Tips for Planning Poetry Lessons

There are many ways to prepare a lesson focused on poetry. In the field of reading instruction, there are generally a “pre,” “during,” and “post” components of lesson planning. Here are some tips for each of these parts.

The first component:

Before reading the poem

Build background, set a purpose, create interest, and/or make predictions.

• Introduce the poem by title and the poet by name.

• Connect the subject of the poem to other things read previously.

• Highlight any vocabulary that may be difficult beforehand.

• Guess what the poem might be about based on the poem’s title.

• Preview the poem’s structure noting anything unusual.

• Preview the poem’s content noting anything unusual.

Over time, try these pre-reading strategies, but only one at a time.

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