Analyzing Poetry and Poetry Components

Let’s be honest…poetry is hard. In fact, it’s the genre that makes most students squirm in their seats–from middle school to even college!

I love poetry, but I realize I’m an oddball. There’s a select few of us that really appreciate the beauty of lines of verse…but my goal as a teacher is to make poetry fun and get students acquainted with what it means to read, understand, analyze, and write poetry.

This is an intro-to-poetry type of lesson. It is designed for either middle or high school students. Originally I was thinking eighth grade, but it depends on the level of the class and the other content that the students have been introduced to.

This lesson is called Analyzing Poetry & Poetry Components.

Students will:

• brainstorm about poetry
• create a list of poetic elements
• read a poem
• discuss what makes this poem a poem
• create a poem of their own

The lesson is based off of Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem, “Facing It.”