Help young children express their feelings about nature by giving them the opportunity to read and write poetry. By using digital cameras and/or art materials, they can capture nature and then share their inter most thoughts, dreams, and emotions. Great examples of children's poetry and teacher resources. Wiki site at poetrytech.pbworks.com

1. Helping Children Celebrate Nature
by Finding the Power of Poetry
A Guide for Teachers
By Gail Laubenthal
glaubent@yahoo.com
http://poetrytech.pbworks.com/

2. What is Poetry?
• A group of 5 and 6 year old students said
– Poems
– Words that rhyme
– Funny stories
– About different things-animals, nursery
rhymes, pretend and real, feelings, bugs
– Haiku

3. Scaffolding Their Learning
• This type of poetry supports young
children and old alike (See Poetry
Resources by Nancy Cecil)
– I like…repeat 2-3 times, then on the last
line write -but I don’t like…
– I love…
– I wish…
– If I were (a) …I would…
– I’m so smart I can…
– I used to be…. I became…, now…

4. Elena, age 5

5. Janie, age 5

6. Connecting With Nature
• Think about your favorite thing to do
outside – seasonally
– Take a walk and focus on sights, sounds,
textures, smells, and tastes (be careful
not to eat anything poisonous)
– Become a keen observer of nature…even
the smallest plants and creatures
deserve our attention!

7. Creating Poetry Journals
• Nature Poetry
– Picture Perfect Poetry
– Poetry that Rhymes
– Pick-A-Word Poetry
– Awesome Alliteration
– Shape Poetry
– Haiku
– Cinquain
– Diamante
– Artifact Poetry
• Nature Poetry Cont.
– Poetry in the Round
– Observation Poetry
– Rainbow Poetry
– Color Poems
– Found Poetry
– Poems for 2 Voices
– One-Word Poems
– Two-Word Poems
– Memory Poems
– Thematic Poetry

8. Picture Perfect Poetry
• Have a large group of nature pictures
cut out (National Geographic, Nature,
and Texas Highways are great)
• Students will choose a picture, glue it
down in their journal and write a
poem about it, using descriptive
words and feelings

9. Picture Perfect Poetry
I’m An Urchin
I’m spiny
I’m colorful
I protect little fish
Along comes a piranha
Tickle, tickle, DISH!
by Beatrice, Age 6

10. Poetry that Rhymes
• Have a selection of rhyming
dictionaries and word family lists
available
• Students make word banks of
possible rhyming words first
• Write a poem using words that rhyme

11. Poetry That Rhymes
A Great Dane named Mark Twain
Has an owner named Terrain.
He is from Spain.
One day Terrain went down the
drain,
So the Great Dane got his
airplane!
By Marisol, age 6

12. Pick-A-Word Poetry
• Make several envelopes of nouns (nature
theme, like…dog, eagle, mountain, stream,
etc. and several envelopes of adjectives
(red, blue, breezy, small, etc.)
• Have the students choose 2 words from
the noun envelope and 2 words from the
adjective envelope
• They then pick only 1 noun and 1 adjective
to use in their nature poem
• The words may be part of the title and/or
the poem
• Underline the two words that were drawn

13. Pick-A-
Word
Poetry
I know a very breezy rainbow
High up in the sky
Where bluebirds fly
Where you can understand
The true meaning of the world
by Maisie, age 6

14. Awesome Alliteration
• Make a nature poem with words
beginning with the same sound or
letter
• Students might pick an animal or a
friends name to be their focus sound
or letter…Sally’s silly snake…

15. Awesome Alliteration
Bluebird
Beautiful bluebird
Brings a big bouquet
Of brilliant bluebonnets
to Beatrice.
By Maisie

16. Shape Poem
• Shape poems are concrete poems
that take on the shape of the topic
• The book, Doodle Dandies: Poems
That Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis
and Lisa Desimini has great examples
of shape poetry

17. Shape Poem
By Marisol

18. Haiku
• This unrhymed Japanese poem, consists of
3 lines, each containing a certain number
of syllables**.
• These poems are usually about nature,
evoke an emotion, and at least 2 senses
– Line one – 5 syllables
– Line two – 7 syllables
– Line three – 5 syllables
**This rule was for the Japanese language,
so when writing in English the lines could
have less than 17 syllables

19. HaikuRobins in the sky
Flying, flying, flying high
Hide in the ground
worms!
By Quinn, age 5
A little toucan
Breaking hard nuts with her beak
Colorful feathers
By Emma, age 6

20. Haiku – One Child
Grows as a Poet
Butterfly on a flower
Sipping nectar with it’s curly straw
At a dainty tea party.
Maisie
Age 9
Age 6

21. FABRIC WOMAN by Marisol Sobek
She was tall, and her hair was cut into a long
blonde bob.
She brought us sushi and had us sew our own
books, the covers made from slick Japanese
fabric, the wide thread from the local grocery
store.
I would eat avocado and crab and seaweed while
writing out clumsy and clunky lined paper words of
five lilies, seven branches, and five stones.
We would taste clay through a cheap photo lens,
just the two of us enjoying how the grass looks in
the sun.
She looked at me each time the words spilled out
from between my fingers and smiled.
She wore dresses. I wore them too, made from
matching blue fabric with the words and the world
machine printed on them.
My hair was cut into a bowl-cut blonde bob and I
stretched up my arms so she could pick me up and
make me tall.
From 6 to 16
years old & in
Poetry Club
McCallum HS

22. Cinquain
• A 5-line poem using the following pattern
– Line one-A one-word title (noun)
– Line two-Two words that describe the title
(adjectives)
– Line three-Three words that show the action
of the title (verb)
– Line four-Four words that express a feeling
about the title (phrase)
– Line five-One word that is another word for
the title (synonym)

23. Cinquain
Monarch
Spotted, graceful
Flying, fluttering, sipping
Happy little thing
Butterfly
By Beatrice, age 6

24. Group cinquain by Ms. Polan’s 5 year old PK students

25. Diamante
• This 7-line poem has an interesting twist
in the middle
– Line one-A one-word title (noun)
– Line two-Two words that describe the title
(adjectives)
– Line three-Three participles specific to the
title (action words)
– Line four-Four nouns (first 2 describe the title
and the second 2 describe the last line of the
poem – the opposite of line one)
– Line five-Three participles specific to the
subject of line seven (action words)
– Line six-two words that describe line seven
(adjectives)
– Line seven-opposite of the one-word title
(noun)

26. Diamante
Sister
Sweet, clever
Loving, caring, playing
Teacher, Maisie, Kenny, toddler
Crying, wanting, yelling
Curious, funny
Brother
By Maisie, age 6

27. Artifact Poetry
• Collect a nature artifact (found
object, never hurting a living
creature)
• Example: bring in a basket of
seashells and let the students choose
one that they would like to write a
poem about
• Option: display them in a shadow box

28. age 6

29. Poetry in the Round
• This circle poetry is written on round
paper and starts at the outside edge
and swirls toward the center.
• Nursery rhymes work well in the
round; rebus-type illustrations add to
the impact of this poetry
• The poems may also be set to a
familiar tune, such as “Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star”

31. Observation Poetry
• Find a place to observe things
– Go outside to observe nature
– Pick a corner of the classroom and
observe your friends
– Observe a family member doing
something
– Write a poem about what you see, hear,
think, and/or feel

32. Purple Petunias
Little purple petunias
Growing by a wall
In the green grass
With other flowers by it
Nature’s bouquet
Maisie
Frogs
Jumping, croaking, ribbit
Swimming, hopping
Lily pad to lily pad
Flies buzzing ‘round and ‘round
Slurp, gobble, gobble
Delicious frog snack
Yummy, yum!
Emma

33. Rainbow Poetry
• Colors are everywhere and students
are naturally drawn to their favorites
• The student could pick a theme, like
fruit, flowers, or frogs
• Think of descriptive words to use
with each object…red, juicy apple
• Use all colors of the rainbow (for
young children use purple instead of
indigo and violet)

35. Color Poems
• Student chooses his/her favorite
color
• Create a poem using only this color
• Don’t forget to use descriptive
words
• Read Hailstones and Halibut Bones by
Mary O’Neill when introducing this
type of poem

37. Found Poems
• The magic of poetry lets students
discover words and phrases that they
can combine into poems
• Have newspapers and magazines
available for students to look
through
• When they find words that they want
to use in a poem, have them cut them
out and glue them on paper to create
the poem

38. Found Poem-Magazine Headlines
Magnificent makeover
It’s out there
The perfect warm welcome to fall
Play with color
Cushy ripples
CrunchaBuncha leaves
The ultimate party
Extravaganza!
A rich and luscious experience
It stirs the soul
How sweet it is.
Gail L.

39. Poems for Two Voices
• This is a great way for two students
to co-author a poem.
• Some lines are read by one student,
some are read by the other, and
some are read in unison
• Read A Joyful Noise: Poems for Two
Voices by Paul Fleischmann to
introduce this type of poetry

40. Texas and Florida
L and M: The state bird is a Mockingbird
L: Texas is the Lone Star State
M: Florida is the Sunshine State
L: It became the 28th state in 1845
M: It became the 27th state in 1845
L: The state tree is the pecan tree
M: The state tree is the sabal palm
L and M: The Gulf of Mexico touches this state
By Laura and Mozhgon, age 7

41. One and Two-Word Poems
• These are a favorite because they
can be created in a short amount of
time
• Use one or two words per line
• Each line expresses a separate
thought about the topic

42. One Word Poem
Niagara
Thunderous
Misty
Powerful
Peaceful
Breathtaking
Rocky
Swift
Rainbow
Swirling
Eddy
Commercialized
Gail L.
Two-Word Poem
Solar System
Nine planets
Hot Sun
Cold Pluto
Pretty Jupiter
Warm Venus
Many Stars
Catherine, age 7

43. Memory Poems
• This is a simple way to have students recall
a special memory
• Begin each line with “I remember”
• End the poem with ”And I remember”
• These poems can rhyme
• They have as many lines as the memory and
imagination of the poet

44. I Remember…
I remember my cat sitting on my lap
I remember my cat stretching on my lap
I remember my cat purring on my lap
And I remember my cat sleeping on my lap.
Elena, age 7

45. Thematic Poetry
• Usually about something the students
are learning about
• May also be about something they
are interested in
• You need not have any “rules”

46. Trees
Trees are a treasure down under
A magical mystery
A terrible monster at night
A grandfather of all life and death
Bark like a rough rhino’s back
Words spoken softly to those who listen
Stands tall and brave
Strong and weak by its senses
Famous for its high reach in the sky
A gift from heaven that will never die
Dillon, age 7

47. A Beach Story
I went to the beach today.
The sun was as hot as hot sauce.
The sky was as blue as water.
The ocean was as cold as a popsicle.
I swam in the water just like a whale.
I played in the sand and built a big castle.
While I was walking around I found a snake.
I love to run on the beach like a roadrunner.
I had fun at the beach.
LaVante, age 5

48. Poetry Resources
•Cecil, Nancy. For the Love of Language: Poetry for
Every Learner
•Cecil, Nancy. For the Love of Poetry: Literacy
Scaffolds, Extension Ideas, and More
•Heard, Georgia. Awakening the Heart: Exploring
Poetry in Elementary and Middle School
•Morice, Dave. The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet: 104
Unusual Ways to Write Poetry in the Classroom and
the Community
•Koch, K. Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children
to Write Poetry
•Terban, M. Time to Rhyme: A Rhyming Dictionary
•Young, S. Rhyming Dictionary (Scholastic)

49. This workshop was created for teachers to use as a guide as they
introduce poetry to their students. By giving students an opportunity
to write from their “heart”, they become poets who can share their
feelings, hopes, dreams, fears, and experiences. When integrating
poetry and technology software, graphic images, and bookmaking,
even more possibilities unfold. The sample poetry in this presentation
was created by kindergarten - second students in Austin ISD. This
guide can also be used to teach teachers how to unleash the poet inside
them, as they reach for the poetry of the stars.
Gail Laubenthal

50. If we follow the children, they will
surely lead us into their hearts,
minds, and dreams. We are just the
guide…they are our gift!
Gail Laubenthal