Simple Types of Poems to Teach Young Kids

Promote your child's natural creativity with a beginner's introduction to poetry. Unlike other genres of writing, poetry allows a child to reach a different level of imagination -- from abstract phrases to detailed imagery. Show your child how to make each word as powerful as a punch through using the thesaurus and revising. Praise the initial poems, and you will encourage a lifelong love of writing.

  1. Haiku

    • The Japanese haiku form of poetry provides an ideal template for children to express their ideas of nature as they learn to write poetry. Use a brainstorming haiku worksheet from Education.com to help your child get started. The three lines can be free-form and unrhymed, but they do need to follow a syllable rhythm of 5, 7, 5. After she thinks through phrases to describe a nature element, she can count the syllables and fit the phrases into the short haiku form.

    Limericks

    • The pattern and humor of limericks lend themselves to the learning process of a young poet. Demonstrate for your child how to fit a silly story into five lines starting with an opener like ̶0;There once was a ...̶1; Help her think of rhyming words for the ends of the first, second and fifth lines such as: ant, can̵7;t and rant. The last words in lines three and four also rhyme with each other, creating a total rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B-A. Next, show your child how to tap her finger as she brainstorms to catch the right singsong rhythm of ̶0;da DUM da da DUM.̶1; Again, the first, second and fifth lines match each other with three sets of ̶0;DUMs,̶1; while the third and fourth only have two. While this seems complicated, the formulaic approach provides a good learning tool for your beginner. Use the Writer̵7;s Toolbox or Limerick Generator from the Scholastic Teachers̵7; site to find examples that aid in the brainstorming process.

    Free Verse

    • Start with a simple term like friend, snow or summer. Tell your child to start the poem with something like ̶0;Snow is...̶1; before filling in the following lines with free verse lines of concrete descriptions. Help him think of comparisons or examples such as ̶0;Diamonds falling from the sky; a blanket of white over the hills.̶1; Encourage him to brainstorm with as many ideas and descriptions that come to mind. Use the exercise as an opportunity to show him how to revise, fine-tuning each verb and adjective to create a specific image.

    Name Poems

    • Your child will enjoy creating a personalized acrostic poem around her name. Have her write each letter of her name in a row going vertically down a piece of paper. She then should write an adjective or phrase coming off of each letter to describe her personality. When she is pleased with the modifiers she chose, have her draft the final copy on a blank sheet of paper so she can decorate the letters in her name like the illuminated manuscript letters in medieval books.

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