Grades 5–8
PoetrySparksIn this activity, students learn about how poetry tends to “break the rules.” Students practice breaking the “rules” in their own poems by challenging the expectations, assumptions, and principles found in their writing.
Here’s one way to read poetry: Look for the rules that the poem sets up, and then look to see how and where those rules get broken. As a really simple example, let’s look at the first two lines of Jim Daniels’ poem “Short-Order Cook”:
An average joe comes in
And orders thirty cheeseburgers and thirty fries.
The surprise of the second line comes from the “rule” set up in the first: that the man who comes in is an average joe. Not every poem is so explicit about how it breaks its own rules, of course, but generally speaking, one thing that makes reading poetry so rewarding is figuring out both what the rules are and how the poem plays with them.
Starting out with your most serious face, tell the writers something along the following: “This activity is going to be all about RULES, RULES, RULES. There are going to be so many rules that probably nobody is going to have any fun at all.”
Next, tell the students you are going to read them one line of poetry. Slowly read ONLY THE FIRST LINE of Jim Daniels’ poem “Short-Order Cook” two or three times:
An average joe comes in
Ask your students to tell you about the “rules” of being an average joe. Brainstorm a short life of average characteristics. Now, slowly and clearly read the second line of the poem:
And orders thirty cheeseburgers and thirty fries.
If you’re feeling theatrical, you can exclaim: “Hey, what happened here?! I thought this poem was about an average joe! This poem BROKE THE RULES!”
Introduce,...
by Bryan Wilson, Educator Leader, Bureau of Fearless Ideas
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by author and activist P. Carl
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by 826 National
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by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
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by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans
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by 826 National and Cartoon Network
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by 826 National
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by 826 National
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by 826 National
Engage young writers of any age at home with this collection of 826 Digital writing prompts and activities.
by Katie Manning and Brandon Brown, 826LA
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by the Team at 826CHI
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Challenge students to rewrite a classic nursery rhyme with a twist.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
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by 826 National, in partnership with Academy of American Poets
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by Jason Reynolds, The New York Times Best-Selling Author & National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
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by Phil Stamper, author
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by the Team at 826CHI, with inspiration from Ryan Harty, 826michigan
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by Asia Calcagno, 826CHI
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by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students reflect on what it feels like to stand up to bullying and write about a time when they used their voice to make a difference.
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