poems like these.

• How to Write an Alliteration Poem
• How to Write an Apology Poem
• How to Write a “Backward” Poem
• How to Write an Exaggeration Poem
• How to Write a “Favorite Things” List Poem
• How to Write a Funny Epitaph Poem
• How to Write a Funny List Poem
• How to Write a Traditional “Mother Goose” Nursery Rhyme
• How to Write a Fractured Nursery Rhyme
• How to Write an “I Can’t Write a Poem” Poem
• How to Write an Onomatopoeia Poem
• How to Write an Opposite Day Poem
• How to Write a “Playing With Your Food” Poem
• How to Write a Repetition Poem
• How to Write Riddle Rhymes
• How to Write a “Roses are Red” Valentine’s Day Poem
• How to Write a Silly Song Parody
• How to Write a Tongue Twister

Reciting Poetry

• How to Host an Open Mic Poetry Party
• How to Host a Poetry Slam
• How to Recite a Poem Like an Expert

Other Poetry Writing Lessons

• Can You Make Up Words?
• Describe the Sky – A Poetry Creativity Workout
• Evoking the Senses in a Poem
• Five Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
• How to Start a Poetry Journal
• “Forced Rhymes” and How to Avoid Them
• That Doesn’t Sound Right to Me
• Twenty Fun Writing Prompts for Kids

Poetry Lesson Plans for Teachers

• Alliteration and Assonance Lesson Plan
• Onomatopoeia Poetry Lesson Plan
• Personification Poetry Lesson Plan
• Rhyme Schemes Lesson Plan
• Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan

Video Poetry Lessons

• Awesome Acrostics – A video poetry writing lesson
• How to Rhyme – A video poetry writing lesson

Poetry Dictionaries and Rhyming Words Lists

When reading these lessons, you may come across some unfamiliar words. If you see a poetic term and don’t know what it means, you can always look it up in the Poetic Terms Dictionary. Poetry4kids also has a rhyming dictionary and a list of rhyming words you can use to help you write poems.

• Poetic Terms Dictionary for Kids

Rhyming Dictionary for Kids

• Rhyming Words Lists

Other Useful Poetry-Writing Lessons

There are loads of websites on the Internet that offer helpful lessons for children on how to write poems. Here are a few you may find useful:

• Writing Rhyme and Meter
• How to Teach Poetry Writing in Four Easy Lessons
• Poetry Worksheets and Printables

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Shannon Maree Teaching

Poetry for 4th Grade: Make it Fun

Poetry for 4th grade can be incredibly tricky. Over the years, I’ve learned the key points to help students truly understand what they’re reading and master poetry.

How to Teach Poetry

One of the first things I do when teaching students about poetry is I give them permission to be confused. It may sound odd, but poetry is often confusing for adults and children. By normalizing the idea and letting them know it’s okay to be confused it creates a mental shift in how students feel when they get stuck. My students LOVE learning that poetry confuses me sometimes too.

The next step is to give students strategies to use when they’re confused by a poem…because it will happen! Some strategies we practice are:

• Re-read the poem multiple times
• Make note of figurative language and comparisons being made
• Jot down an idea of what the theme might be
• Visualize: draw a picture or create a mental picture of what the poem is describing
• Circle unknown words or phrases (come back and try to use context clues later)
• Does the title give us any clues?
• Calm breathing, some students get frustrated by poetry and helping them deescalate emotionally helps them to be able to think critically about the poem

Poetry, Drama, Prose

4th-grade poetry common core standards require students to explain the difference between poetry, drama, and prose. There are so many fun ways to help students with this skill. Here are some of my favorites!

• Hula Hoop Venn Diagram: tape hula hoops down on tile floor (classroom or hallway) and have students use Expo markers to discuss the differences
• Act It Out: Have students act out dramas to deepen their understanding of the different elements. Students also love to transform a poem or prose into their own drama! This is a great quick assessment to see if they understand the various elements.
• Egg Hunt : April is Poetry month which usually aligns perfectly with Easter. A great way to channel student energy before spring break is with a poetry egg hunt!

• I buy some cheap Easter eggs then fill them with these fraction task cards.
• Depending on the weather, I hide them inside or outside! During math, the students take clipboards and recording sheets with them as they hunt for eggs!

• When they find an egg, they solve the problem, put the task card back in the egg, hide the egg for another student to find, and begin looking for their next egg.

Poetry Vocabulary

Are you exclusively teaching poetry or focusing on poetry, drama, and prose? Either way, STUDENTS NEED THE VOCABULARY to be successful. Creating flap books, digital word walls, and personal (along with class) anchor charts are some fun ways for students to organize the words. Here is some poetry vocabulary that I include:

• Elements and tools of poetry : lines, stanzas, theme, meter, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and mood
• Figurative language: simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification, hyperbole, and idioms

Tips for Teaching Poetry

• Expose students to a wide variety of authors, topics, levels of difficulty, and forms of poetry
• MAKE IT FUN!
• Teach strategies to use when reading poetry
• Practice using context clues

4th Grade Poetry: Common Core Standards

Even if your state doesn’t follow the common core, most 4th graders are expected to be able to read and comprehend age-appropriate poetry.

When teaching poetry for elementary students, they are responsible for mastering poetry common core standards. Referenced here as the ability to:

Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text. (RL4.5)

Even though poetry isn’t specifically mentioned in many standards it’s still a key skill. Students are expected to be able to apply those skills when reading poetry. One area I always see my students struggle to do this is context clues!

Poetry for 4th Graders: Testing

Whether it’s teaching poetry for 4th grade, poetry, drama, and prose for common core, or any skill… it’s crucial to know our students’ level of understanding. The fastest and easiest way I’ve found to do this is through self-grading assessments. This is the resource I use to check in with my students after I teach poetry, drama, and prose. Actually, I use it for every core 4th-grade reading standard I love it so much!

As a new mom and full-time teacher, I found myself stretched to the max. Something had to change…and you can read more about how self-grading assessments changed my life forever right here.

What are your favorite poetry activities? Drop them in the comments below. I’d love to hear your ideas!

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Happy Poetry Writing! It’s such a fun way to expand your students’ writing capabilities, and I hope these poetry lesson ideas help you! And if you’re looking for more ways to engage your students, I’ve got tons of ideas in my free Classroom Community Planner . Download it for free here to keep the fun going after your elementary poetry unit!

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24 Favorite 4th Grade Poems Your Students Will Love

“I made myself a snowball, as perfect as can be …”

Looking for the best 4th grade poems? We’ve put together a great list of poetry you can use in your classroom lessons right now! This collection of poetry covers a wide variety of topics and ranges from simple sweetness to more complex prose. With options for different reading levels, you’ll find something for every student!

1. How to Write a Very Long Poem by Kenn Nesbitt

“…you should try this little writing trick.”

2. Dream Variations by Langston Hughes

“To fling my arms wide in some place of the sun…”

3. Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky

“…not pasted on some other place.”

4. Money Tree Conversation by Caren Krutsinger

“Why do they say money grows on trees?”

5. Since Hanna Moved Away by Judith Viorst

“The tires on my bike are flat.”

6. Being Brave At Night by Edgar Guest

“The other night ’bout two o’clock, or maybe it was three…”

7. The Fair by Vernon Witmer

“The car door opened…”

8. The Carolina Wren by Laura Donnelly

“I noticed the mockingbirds first…”

9. New Math by Nikki Grimes

“Up till now, the math of my life has been pretty simple…”

10. The Tree Sparrows by Joseph O. Legaspi

“We suffer through blinding equatorial heat…”

11. Wind On The Hill by A. A. Milne

“No one can tell me…”

12. The Dream of Shoji by Kimiko Hahn

“How to say milk?”

13. The Caterpillar by Robert Graves

“Under this loop of honeysuckle…”

14. and then A Flaming Pterodactyl Ate My Homework by Evelyn Swartz

“It was our third-grade field trip to the Dinosaur Exhibit…”

15. Naturalization by Jenny Xie

“His tongue shorn, father confuses…”

16. Spring Break by April Halprin Wayland

“The best clouds in the business are right above me right now.”

17. Tending by Elizabeth Alexander

“In the pull-out bed with my brother…”

18. Snowball by Shel Silverstein

“I made myself a snowball…”

19. Remember This Time by Reynaldo Mast

“In the vast open field…”

20. The Shut-Eye Train by Eugene Field

“Come, my little one, with me!”

21. Crows by Marilyn Nelson

“What if to taste and see, to notice things…”

22. Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight by Jane Hirshfield

“One ran, her nose to the ground…”

23. About Standing (in Kinship) by Kimberly Blaeser

“We all have the same little bones in our foot…”

24. Amphibians by Joseph O. Legaspi

“Immigrants leave their land, hardening in the sea.”

Love these 4th grade poems? Want more poetry suggestions? Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you can get our latest picks.

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