Poetry: Sound and Sense

Examining great poetry leads to both a greater appreciation for poetry and, if encouraged appropriately, a desire to create original poetry. In this lesson, students share their personal definition of poetry and challenge and revise that definition as they read poems from selected authors. In addition to reading poetry, students listen to poems to examine how the sounds of language are used to create meaning and mood. Students then write their own nonsense poem using common poetic devices, such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance. Finally, students write a descriptive poem, share their poem with the class, and write a reflection of their experience writing their own poems.

Featured Resources

Literary Terms: Have students use this website to find a comprehensive list of literacy terms and their definitions.

From Theory to Practice

Many teachers are apprehensive about teaching poetry because of their misconceptions about its requirements and their reservations about their own expertise in writing poetry. The task can be less daunting by having students read great poetry, ask questions of the poet, and use the poems as models or inspirations for their own poetry. Many texts are available to help teachers choose poetry that will be accessible to students and to find ideas for teaching poetry in the classroom.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Instrumental music (e.g., “A Night on Bald Mountain” by Modeste Mussorgsky)