Have students enumerate the poetic devices they see in the poem they are reading. These include rhyme scheme, meter (rhythm), alliteration, assonance, consonance, anaphora, enjambment, caesura, metaphors, images and many others. Consult a list of these terms for assistance. Have students classify the poem according to some of the following questions: Is it a sonnet? Is it written in free verse or does it rhyme? Is it written in stanzas? Does it look like a poem on the page, or is it experimental?
Have students analyze the poem's meaning. Have them discuss what they think the poem is trying to say after reading it once or twice. Then, have students read the poem carefully line by line. Let them consider how each line of the poem alters or furthers the meaning. Let different interpretations coexist, stressing that a good poem offers multiple meanings at once.
Have students consider how the poem's devices interact with or help produce its various meanings. This can be a challenge and might be too difficult for younger students. If a poem contains a profusion of "s" sounds, ask students to consider whether this relates to one or more the themes identified in the poem. It might, for instance, help produce the feeling of silence or suggest the wind. If a poem breaks from its rhyme scheme at the end, ask students to consider why the poem is drawing the reader's attention to this particular place. Does the theme at this point also suggest breaking from tradition?
Apply what your students have learned reading poetry to the writing of poetry. Ask your students to choose a poetic theme. Examples include the triumph of time, the futility of human wishes, the inevitability of love, a political message or anything else. Ask students to select a format that suits the theme. A playful structure, such as limerick, is appropriate for a fun theme and would be jarring for a poem lamenting the dead (although, this strange effect could be interesting to explore). A political poem raging against the government would do best to be written in a format that does away with conventional, ordered structure.
Have students write an initial draft of the poem. If they are working on a poem about love or a spontaneous overflow of feeling, it is best to "write from the heart" and put down something as quickly as possible. If they are writing a poem about a philosophical idea, it is best to work on each line slowly and carefully in order to build a rational argument.
Help students work and rework their poems. If a certain rhyme does not seem to fit, help them come up with a more appropriate one. Have students exchange drafts with each other. Encourage groups of two or more to exchange ideas and constructive criticism.