{"id":2786,"date":"2020-04-05T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=2786"},"modified":"2025-03-04T13:18:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:18:02","slug":"poetry-analysis-warm-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/poetry-analysis-warm-up\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Poetry Analysis as a Daily Warm-up \ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are so many approaches to teaching poetry! While poetry is an excellent way to tap into students’ critical thinking skills, I know my students’ eyes glaze over the second they see those verses. How do you teach poetry analysis without overwhelming or boring students to death? After years of puzzling through this, I have an answer: use poetry analysis as a daily warm-up!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pinterest<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve tried in the past to teach iambic pentameter to students during Shakespeare units. I’ve also tried to explain how to mark rhyme schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cover<\/a>
Skip the prep work and grab 10 Poem of the Week activities (plus a bonus project!) HERE<\/a>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We’ve taken notes on literary terms. My students have been tested and quizzed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It just never stuck.<\/strong> Worse, they seemed bored, which made me feel totally over it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we all know how great poetry can be–not only as an entertaining art form but as a way to get kids thinking critically. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I mean, all of E. E. Cummings<\/a> is basically a brain teaser, right?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided that I wanted to expose my students to substantially more poetry. (They ought to know names like Robert Frost<\/a>, Emily Dickinson<\/a>, Paul Laurence Dunbar<\/a>, and more, right?) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to expose them to a variety of mentor texts<\/a> so that they could learn and be inspired by the greats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I also knew that there was no way<\/em> my students were going to sit through day after day of poetry analysis.<\/strong> Especially since I planned on teaching all this poetry during what was meant to be a fun Creative Writing elective<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s how I came up with my Poem of the Week activities<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is to introduce students to just one poem a week. Each day, Monday through Friday, we examine just one piece of the poem.<\/strong> That could mean summarizing a stanza, analyzing tone, or marking the rhyme scheme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the week, students have annotated the poem, analyzed it, and don’t feel overwhelmed because they’re just answering a question a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you want to skip the leg work, you can purchase all<\/em> of my Poem of the Week activities here<\/a>!)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step One: Decide On The Purpose of Your Poetry Bell Ringers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you go looking for poems, it’s helpful to know what you want students to get from them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you want students to be able to identify and analyze figurative language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is comprehension–the ability to puzzle out a poem’s bigger meaning–more important to you?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Teens especially will be able to relate to “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Are you more interested in using them as mentor texts<\/a> and having students “try on” the different styles and voices of the masters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing what you want to work on with students will greatly inform your poem choices. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I created my Poem of the Weeks<\/a>, I knew I wanted students to pay attention to form and imagery. These were concrete skills that I felt my students could immediately understand and master. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, when we started working on more abstract skills like voice, I’d be able to come back and use these poems as examples. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also important to me that I introduce students to a wide range of voices, if possible. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did stick to public domain poetry, which limited my choices quite a bit. But I was able to find a good mix of black and white and male and female poets for my students to read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also chose a mix of structured and unstructured poetry. I wanted my students to see how varying poetry can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever skills or purpose you choose, it will be the guiding principle for your poem choices.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pinterest<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Step Two: Decide on Your Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How long do you want to spend on a single poem? Will it be consistent or different for each one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will you be using these warm-ups for a unit? A quarter? A whole year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should have a rough idea of how many poems you want to cover. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first began using poetry as warm-ups, I was doing it for a 9-week Creative Writing course<\/a>. I wanted to expose students to as many mentor texts<\/a> as possible, but I couldn’t resist sharpening up those literary analysis skills at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to do one Poem of the Week, which meant I’d need at least 9 poems. Knowing how many you’ll need should help you focus when it comes to choosing the texts themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n