"Poetry, at its most basic, is a short story, lyrical response to the world. It is emotion under extreme pressure or recollection in a small space. It is the coal of experience so compressed it becomes a diamond" - Jane Yolen
For children, poetry should convey the experiences and perceptions of the child in a way that is meaningful. Children who learn to read and write poetry on their own at an early age gain a remarkable understanding for the genre. The following are the four elements of poetry:
Rhythm: The beat or movement of words in a poem.
Rhyme/Sound Pattern: Affects the musical quality of poetry.
Imagery: Involves one or more of the five senses; to see, feel, hear, taste, smell.
Shape: Words may be organized in a way to add meaning and/or create a visual image of the poem.
As a teacher, I will use a lot of the suggestions from our textbook when teaching poetry. For example, reading poems aloud to children with energy, passion, and delight. I will encourage my students to write in poetic fashion, using all of the tools that poets use. I will show examples of poems and let my students hear recordings of poems. I like the suggestion to use big-book formats for the students.
